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As the host of CBC Radio’s
Here and
Now
, Gill Deacon 1984 is a familiar
voice on air in Toronto and across
southern Ontario. She conducts
conversations
and
interviews
in a live, early-evening wrap-up
of the day’s local, national and
international news.
In this line of work, you need to
think on your feet. Aside from not
knowing each day’s material very
far ahead of time, Gill also becomes
responsible for communicating major world events
if they happen while she’s on air. She remembers
reporting live on the death of Nelson Mandela and
the 2016 Bastille Day attacks in France.
Being an informative voice on current events
involves a keen ear for story and detail. “People
think of what I do as talking, but a big part of the job
is listening,” Gill says. “The number-one thing I do in
my work is listen.” Especially when interviewing over
the phone, there’s often more to the story – beyond
an interviewee’s words – that needs to be drawn
out, distilled, interpreted and contextualized. As Gill
says, “I’m listening for a lot of layers.”
Gill honed her early interest in performance
at Havergal, participating in the choir, band and
theatre. “I always wanted to be in the arts, or
thought I would be,” she says. One of her favourite
experiences was launching a theatre program for
middle school students and directing them in a play
when she was in Grade 13.
From there, Gill attended McGill
University, where she was involved in
improvisational comedy. At a stage
performance in Montreal, a local
radio producer noticed her quick-
thinking instincts and told her that
live radio is, essentially, improv. Gill
was hired, and began her career in
radio and television. Also the author
of three books, including 2010’s
national bestseller
There’s Lead in
Your Lipstick
, Gill’s journalistic work has taken many
forms over the past 25 years.
In that time, the media landscape has changed
considerably. As Gill points out, there are so many
different ways for people to get their news and
information today, such as podcasts and social
media. But because
Here and Now
airs during the
evening commute, it has a unique captive audience.
When she speaks on air to hundreds of thousands
of people at once, Gill thinks of her listeners as
individuals. “I love the intimacy of radio,” she says.
“In my own experience as a listener, I always feel
like whoever is talking on air is talking just to me.
There’s a real companionship.”
To Gill, the magic of radio comes down to its
ability to connect people. “If I’m doing my job
well, listeners feel like turning on
Here and Now
is just good company,” she says. “It’s really just a
conversation.”
All ears on the air
GILLIAN DEACON 1984
Profile by Allison MacLachlan 2005
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