Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Hello and welcome to Storyteller in Depth, a podcast where we go behind the scenes to learn more about the school of Communications, media Arts and designs, people, places, and things. I'm your host, pat Quigley, and today's guest is no stranger to the power of storytelling and the magic of connecting with audiences using a medium, not too far off. From podcasts, we have Jessica Ang, the host of Radioactive C B C Edmonton's Afternoon Radio Show. Jessica will take you through her career in broadcasting and what her experience has been like hosting a radio show, including some of the components that go into that. And we'll also share some advice drawn from her years of experience for those who are eager to enter this industry for themselves. As a graduate of our sports journalism program, Jessica has explored numerous paths in broadcasting and brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. Be sure to stick around. Thank you Jessica, so much for being on the podcast today.
Speaker 2 00:01:11 Thanks for inviting me, pat.
Speaker 0 00:01:12 Yeah, it's awesome. So, before we kind of get started, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you're currently working, and some of the roles you've taken on, uh, throughout the years?
Speaker 2 00:01:23 In a nutshell, this is my second career right now. I am the host of Radioactive at C B C Edmonton, which is the afternoon show, the afternoon drive show, and I feel like we're gonna get into so much more of the, the nitty and the gritty of it. But I love it and it is so awesome to, to be in this position, but also to think of all the places where I've been because again, this being a second career, this isn't really where I thought my life would take me, but here we are.
Speaker 0 00:01:52 Yeah. And we were talking a little bit before we got started, just, you know, how, how excited you are to do this kind of stuff. In your experience, is there anything about the broadcasting industry that a consumer media person or a consumer of media wouldn't expect?
Speaker 2 00:02:05 Um, people who might be consuming content via their phones or watching the news, they maybe don't understand what goes into that. So I think it's that process of, well, to get that tape from, I'm gonna be heading to the Taste of Edmonton across the street, which is a festival that's happening literally across the street. I can see it from our studio in downtown right now. And in order for that tape to get on the air, you know, I've had to coordinate with the team there to make sure that they know that we're coming. I'm gonna be going there, recording the interviews, speaking to whoever I need to speak to, not just people who will appear in the segment or on the broadcast, but also to get enough background information to know what I'm talking about and feel like I'm giving an informed point of view or an informed several points of view on tho that specific thing.
Speaker 2 00:02:55 And then to bring it back to the station, go through all of the recorded tape, figure out what needs to be in it, what could add to it, if there's certain pieces of the sound. So it's not just interviews. Maybe there's a vendor is flipping over something in their cooking department, clearly I don't cook. Right? So it's going through all that and then editing together that tape, and then making sure the scripting would fit and flow into that, and then presenting it on air. So I think people don't necessarily think that there are so many steps, and it's been amazing throughout my own process to learn what going through those steps is like, and how to be efficient at it, how to really get the most out of the time that I'm spending on site, but also to turn over that tape really quickly to something that I'm proud of.
Speaker 2 00:03:48 And I think that that's the process that takes a long time, but also, um, within that pride in the material that you're putting out, to have it sound like you, to have it sound like your personality, your the, the something different that you're bringing to this story. Because every time a reporter or anyone is assigned a story, it's gonna come out differently. The story itself is gonna end up being a very different story than any other person would've told it. So being able to find what you bring to that, I think that that's also a process as well.
Speaker 0 00:04:24 Oh, for sure. Yeah. The way that I kinda like to describe, you know, putting all these different pieces together is like getting to play with this gigantic puzzle, right. And that mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you're not quite sure what the puzzle picture is going to look like, but you've got all these pieces and it's gonna be a lot of fun trying to piece them all together.
Speaker 2 00:04:40 Oh, absolutely. And I feel like at the beginning, especially when you're pitching the idea, we just came out of our morning pitch meeting, it's kind of a hazy watercolor painting at best. You have some ideas of splotches. This might be a good angle. We might, it might be great to have this perspective in the story, but then how it ends up turning out you is anyone's guess.
