CALEB NICKERSON
WHITEHORSE
Jan. 20-24, 2020
A local community radio station manager from the Pontiac recently returned from a trip to Yukon, where he . . .
helped another media organization improve their French-language programming.
François Carrier, who manages Pontiac’s community radio station, CHIP 101.9 FM in Fort Coulonge, was invited to travel to the western-most territory last week as part of a partnership with newspaper L’Aurore boréale, which serves the Yukon’s Francophone community.
“They’re really doing a great job with this newspaper. I was really surprised,” he said. “In Yukon you have one newspaper in English and one in French, and in French … it’s every two weeks. Still, lots of English-speaking community read this newspaper too. It’s really interesting. It’s really open-minded.”
During his time in Whitehorse, he gave talks to two classes of French students and one French immersion about recording audio for radio or podcasting. He also spoke with a group from the community who had some broadcasting experience.
“Honestly it’s one of the best experiences I’ve had on this job,” he said.
After New Brunswick, Yukon has the largest per-capita Francophone minority in the country, making up just less than 15 per cent of the population. Carrier said that he was surprised to see so many people from the community turn out in support of the paper, and said he learned a lot from how their media environment functions.
The contents of his talks varied depending on the skills of the group, and varied from basic pronunciation of French words to writing for broadcast and speaking exercises. He said that for the immersion students, just hearing themselves speaking in their second language is an incredible tool for improving enunciation and accent.
“You could see them really progress,” he said. “When you can hear [yourself], it’s the same for me in English, you get better.”
“My goal with student groups was to… just have fun, you know,” he added. “For the people from the community, it’s not the same, I was more specific.”
He said his focus with the older group was to get them thinking about story-telling techniques, how to host a show, and tips for keeping your voice healthy, which can be a challenge when the temperature regularly gets below 3°.
Carrier said that he came back to Quebec with many ideas for improving community involvement in media based on his experiences.
“Lots of people are involved in L’Aurore boréale … I think it’s one of the [strengths] of this newspaper,” he said. “I thought it was interesting, the relationship between the readers and the newspaper.”
