Five Questions with Radio DJ Victoria Arsenault
Interview and Photo by Jason Setnyk
Cornwall, Ontario – Victoria Arsenault was born and raised in Cornwall. She took journalism as an elective at Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School, which sparked her interest in media. Victoria attended Fanshawe College for Broadcast Journalism, then moved to Toronto to follow her radio dreams. After two years in the GTA, she moved briefly to Saskatchewan for six months before a job opened up in Cornwall, Ontario. She’s been at 104.5 Fresh Radio FM for three years now. Also, Victoria loves animals and currently has three cats, all of which are rescues. In her spare time, she enjoys being outdoors, eating out at restaurants, and pampering herself.
Five Questions with The Seeker
1 – How do you prepare for your shows and choose the music you play?
“Show prepping is a constant thing that announces have to have on the brain 24/7. Literally, anything can be a show topic. If you can find a way to make anything entertaining, then you can use it in your show. I have a notepad on my phone for observations, and every Sunday night, I make a list of things to talk about in the coming week. We also prep for our next show daily, around 10 am, when our current show ends. Our show has a format to follow that includes must-haves, like the news, entertainment reports, and contest slots. As for the music, our standard playlist comes from a higher power, as we have a format to follow based on current music charts; however, we do have some wiggle room to add and remove songs that might better fit in with our show.”
2 – How do you interact with listeners and build a relationship with your audience?
“The biggest way to build a relationship with listeners is to be active in the community. I love going to community events and being out in public places. We also strongly encourage listeners to call and text during the show and interact with us via social media.”
3 – Can you discuss any memorable moments or experiences you’ve had on the air?
“One of my favourite things about working in radio is interacting with listeners. We often have contests, and listeners who are genuinely our favourites. Making someone cry tears of joy has been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, and we love hearing that raw emotion on the air!”
4 – Can you discuss how technology has impacted radio broadcasting and how you’ve adapted to these changes?
“Technology has changed a lot in radio, and it has actually made our careers easier in a sense. Everything is digital. We don’t play music from a record anymore. It’s all on a computer. While this does make things easier for DJs there are other aspects of technology that have actually given us more work. It used to be that we just played music, took calls, and later, made posts on our website. Now, there are so many platforms to pay attention to, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, plus taking calls and answering text messages.”
5 – Can you discuss any challenges you’ve faced in the radio industry and how you’ve overcome them?
“I think one of the biggest challenges of radio is the competition. I am VERY lucky to have found a radio job in my home town. It’s pretty rare for that to happen. I’ve moved around a lot for my career, but it was worth it because it got me the experience I needed to end up here! Many people I went to college with live far from their homes!”
Check out Fresh Mornings with Vic & Trip on 104.5 FM. Also, follow 104.5 Fresh Radio FM on Facebook.