Speaker 0 00:05:04 Yeah. Oh, for sure. Now broadcasting can be a platform to address important societal issues and promote positive change. In what ways have you experienced this in your career?
Speaker 2 00:05:18 For me, a big tangent and a big theme of my own life encompassing the career side is really, really dedicating myself to representation, equity and diversity. It's something, actually a couple months ago, I just won a national c b C award in this specific category because when we came to build this show the way that it is right now, we made a point of prioritizing, Hey, this is, these are the groups that we wanna chat with, a k a all groups. We want, we wanna be able to give voices to so many people who don't feel represented through our, through media, but then also through some of our other content. So it's been amazing to see, for example, we've had people from like a Philippine Heritage Association come in and talk about wanting, for example, their own park space. And during that interview, the, the guests that we had brought on continually was thanking my community reporter and I in the room.
Speaker 2 00:06:21 And some people on our team were surprised by why they were thanking us so much. And I was not surprised at all. And I explained to them afterward, it's because we don't go to them, it's because they don't feel represented in traditional media. So when we go to them and when we give them a voice, when we give them a platform, they're so appreciative of that because they spent so long just trying to advocate for themselves. So I think it's really being able to give voices to people who don't always have their voice represented in, in so many different platforms. And it's so rewarding to feel like we've come so far, even in the under a year that I've been in this job, that it's part of the values of the show. You can see it in the morning pitch meetings. It's not just, you know, this group is is is opening a, a cultural center or this, you can see there's a deeper level now to the pitches because we're in more of the communities that we weren't in before.
Speaker 0 00:07:20 For sure. And also, like talking about everything that you're, you're saying is you're one of the founding members of the diversity steering committee in the CBC Toronto newsroom mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So let's talk a little bit about that and like, are there any gaps within this industry that you think could be improved?
Speaker 2 00:07:37 Oh, 100%. Uh, and this is something that I had actually spoken with the head of C B C, uh, with when she was in our office not too long ago. I think right now, when we talk about diversity, when we talk about representation, we're still at this point where we're checking off boxes. You know, I still see scripts that come in that will say Bipo check, and that is so, oh, it's so frustrating, especially as, as a person of color, as, as a a Chinese woman myself, I look at this and I'm like, we're still at this point where we're checking off a box to say that this person does represent, you know, not the traditional majority. So where we need to go, I think beyond this is, is representation needs to be not just foundational to the show that I'm doing, but then perhaps someone hears this and they're applying it to their show.
Speaker 2 00:08:34 And it needs to be something that's ingrained within, within all of broadcasting. I think that's the big thing is that we need to move beyond what is essentially tokenization. And we're getting there, but we're not there yet. It needs to be a point where, you know, we're not just going to certain community groups because it's their blah, blah, blah heritage month or because there was a tragic killing in their specific, specific community group. Um, and when you continually go back to those groups on occasions that are not monumentous, whether it's good or bad, I think that's when you're building those relationships and that's when you're moving beyond tokenization. But it's not happening enough. We're getting there, but it's definitely not happening enough right now. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:09:26 How do you think, like what do you think is the thing that needs to happen for that to change in, in people's minds
Speaker 2 00:09:34 As a consumer mm-hmm. <affirmative> of media? Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:09:38 Just more of checking in with these, these community groups, uh, at least from the broadcaster point of view. So if we're thinking about trying to shape the content that you're, you're putting out there for dissemination. So if I'm checking in with these groups, if I have the Philippine Cultural Association on just to talk about things that are happening in their, in their community. So maybe it's a local success story, maybe it's, but it doesn't have to be something that's press release worthy. Do you know what I mean? Like, it doesn't have to be like we're opening a cultural center. It doesn't have to be, uh, something, something big. It can be small wins. And I think it's celebrating the small wins. So then when there's even small losses, let's say you are someone that they wanna talk to about it because you've been there for the small things, you care about the small things and you should, it's not about putting out this perception that this is who I appear to be or this is who I wanna look like.
