If you are one of the fans of There Normandeau-Ferrandez commission on the airwaves of 98.5 FM, know that you will have the pleasure of meeting these two brilliant analysts in a new three-hour daily show which will be launched in the fall of 2024.
The announcement was made Thursday noon. Nathalie Normandeau landed on the show of her sidekick, Luc Ferrandez. This show, which does not yet have a name, will take place in the slot from noon to 3 p.m., Monday to Friday, the one currently occupied by Without reservation.
Like they do every morning on the show Since you have to get upwith Paul Arcand, the former vice-premier under the Jean Charest government and the former mayor of Plateau-Mont-Royal will debate hot topics and cook together for guests, Luc Ferrandez explained to me in interview.
We are going to cover several current topics in depth. It’s not news, it’s analysis. There will be positions taken, that’s for sure.
Luc Ferrandez
After three years on the air daily, Nathalie Normandeau and Luc Ferrandez have found a tone that listeners really like. They succeed in creating a balance between a well-assumed “get into it” and a humor which sometimes defuses moments of tension.
“That’s exactly it,” said Nathalie Normandeau. Luc has an incredible sense of humor and I’m a good audience member. In fact, the genesis of this project comes from our complicity. The listeners appreciate it so much that we created this show at their request. »
It is not excluded that the show offers a place to listeners. “In fact, it will be a merger of The Normandeau effect and of Without reservation, adds Nathalie Normandeau. But we want to take it further and do a signature show. »
Nathalie Normandeau has already co-hosted a show in Quebec with Éric Duhaime. But for Luc Ferrandez, this long-term tandem formula is something new. Co-hosting is one of the hardest things in radio. How do the two presenters see this challenge?
“First of all, we are not in competition,” says Nathalie Normandeau. We respect each other a lot. There are plenty of issues on which we disagree. Hence the importance of including values of kindness between us. »
“I really respect Nathalie’s work,” continues Luc Ferrandez. If she showed up with a two-sentence pitch, can I tell you, I wouldn’t be able to work with her. But this is not the case. She comes with elaborate points of view based on facts and values. »
I like listening to these two analysts who are never boring. Like the team of Politics buffs, they are solid, are not shy and are able to make us believe that we can approach serious subjects in a good mood. But above all, they avoid falling into the trap of easy and profitable irony in the face of the political class.
The question burned on my lips: if there had not been this idea of bringing them together on the radio, could Nathalie Normandeau and Luc Ferrandez have become friends in life? In unison and with a burst of laughter, they told me no!
“We come from completely different backgrounds, with equally different attitudes to life,” says Luc Ferrandez. I don’t think we would have gone towards each other. Or, ultimately, we would have crossed paths on the street. I would have gone by bike and she would have gone by car. I would have said to him: “Hey, get out of the bike path.” »
“And I would have given him the finger,” adds Nathalie Normandeau, laughing.
“That said, before working with Luc, I was very intimidated. I listened to him and I found that he knew things. I wondered if I was going to be up to it. It’s deeply feminine, this attitude. »
“Indeed, because I find that Nathalie is the best commissioner in the history of the Commission, says Luc Ferrandez. Mayor, deputy prime minister, host… I don’t know many people who have such a background. »
Nathalie Normandeau takes the opportunity to throw a few flowers at the tandem she forms with Luc Ferrandez. “There is no radio duo that can match the professional and life experience we have together. You can’t find that anywhere. »
This major change in the 98.5 schedule, which will occur when Patrick Lagacé moves to the morning slot, in August 2024, necessarily brings several other new features.
First, this means that new analysts will be recruited for the morning. This does not mean that we will maintain the current formula of the Commission. For the moment, nothing has been decided.
The other big change will affect the return home. I was told that the bosses of 98.5 had “a very good flash” regarding the person who will end up behind the microphone.
And then, we will have to create a new show for the 10 a.m. to noon slot. What mandate will this show have between two boxes where “pure and hard news” takes up all the space? Will we take advantage of this to create a lighter, magazine-style formula?
Other announcements will take place after the holidays.