That’s it: François Legault now has his own podcast, Hello everybody, in which he will receive, every two or three weeks, a personality from different backgrounds. Why is the Prime Minister turning into an interviewer? Is it successful and what does he have to gain with this podcast? We take stock.
“There is a desire, in this perspective, to have better control of the message, better control of its image”, explains from the outset the professor in the department of social and public communication at UQAM Olivier Turbide.
As on his social networks, the podcast allows the chief caquist to show himself in a sympathetic light and close to people. It is a way of betting on “this facility that François Legault has to communicate, to get in touch”.
In this new format, we meet another facet of the personality of François Legault: he is attentive, calm and curious, remarks Olivier Turbide. “We are in a mode that we are not used to seeing: the Prime Minister listening to someone.”
Find other audiences
With this podcast, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) also seeks to “appropriate media […] and so [à] communicate directly with [son] public without going through the traditional journalistic filter”, continues the communication researcher.
The party does not hide it: the objective is to seek out podcast followers, who sometimes stay away from traditional media and social networks frequented by the PM.
This was confirmed by the director of media relations and digital communications at the Prime Minister’s Office, Manuel Dionne, in an interview with The duty. The Prime Minister’s Office declined our interview request.
The Prime Minister also intends to reach wide with his podcast and reach people with varied fields of interest: arts, culture, economy, literature, etc.
An opportunity to send a message?
In the first episode, posted online on Wednesday, François Legault receives the former president of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), Régine Laurent.
The latter gives him advice on how to solve the health crisis and she talks to him concretely about what the nurses are going through in the field.
This is precisely what the podcast could be used for, according to Olivier Turbide.
“I think it’s also an opportunity for the guests to send a message [au premier ministre]he says […] It can be win-win and not just a public relations tool.”
But you still have to be invited to the famous podcast. Recall that the first guest, Régine Laurent, was chosen in 2019 by the government to chair the Special Commission on Children’s Rights and Youth Protection.
Tips for improving the podcast
Once we’ve said all that: is it good, Hello everybody?
Overall, QUB radio’s platform and digital content director, Etienne Roy, considers the podcast a success.
“I think it listens well. It’s concise, the tone is direct, it’s quite friendly. We feel an openness on the subjects”, he underlines.
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In a not quite professional setting, we can see the Prime Minister in an unconventional context. Seated in a large black leather armchair, microphone in hand, he asks questions, listens to his interlocutor and nods.
The hand microphone is something that Etienne Roy would change. According to him, the Prime Minister would benefit from replacing it with microphones on the table, which guests are more likely to forget. He also suggests that he get microphones with windshields to avoid mouth noises and breathing.
Etienne Roy would have finally liked that, on his Twitter account, François Legault shares a link which leads to a Quebec platform which hosts his podcast rather than a YouTube link: especially in a context of media crisis.