Speaker 2 00:10:36 But it's trying to, trying to really embody that and understand that and understand when that group comes to you, no matter what it is. And sometimes, a lot of the time, unfortunately, we just don't have the bandwidth to cover all of the stories from all of the groups that we want to just because of what's, what's making news that day, what's, uh, what's already in our show, what's really in the public discourse. However, it's making sure that that group feels heard and understood. So then when there are opportunities where we can, and we can make that space even when there isn't that we are doing that. And I think that that's the big thing. So then you're not just hearing about, and I'm just, I'm just shining a light on Filipino heritage associations and groups like that, because that was specific to that, that little story told earlier.
Speaker 2 00:11:32 But I think it's really about making sure that you're including them in everyday stories. You know, we're talking about, even if we're not talking about that specific story, uh, I think it was Edmonton Police Service and the city had they brought on, uh, this new pilot program, they're actually still in the midst of it to get people, get their employees to wear a name tag that shows the languages that they speak aside from English. And in one of, in that specific interview, we had someone that spoke to Gallog. Well, we are actually speaking to that specific cultural group by talking about the fact that there is someone here that speaks to Kellogg. So there's other ways to, to approach diversity representation rather than just saying, here is set group number A and we're gonna talk about them because this is what they're bringing to the table.
Speaker 2 00:12:26 There are so many other faucets of, uh, of, of just the, the efforts that we can, we can make to make our newsrooms make our coverage more inclusive. And once we're doing it on that end, then people will be receiving it from that point of view and not be surprised when, oh, this is quote, quote, um, you know, like a story about someone who's bipo or a diversity story or diversity higher even to that point. So I think it's really about trying to shape it on the creation side, because the more we're shaping it on the creation side, I would ideally means that the output and how things are being understood in the world and the discourse that's happening around that is more inclusive inherently.
Speaker 0 00:13:19 Right. So let's talk a little bit about your radio show, uh, radioactive. Uh, if people aren't listening to it, they definitely should. Um, what do you believe sets radio apart from other forms of media?
Speaker 2 00:13:35 As a broadcaster, I feel like this is the most authentic form. I've done so much of my work in TV and went through Centennial knowing I wanted to be in tv. And now being in the radio side of this, I mean, I'm standing here right now in our studio in downtown Edmonton. I'm wearing a couple of necklaces, a dress. I'm feeling comfortable and fun and summary. I'm also using my arms, uh, to, to gesture to you, even though you're not seeing it. But just really trying to physicalize the way that I speak as I would naturally. And I feel like radio is such an amazing platform to be able to do that, to be able to show off your personality in ways that feel authentic. When I used to do morning tv, there was a certain way, especially as a woman, that sometimes you have to sit a certain way, especially if you're wearing a dress and you have to sit up this way and, you know, you have to do your hair a certain way, and it just, it's you, but it's not really you in the same way. And I think also TV versus radio, you get a lot more flexibility in terms of timing, and that's something that I appreciate. So if we are having a really great interview on the show, I can have it run a little bit longer than, okay, well we've hit our six minutes and out, we need to go because we've got a commercial break coming. So that's the beauty of that, just feeling like things can breathe.
Speaker 0 00:15:12 For sure. And like, what do you enjoy most about your hosting role?
Speaker 2 00:15:21 I think from the point of view of editorial, being able to have, have a clear say in what I wanna be covering, what I wanna be talking about, the story, the kind of stories that we wanna be telling. So today, as I mentioned, I'm gonna be heading across the street and going to Taste of Edmonton, and that's a food festival. And we're gonna be talking about things that would be great to have in the hot weather because it is really, really hot today in Edmonton. So for me, thinking that this is something that I want on my show, and we can, uh, you have a little bit more editorial say, uh, but with that, that also brings with it a sense of responsibility. I think earlier in the job, maybe for the first nine months of this job, six months of the job, I was really getting my feet wet with understanding what the role is.
Speaker 2 00:16:21 Not just from the daily what I need to do, but what role you play in terms of leadership on the team. So I think it's, while you get to have this great editorial say, it's also, you need to understand what that means. It's that that classic cheesy spider-man with great power comes great responsibility. I by no means think that I have power on this team, but I feel like being able to contribute in this way so meaningfully and understanding the responsibility that you have to your team and to the listeners and the community is so important.
