Caileigh Morrison: To start, let’s clear something up: why am I interviewing myself?
Caileigh Morrison: Well Caileigh, right now I’m trapped in a suburban land about two hours from my beloved Peterborough, far outside of Trent Radio’s broadcast range and ragtag crew of delightful programmers. Also, I am still too holiday-brained to write anything important or interesting. So there you go.
CM: That makes sense. Now, why do you deserve to be interviewed about Trent Radio? Are you not just a lowly Arthur columnist?
CM: I am an Arthur columnist, yes, but I would say that this gig is more of a liaison situation. I’m actually a representative of Trent Radio, shamelessly using the Arthur to promote Trent Radio’s interests.
CM: I see. I guess I’d have to see, since I am interviewing myself.
CM: This is true.
CM: Alright. Enough with this horribly executed surrealism. What is your programme called and when does it air?
CM: My programme is called Growing Pains and it airs on Monday at 6:30.
CM: And what is the premise of Growing Pains?
CM: It is a half hour of me reading young adult fiction. I occasionally make comments on said fiction, but mostly I just read it.
CM: Could you define young adult fiction?
CM: Yes. It’s actually a pretty broad term, because “young adult” can sometimes mean “very mature seven-year-old” or “twenty-three-year-old who enjoys reading about teen vampires.” For my show, I’ve narrowed it down to books that may feature main characters up to about sixteen years old but wouldn’t scare off a second-grader with all sorts of sexy mature themes. This all seems very scientific, but to be honest, they are mostly books I read when I was in elementary school and still love more than all the “classics” I’ve had to endure since.
CM: Fascinating. What have you read so far?
CM: Let’s see... I started with A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle, then The Witches by Roald Dahl. I read Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume in the summertime, along with This Can’t Be Happening At MacDonald Hall by Gordon Korman, and I just finished The Nose From Jupiter by Richard Scrimger. I have also read bits of The Hardy Boys Detective Handbook and The Nancy Drew Sleuth Book: Clues to Good Sleuthing to fill in gaps between novels. Even though all of the books are written for children, I still find them immensely entertaining and emotional. When I read Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret I actually found myself tearing up at some parts because Judy Blume writes so honestly about the painful experience of growing up. I also love revisiting books that I read as a kid because children’s authors tend to put in lots of subversive stuff that you don’t pick up on until you reread them as an adult.
CM: When did you first become involved in Trent Radio? In what capacity are you currently involved?
CM: I did my first show in the fall of 2009. I loved that show. It was called Intellectual Supremacy. I’d summarize one Wikipedia subject, play a song related to it, and then choose my next subject from all the hyperlinks. It was super fun, but it took me way too long to write the scripts and I’d always skip French class because I procrastinated. Not good.
CM: Yeah, that sucked.
CM: When I wasn’t skipping French to write Wikipedia scripts, I was also appointed to the Trent Radio Board of Directors. I was vice chair in that first year, then I graduated to president and chair last year, and now I am a fat cat in her second term.
CM: What’s it like being president of Trent Radio?
CM: Not bad. I get to have final say on decisions and sign cheques, which is cool. I did a lot of work for the membership campaign last year, but since we got our increase things have been pretty calm in the Trent Radio kitchen.
CM: Cool. Now, since I obviously know what your answer will be, I’m going to close this interview with a mildly embarrassing question that might actually make you sound cute but probably just really lame. What sparked your interest in radio?
CM: Good one, self. Well, I grew up in listening range of CFNY, better known as 102.1 The Edge. My dad was a diehard fan, so I ended up as an eight-year-old diehard fan by default. I listened to the Edge morning show with Humble and Fred, I’d listen to the Nooner on the weekends or if I had a day off school, but my favourite time to listen was Sunday nights, because that’s when Alan Cross’ The Ongoing History of New Music was on. When I was eight, all I wanted was to be like Alan Cross. And now here I am, just like Alan Cross. But prettier. Right?
