The broadcaster Stephen Quinn, host of The Early Edition (weekdays 05.00am to 08.37am on CBC Radio One), discusses his career in journalism, radio and more, with Joseph Planta.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Stephen Quinn joins me now. I only met him for the first time about a year ago, but it’s odd what radio does, a lot of us feel like we’ve known him for a long time. Whether it’s waking up to him in the morning with CBC Radio One’s The Early Edition, or all those years he was holding court in the afternoons at On the Coast, or during those years when he was a terrific municipal affairs reporter at the public broadcaster, or at CKNW, where a lot of us first noticed his work, over twenty years ago now, he’s played a central part in the conversation in this town. He’s won many awards for his work as a journalist and broadcaster. He’s lent his name to many good organisations in this town, often MCing and hosting events. He’s so busy, so ubiquitous that it’s been a long time that I’ve wanted him on this program, and as I wrap up year fifteen of this podcast, it’s delightful to have him here. I’ll ask him about his work, about the elements that make the Early Edition the program of record in this town, as well as his storied career. There are less than five good, solid political interviewers in this province and there’s no doubt Quinn is one of them. I’ve long admired his skill at asking questions, whether they’re with politicians who’d rather be elsewhere, or ordinary people who have a story to tell. There’s one outstanding interview that I’ll cite that Stephen did with a woman who might have lost family members in the Philippines during Typhoon Haiyan. With such grace and sensitivity, he gleaned information from his guest, yet as she was obviously devastated, he allowed her to express her emotions without it all sounding exploitative. You can listen to the Early Edition, a program Mr. Quinn has hosted since December 2017, weekdays at 5am straight through to 8.37am. He’s also the host of a new podcast, Sanctioned. Written by the estimable Jason Proctor, the show examines the many facets to the arrest of Meng Wanzhou this past December. It’s not just about the arrest, her possible extradition to the United States, but also Huawei and its global reach, 5G and so much more. There’s also the terrific podcast he did last year, Sold! which was on the Vancouver housing crisis. Visit www.cbc.ca/bc for more. The Twitter handle is @CBCStephenQuinn. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Stephen Quinn; Mr. Quinn, good morning.

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