Speaker 0 00:17:00 So take us behind the scenes on how you approach preparing for your radio show. What elements do you need to check off before you interview somebody or share a topic with listeners?
Speaker 2 00:17:12 Definitely making sure that I've gone through the scripting ahead of time. That's the first thing I'm gonna do. So this is aside from we've pitched the meeting, we've done our pitch meeting, and I understand what the about, now I'm going to the script and let's say it's been prepared by someone else, it's been prepared by a reporter or producer on our team. So going through all of the scripting, making sure verbiage wise, that it sounds like me and I'm very specific and how I format my scripts. I'm very specific in how I like to format my introductions. I don't like, I don't want this to be about me. In my mind, this show is a love letter to the city, and it's about the city, and it's about people in the community who are doing things who want to be doing things, and it's not about us.
Speaker 2 00:18:07 And I think that that's, that's a really important, um, aspect thematically to grab at, which is not exactly your question, but we're getting, we're getting to that. So I think making sure that the, the scripting is kind of how I want it to look and feel. And then actually going through our scripts, we'll often have at the end a lot of background information, whether it's pre-interview notes, whether it's links to articles, whether it's links to press releases, whether it's just general descriptions of things. So I think that that's a big, that's really important for me as well, to feel like I understand what the heck we're talking about because we've got 12 segments, 12 large segments and chunks to fill in a show.
Speaker 2 00:18:57 You have to know at least on a general level before you're going into it, what those chunks are about. But that's, it's also a lot of, it's a lot of stuff going on. You've got these 12 chunks in the show, but then you've also got traffic, you've got weather, you've got news, things are moving and flowing, and depending on what happens during that day, things can definitely end up changing, which I think also is, is the beauty of this. I love that we get this opportunity to be so creative. Um, so it's really making sure that scripting wise, I understand what the story is about. It looks good, it sounds good in my mind. Uh, if there are questions that I have, um, that I want the director to take a look at before we go to air, I'll put notes at, at the top, maybe it's ERs for certain people's names or certain things.
Speaker 2 00:19:51 Just making sure that I feel like I can go into this story that perhaps I was not the one doing the ground research for, but I can go into it feeling decently confident about knowing what we're talking about. So that's the big thing. Another thing I think also for this job is you really need to work on energy and knowing how to keep and sustain energy. And I think that that idea shifts as well as when you're doing the job, because knowing you'll need to have a coffee in the middle of the day, I'm coming up to my second coffee time. Well, if I need, if I don't have that coffee by a certain time, it's not going to be conducive to maintaining the energy that I need to maintain throughout the day. Because unlike a morning show where you get up and you do your show pretty early into your day, and then you might be preparing segments for the next day and preparing chases for the next day.
Speaker 2 00:20:55 We're pitching in the morning at our morning pitch meeting, and then we will have, I'll probably have an hour tops to chase any stories, put out any leads, things that I wanna be working on. And then I have pret tapes. So during this time that I'm chatting with you, I would normally be doing different interviews that will air later, might air for a different day, because the guest is only available for this day. So you need to be able to bring that energy early on in the day. And then this is, you know, we've got probably an hour or two tops before we do the live show. And then you have to sustain the highest energy that you possibly can for three hours straight, no commercials on C B, C. So you're doing this for three hours straight. It's a lot. Um, and figuring out what you need to be the best version of yourself at the end of the day when you've gone through all these different things.
Speaker 2 00:21:53 Maybe we had a pre-tape this morning that didn't show. Okay, well, you know, that there, there's some stuff that, in, in knowing that that didn't happen, then I need to make sure that I, I file away the information for, Hey, I've gone through the script. I know where certain bits are, I know where we are at in the story. I'm communicating with the producer. So that's one situation. Then if I'm gonna go across the street and grab some tape later, I need to make sure that I've got time to do that. And if I'm gonna be putting together that tape, that's also gonna put me in a different mental space than I need to be when I'm, I, I hesitate the word to, to say the word performing, but essentially performing for three hours straight, which is a lot of energy, period. You could show up and just do the three hours straight and you'd be exhausted.
