CBC Radio One has struck gold with its largest ever audience in the key mid-morning time slot, making Q a truly national radio program

His CBC Radio show has the highest ratings ever measured in the morning time slot, and at 2.5 million listeners, “Q” has the largest audience of any cultural affairs program in Canada. One million podcasts have been downloaded. Q is also broadcast on 150 stations in the US on the PRI network, developing another 500,000 listeners – and a staggering 100,000,000 You Tube views counted for his wide-ranging interviews.

In many respects the 90 minute daily show is an enigma in a world of 20 second sound bites and 30 second video clips. Still in his 40s, Jian Gomeshi has a huge audience that spans generations. He is welcomed into homes, cars and workplaces five days a week with what he describes as a “long form interview show – a variety show; rather than a niche program.”

Q is very much a reflection of its host, and in 2102 Jian Gomeshi won the Gold Award for “Best Talk Show Host” by the prestigious New York Festival International Radio Awards. This was a confirmation of what the ratings were showing CBC executives, that Jian Gomeshi had developed a relationship with his national audience; and they in turn with him. This empathy between broadcaster and listener is a near-magical recipe for success, and Gomeshi has proven to possess the “it” factor.

Where did this come from? How did it happen that tickets for live broadcasts of Q sell out in minutes – compared to the network having to bus in senior citizens to fill the seats for previous live shows? A look into his CBC career shows that Gomeshi had the assurance to take on hosting roles that were offered, to carry on when shows were not renewed, and finally the courage to re-shape Sounds Like Canada when he was a summer replacement host for Shelagh Rogers.

Born in London, his family moved from England when he was nine to the mainly white Toronto suburb of Thornhill. Jian wanted to fit in and be accepted by his fellow students, and quickly learned to lose his British accent. He accomplished his goal so well that he was elected to President of the Students’ Council in high school. He attended York University where he studied history, political science and women’s studies – and was elected Student Federation President.

He speaks fondly of his parents, and apparently inherited his high capacity for work and drive to excel from his father.

After graduating in 1989, Jian formed a rock group called Moxy Früvous, recording eight albums that sold 500,000 copies until the group went in hiatus in 2000. “We travelled across Canada numerous times, and I gained an appreciating and understanding of smaller Canadian communities like Cornerbrooke in Newfoundland, Sherbrooke in Quebec and northern communities in Alberta.”

“In addition to being the drummer, I co-managed the band, and became adept at multi-tasking. We toured almost constantly for seven or eight years, and that turned out to be very wearing on us.” The group also toured internationally, opening for artists such as Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello.

As a writer, Jian has written articles and submit op-ed opinion pieces for some of North America’s top newspapers, including The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune, The Globe & Mail, The Toronto Star, and the National Post.

Unlike most radio and broadcast personalities who begin their careers in small markets, Jian’s radio career began in Toronto where he hosted a program called play on CBC Newsworld in 2002. The show ran for three seasons and covered the Arts in Canada and internationally, and it would prove to be a good foundation for his subsequent role on Q.

He has hosted several radio programs on CBC Radio One from his start in 2002, but it wasn’t until 2006 when he anchored Sounds Like Canada as a summer replacement for Shelagh Rogers that Gomeshi and his colleagues established the format for his own kind of show, one that would evolve into Q.

Rather than adapting to the Sounds Like Canada formula, (and with the support of program development executive Chris Boyce) Gomeshi brought in his own music (and that of his generation) and his own programming ideas. As a summer fill-in, Gomeshi didn’t have much (if anything) to lose. However, there was a significant upside. CBC managers realized the network had to provide more relevant programming in order to expand its audience and attract younger listeners. Jian bumped heads with the producers and some of the listeners, but the experiment worked. Gomeshi and Boyce had proved that there was a market for a show like Q. In the spring of 2007, CBC Radio launched Q in the afternoon – and by the fall of 2008 Q was scheduled into the network’s premiere 10 – 11:30 am time slot.

“I invest a lot of ‘me’ in the show – but it’s very much a collective effort. My life is dominated by prepping for the show – and that involves a lot of reading. It’s the one thing I can’t delegate. I want the show to be the best – and that means I have to be prepared in order to have the confidence to ask interesting questions.”

“I never do anything that I’m not excited about”
…Jian Gomeshi

Q has become such a dominant show in Canada that American talent agents and publicists rank it as the most important interview show in Canada. In a 2012 Globe & Mail article about Q and Jian Gomeshi, prominent artists’ manager Patrick Sambrook noted; “American managers are reaching out to me, wanting to know which shows they should do. Q is on the top of the list for international artists coming to Canada. It’s the show that you want to be on.” It follows that Q is equally important for Canadian performers and authors.

Interview subjects include actors, authors, politicians, sports stars, and musicians. Perhaps because of his life as a composer and musician, music and music makers play a significant role in the daily shows. Interview subjects have included Sir Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, Radiohead, Van Morrison, (Jian chuckled when I commented on his bravery to sit down with Morrison – a notoriously difficult subject), Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Leonard Cohen. “As exciting as it is to be speaking with these people – I think it’s important not to sound like a fan – to retain some perspective as a colleague. By retaining that perspective – the people I’m interviewing are more likely to invest themselves in our conversation if they know that I care enough to be prepared.” Continuing; “That said – it was still pretty darn cool to speak with Paul McCartney!”

The Q studio is equipped with a grand piano and enough space for artists and bands to perform live. The shows are recorded for You Tube, pod casts and some are used for Q TV, aired Sunday afternoons on CBC Television. Returning to his opening comment about Q being a variety show, the live musical performances are entertaining for listeners and can be a career boost for the performer.

“I have a hard time relaxing – I don’t want to get off the ride”

Jian hosts Canada Reads, the immensely popular CBC annual literary panel show that is broadcast on radio and television. Panelists select and defend their books throughout the week. In some respects it’s an odd concept, a literary show about reading that is broadcast in prime time television. However, it is a ratings bonanza. “It starts off very collegial, but halfway through it gets really passionate. My job is to both stoke the argument and to keep the piece. I have to be on top of my intellect to keep up with the panel.”

In 2012 Gomeshi released his first autobiographical novel titled 1982. It debuted as #1 on the Canadian Bestseller list, and remained in top spot for five weeks on the Maclean’s Bestseller List. “It made me feel great! It’s a quirky book about being 14 and wanting to be just like David Bowie. It’s a love letter to the 80s.” While the initial sales success could be credited to his celebrity status, the continuing sales suggest that many teenagers and young adults share the same feelings about their own coming of age.

The show has such a large and active audience that it has the capacity to increase record or book sales. “I’m aware of that – and also proud of what we can do to help emerging artists.” In closing, Jian states; “My hope is that Q can reflect the country, and push out some ideas for discussion.”

Q can be heard weekdays on CBC Radio One from 10 – 11:30 am and then again at 10pm. Q TV airs Sundays at 1pm on CBC TV. Pod casts of past interviews are available at www.cbc.ca/q