Iqaluit (June 16/03) - Every radio station in the land boasts about having "the best variety!"

But Iqaluit's newest commercial radio station CKIQ, known as Raven Rocks at 99.9 on the FM dial, actually plays ZZ Top, the Backstreet Boys and Newfoundland music in the span of an hour.

The format -- or lack of one -- was a happy accident that works for Iqaluit, station manager Terri Chegwyn says.

"This equipment was new to me," Chegwyn says standing in the control room located in the Navigator building. "So I just started loading it. I really didn't know how to categorize it. So when I finally did hit the airwaves it was all just playing!"

She says she started in early May "throwing some music on air."

"We had to do some testing to make sure our airwaves weren't interrupting anybody else's."

The mix she ended up with, rather than scaring people away like so many radio professionals told Chegwyn it would, has now become the station's trademark sound.

"I've worked in radio for 17 years and this is the most fun I have ever had," says disk jockey Glenn Craig.

Craig, who hails from Cape Breton, joined Chegwyn shortly after the station's May 26 launch, taking over the noon to six shift, while Chegwyn hosts mornings.

Evening and weekend shows are pre-programmed.

"I'm getting trained to do a lot of the work she already does," Craig said. "So I put in my six or seven hours. She's here much longer. So we have to alleviate that problem and get her a bit of a life once again," he adds in that unmistakable radio voice.

During the interview, Craig will draw a name for their Raven Takes Flight contest for a trip anywhere Canadian North flies. The phone will quickly ring shortly after he reads the name. The hosts also want more Inuktitut on the air, and call-in shows.

"We'll pick a topic for the day, see what the people on the street are actually thinking about," says Chegwyn.

While Chegwyn admits the mix of tunes has been somewhat toned down since the launch, she still thinks playing Loverboy's "Workin' for the weekend" back to back with "Stand by your man" by Tammy Wynette suits Iqaluit.

"Look at Iqaluit," she says. "What I notice up North is, it's made up of people from everywhere, all walks of life."