Speaker 2 00:22:44 That's, I think what it was for me at the beginning of doing this show is I was really, really tired at the end of the three hours. Um, so I think it's really figuring out energy-wise, how to sustain the levels you need to be, how to figure out how to get into the, the mental space you need to be in. Because if I'm cutting a tape for a whole day, it's gonna mess with my mental state for when I need to be live. If you, you know what I mean? Right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative> mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So yeah, it's, it's a combination of a whole bunch of things.
Speaker 0 00:23:15 Oh, for sure. Yeah. I know there's a couple days I have, uh, sitting in the studio, I'm like, I can't keep editing all day. I said, this is just gonna drain me, and then tomorrow I gotta interview people. It's like, you can't, you gotta manage your time so wisely so that you can continue being a person, uh, doing all this stuff.
Speaker 2 00:23:33 Oh yeah. So then when I'm doing my three hour show, I can be a person, I can respond, not like a computer because I know that I have to respond a certain way or even respond at all. But to just be able to react like a human being that is, it's just knowing that you have that much energy or you need that much energy to do that. But I think people had told me before I had started this job specifically, Hey, by the way, afternoon show. That is the challenge. And it's, it's something, it's a journey. I feel like we're always on. You're always trying to figure out what will make you the best version of yourself for that time when you need to be on. Because as you get better at things, as you get faster at cutting tape and gathering and all these different things, you wanna do more, especially as a young host, especially as a newer host, you wanna do more look what I can do. But it's doing that while remembering that you need to have that space to breathe. You need to have that space that's not thinking of, you know, the four track that you're cutting right at that moment and, and the pre-interview that you've got coming up and this and that and, and the 15 chases that you have out in the world. I probably, at any given point have between 10 and 30 chases that are going on.
Speaker 2 00:24:52 Oh, geez. So <laugh>, you know, Hey, this festival's coming up, this is going on. Yeah, I reached out about this. I, so it's, it's trying to really compartmentalize and figure out resource wise what I need to do to be the best person at any given best, really. Yeah. The best state of a person, if this makes sense. Oh, yeah. At any given point in a day and all the things that you need to do and resource management. 100%. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:25:23 You are a graduate of the sports journalism program at the School of Communications, media Arts and Design. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, what would you say are some of the key lessons from that time in your life that you've carried with you into your career today?
Speaker 2 00:25:37 One of the big lessons that I've taken is trying to be entrepreneurial about what we're doing, which is how I ended up winning the, the Dean's Award for Entrepreneurship and innovation for my specific program for that year because of the things that I was doing. So when I was in school, we did our spring training trip, and we had an opportunity to profile player, and then it was published on Canadian Baseball Network. And I had worked with the, the, the editor, um, Bob Elliot at the time, and him and I had chatted beyond that, uh, just about, he really liked my writing. And writing was also something that was very new to me because I came into this industry wanting to do TV, as I mentioned. So writing and, and really having a grasp of the craft of that was something I was newer to. But he really appreciated that. And I thought that that was neat. And then there was a point where I thought, you know what?
Speaker 2 00:26:46 I feel like I have an idea for a series that could work with Canadian Baseball Network. And I had mentioned this idea to Malcolm Kelly, who's a program coordinator for sports journalism. And he thought, you know what? Like, why don't you, why don't you talk about that with Bob? Pitch that to Bob And I did. And we didn't end up doing that specific series, but what we ended up doing instead was Here's an opportunity. Why don't you come with me? I'm gonna be covering this Jay's game. Come with me. We'll get you accredited as media, and you work the game, you find a story and, and we will work together to, to publish it. And I thought, this is pretty cool. So here I am, you know, coming out of the Jay's dugout, Shai DTIs looking at me across the field thinking, how on earth did you get here?
