Julia Caron named new host of Quebec AM
Last week CBC Quebec named Julia Caron as the new host of its morning radio program, Quebec AM. Although the appointment is technically new, regular listeners will already be very familiar with Caron from her time spent as interim host of the show over the last several months.
“I never, ever, in a million years thought I would be applying to host a morning show during a pan-demic, but doing this kind of work, being a journalist but also being a voice that people want in-formation from during a pandemic really cements why we do what we do,” she told The Record on Monday, sharing that the process of stepping into the host’s chair has been very affirming for her. “I came on and initially thought it would be a month, then one month turned into two, and then three, and now here we are,” she added with a laugh.
One of the interesting ironies of her new role is that Caron has more or less switched places with former host Susan Campbell, who has started serving as a roving reporter in much the same way she was prior to taking on the interim hosting duties.
“I remember the first time that Susan was bringing me a report from out in the field, I heard from more than one listener that it was so funny to see the tables turned,” she said, crediting Campbell with teaching her much of what she knows about the job. “When I moved to this province and would turn on the radio in the morning it was still co-hosted with Tim Belford in the Eastern Town-ships. I can’t believe that someone could be moving to the city now and be fumbling through the radio dial and stumble across my voice. It feels like an immense privilege and not one that I take for granted, for sure.”
Asked about what led her to the host job after having worked as a researcher, technician, producer and guest host on both Breakaway, the afternoon program, and Quebec AM, Caron described the chance as a once in a lifetime opportunity.
“Host jobs don’t open up every day,” she said, explaining that she got a taste for the position after having applied for the Breakaway job that ended up going to Alison Brunette in Sherbrooke a few years ago. “That was the first time I had a long stint as a guest host and I realized how much I like it.”
While Caron said that being
“front and centre” is a very different experience, it comes with an en-gaging set of challenges.
“It really appeals to me in every way,” she said. “I get to learn about the province for three hours straight every morning. I love it”
No stranger to the fact that Quebec AM is tasked with covering stories from all over the province, Caron shared that trying to learn about and accurately share the realities of people across such a broad range of communities never gets and easier.
“That’s part of what I love about the job; the challenge of trying to reflect the diversity of stories within this gigantic beautiful province of ours,” she said, sharing a particular fondness for history and stories that challenge assumptions of what it means to be an English speaking Quebecer. “I love finding stories that reflect the history of this province and the diversity of people who have made it what it is today.”
Quebec AM airs on CBC Radio One on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.