Speaker 2 00:27:34 You're a student <laugh>. Yeah, I just taught you last semester. What's going on? Was it, it may have even been the same semester. He was just like, looking at me with total surprise. And I think it's that idea of, of finding, finding opportunities, finding little spaces where there are stories that are, that are not being told or you don't feel like they're being told authentically, and being able to bring something new to that. So I had several stories that were published on Canadian Baseball Network as a result of those opportunities. I did one on Roberto Una, Jason Greeley, just, it was, it was the coolest thing because I'm a student who is so new to the sports journalism world and I'm covering sport at the highest level. It was unreal. So I think it's, there's that aspect of it where it's trying to make those opportunities for yourself and figuring out where you can tell the most, I don't know, the most creative, the most authentic stories, whatever you think is missing.
Speaker 2 00:28:41 So there's that side. And then there's also this side that I've really only understood I think within the last couple of years, which was that, so when I was gonna school, I said, I am going to be doing tv. And then Tim Haffey, who was working at the time on T S N, and he was one of our radio teachers, said, you are really good at radio hosting. Did you ever consider doing that? And I thought, well, thank you Tim <laugh>, I appreciate that. That's very cool. I'm gonna head, we're back to TV land now, but thank you for your input. And then I ended up, so I was back in Toronto for the pandemic and figuring out my next move, and then ended up being in the, the C B C Toronto local newsroom. And in my interview for this, they had mentioned, actually, I think it was when I basically accepted a casual position with them, by the way, you've got a great voice.
Speaker 2 00:29:40 Do you think we could talk about you maybe doing radio news reading down the road? And I thought, okay, cool. And let's head back to TV land once again. I don't know why I was so fascinated with TV land. So then I go through this, I was working four or five or six days a week, sometimes on casual shifts with C B C, Toronto, sometimes News Network, doing different things. And then there was one week where had no shifts, and I thought it wasn't even a money thing. It was, what am I gonna do with all this time? As reporters, you're so overstimulated, you just wanna be doing things. It was just weird. I didn't want a week break that I wasn't anticipating when all my friends would be working Anyway. So then I said to my executive producer, Hey, by the way, do you think we can do that training for that radio thing that you talked about way back when?
Speaker 2 00:30:33 And they were more than happy to do that, set it up with a week of shifts of learning. And halfway through that week, uh, they threw me in to the deep end and said, by the way, you're gonna be anchoring the news for Ontario Morning. We are gonna help you to do this. We're going to coach you through how to do this, how to figure out editorially what you need to put in your newscast. And it was wild. Here I am thinking, okay, I got a week where I'm not gonna be on air. No. It was learn the job and go, which I feel like is very much the way in journalism. It's, you have, you have a decent idea of what you're doing, we're gonna support you, and you are gonna do it for real. Um, so yeah. And then I started doing that.
Speaker 2 00:31:18 And to be honest, there were more vacancies, there was more opportunity within the radio news reading role than there was reporters. Everyone wants to be a TV reporter within news. There's so many people that wanna be in that role. So there's no, there's never a, a shortage, at least in Toronto, of finding people who want to report for tv, radio, news reading is super specific, especially in that even though you know how to do the job for this show, you may not know how to do the job for the next show. And for the next show, it's very specific, knowing the formatting, knowing where to find resources, knowing who to contact, especially for that Ontario Morning show, you're covering the entire province except for major centers like Toronto, London. So it's very much figuring out how to do the job. That's, I feel like more than the actual doing the job is figuring out what you need to do to be successful in that job, whether it's being in touch with certain O P P detachments, who to get in touch with for certain parts.
Speaker 2 00:32:25 And, uh, so anyway, I ended up loving this. I was doing this and realizing this is so much fun. This is where I wanna be for all these years, where I had focused on making sure that my shirt looked good and my hair looked good, so that we could do this TV rant for a minute and a, you know, a minute 30. And then I was stuck behind a microphone and got to tell personal stories about just, just about different things that had happened in my life. And then also share, share news with a, with a more personal angle. I don't know, it just felt more real. And I think that that was the part that I love the most. I ended up doing some hosting for C B C music and I thought, this is kind of where I wanna be. And then an opportunity came up to come out west and actually do this show. And I had to send an email to Tim Haffey, who, let's remember about five minutes ago when I was like, oh, thanks for, thanks for your comment about me and potential radio hosting. Yeah. And tell him, I think the subject line was, you were right
Speaker 0 00:33:40 <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:33:42 And he's, and I think he had responded like, I'm not surprised. And also congratulations and you're gonna have an awesome time. But it was just, it's amazing that sometimes you'll have such an idea of who you think you are and who you want to be. And through Centennial, I was exposed to so many different professionals who gave me different, different, let's say, tools in the toolbox. And from that am able to say, oh, well, maybe I actually enjoy this more. Maybe I enjoy this more. Maybe I can you end up being a different person than you thought you were going to be. Oh, you know what this makes me think of? Earlier in the interview when you and I were talking about how the stories never turned out the way you planned. Yeah. Your career literally never turns out the way you planned. Never does.
Speaker 2 00:34:33 'cause you get these different tools, right? Yeah. You get these different tools and you're like, oh, well this is the tool that I have. You know, like, I have the radio skill, because I had, before this, before I was in journalism, done a master of music at Berkeley College of Music. And as a result, been very familiar with my technique, been really familiar with how to use my voice, how to control my breath, how to work on the tone, and just, just appreciating the, the Tamil differences within different voices. So you take that skill, then you take the storytelling skill, which I had also honed when I was working in music. And then you, it's just interesting how it really doesn't shake down the way that you think it will.
Speaker 0 00:35:24 Oh, yeah. And just all these separate pieces of your life just kind of come together to this amalgamation of who you are today, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. And it's, it's so cool. Um, do you have a quick tip you can give to others looking to improve their on-air presence
Speaker 2 00:35:42 Practice? And it doesn't have to be in forums that you are, that you, that you find you can make your own opportunities. I know that when I wanted to practice hosting, and it wasn't even radio hosting, I just, during school we had talked about, I think it was in one of Malcolm's classes, we had talked about, you know, if you wanna get good at this practice on a podcast, make your own podcast. So I made my own podcast in school. I need to make sure that that is not available still on Google, because I am a totally different person. I was back then <laugh>. But it was just this opportunity to, well, I wanna get better at this, so this is the way I'm gonna get better at it. And I think it was something about, I think it was about music and movies. The first one was, was about music that was in Oscar contending films at the time, which was something I'm, I'm super interested in entertainment and arts and culture.
Speaker 2 00:36:41 So it was definitely playing to things that I love already. But it's this idea that I had never done the recording. I'd never done the, the idea of, of scripting out things that I wanna talk about and then putting it together and trying to edit. And it was super basic. I think I did it with a, I wanna say I did it with a microphone that was plugged into my phone, but it may have just been with my phone. But regardless, I think it's this idea that you can get entrepreneurial when it comes to trying to find outlets to practice and get good at this. Because even now, I listen to the shows that I did when I was starting out on this show in October, and I'm thinking, oh, that is a different journalist, and holy moly, she needs to slow down. And, you know, I, I just hear the person that I was back then, and I've gotten to this point because I've reflected a lot.
Speaker 2 00:37:41 I've listened to a lot of our shows. I do a lot of listen back. And when I was in tv I also did a lot of watching back, talking through, um, the, the reports that I had done and other people's reports and really dissecting them. I was lucky. I had a friend that was really, really involved with, uh, production at the time. So we were able to, it felt like I was getting a little masterclass often. But I feel like you need to do that. You need to listen back to yourself all the time and be questioning, is this the best way that I can tell this story? Can I tell this more effectively? What can I do next time in this specific instance, in this kind of a situation that will make the material shine differently or shine better? So I think it's, it's that constant finding opportunities to practice and then constantly trying to almost one up yourself.
Speaker 2 00:38:38 Because I only got here because of the hundreds of shows that I've done since then, and then the even more than probably thousand plus maybe thousands of hours that I put into active listening. So I think it's really knowing that that's, uh, that's something that's gonna be beneficial to you, and understanding the, the importance of that. Because I have so many people, even within our newsroom that are surprised. You do that much active listening. And I've thinking, yeah, that's how you get better. You listen to yourself, you listen to other people. You listen to how other people might tackle a specific situation. And you may not interview that exact guest and have that exact situation, but it's probably structurally pretty similar to other situations that you're gonna be dealing with. So how do they deal with it? And then, you know what, I don't know if this really works for me, but if I worded it like this, it would sound like me.
Speaker 2 00:39:42 That would sound like me. And does it feel comfortable? Okay, cool, let's try it out. And then you're trying things out. So it's making opportunities to practice and then practicing and then listening back to that practice. Because just because you practice doesn't mean really, doesn't mean anything. Well, I could do the show every day and without any sense of self-reflection. I'm really just going off of, am I getting better? Well, I feel better in this seat, which for some people is enough. But I think for myself, it's been really important to, to reflect back and think, oh, what was I feeling in that moment? I don't know if I felt really comfortable with the way that I transitioned to this segment or this question. Why is that? And figuring out how you can do it better the next time around.
Speaker 0 00:40:29 Some really good advice. And I know that I'm gonna definitely take some of that as well. 'cause I've been learning a lot from, from having this conversation with you. And, you know, hopefully I can put some of these things into practice. Um, to, to finish off the interview though, if you had an opportunity to interview any individual, uh, living Dead, you know, anybody, uh, who would your dream guest be?
Speaker 2 00:40:54 That is a really tough question. You know what? I will say, this might sound silly, but it's only because I'm thinking of who I have active chases out for right now. Ken Jung, the comedian and actor, uh, is going to be at River Cree Resort and Casino in October, I believe. And as soon as I found out I had put out a chase to his team, because back when he was doing the show, Dr. Ken, I was, I think I, I would tweet along and watch the show and he tweeted at me. So I feel like we've got this connection already, already.
Speaker 0 00:41:29 Best friends, oh yeah,
Speaker 2 00:41:30 Well, we've got this Asian connection and whatever, we're kind of entertainment adjacent. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So I, that's one that I am really excited about. Um, also, we've got the Edmonton Folk Fest coming up and Feist is one of the headliners. And I can think back, yeah, and I can think back to when I was listening to Feist music, you know, not even in this, in this realm, um, professionally at all. And now to be in this space, it's, it's really cool to, to get the opportunity to chat with people like the, the two people I mentioned. Um, but that's just at the top of my head. If you ask me this question in 10 minutes or tomorrow, I would probably have different answers. But this job has been so cool to, Hey, if I wanna chat with these people and there is, uh, a news and editorial relevance to why I would do that on the show, then I can reach out and I can do that. And we got to do that a lot at the Junos. Got to chat with Nickelback, we got to chat with Jesse Reyes, all these amazing, amazing musicians and performers. And a lot of what we're doing is because these are the things that I'm interested in. This is where I want the show to be. And it is so cool to be in a space that appreciates that, that nourishes that, that drive, that curiosity and that creativity.
Speaker 0 00:42:57 Well, Jessica, I just wanna say thank you so much for, for spending some time today to talk with us for Storyteller in depth. And you know, I wish you the best of luck with the future. Your
Speaker 2 00:43:07 Thank you. You too, pat. And if those tips help you, let me know. Or if you need more, you let me know too. Oh,
Speaker 0 00:43:12 For sure. Yeah, I'll be sure. I'll message you later or tweet at you and just say, Hey, here you go. I got better at this <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:43:17 I love it. Yeah. Awesome. Send me a soundbite. I'm here for it.
Speaker 0 00:43:26 Thank you so much, Jessica, for being on the podcast. Your insight into this industry is so valuable, and it's so interesting to hear the behind the scenes of creating your radio show. Speaking of which, you can check out more episodes of Radioactive on the C B C Listen website with more episodes on the way. Be sure to follow our podcast so you'll be alerted to our next episode. And if you like this one, leave a comment on our Instagram post at StoryArt Center. Until next time, I'm Pat Quigley, and this is Storyteller in Depth.
