Presentation 2

Chris Palliser and Brittany King have stepped into new territory as the new morning show team on 107.3 Virgin Radio in Victoria. Both co-hosts grew up in Victoria, and understand the need for community focused radio shows that are personal to the audience. Palliser says “Our goal for the show is to be local, and community minded.”

Chris Palliser spent fifteen years hosting solo before becoming co-host of the morning show on 107.3. He got his first job in radio as a street teamer for The Wolf in Nanaimo when he was 19. Two years later he was offered a position as a program director in Fort McMurray, where he worked for three and a half years. He then relocated to Edmonton where he hosted at 92.5 Joe F.M. for four years.

With a background in radio, Palliser decided to move to Vancouver and throw his hat in the ring for a job hosting evenings and weekends at 94.5 The Beat. After the station was bought and sold several times it eventually became 94.5 Virgin Radio. Chris spent ten years of his career hosting his own show at 94.5. Five of those years on The Beat, and five on Virgin Radio.

Solo radio hosts, compared to co-hosts have different challenges on the air. When 107.3 Kool F.M. was rebranded to Virgin Radio, they decided on Chris to be Brittany King’s co-anchor for the new morning show in Victoria. Chris says “I feel incredibly blessed for this opportunity to launch Virgin Radio here in Victoria, and be on the morning show with myself and Brittany who have been doing it for quite some time.”

Palliser says “It’s interesting to do it with a co-host now because I was a solo on air presenter for the last fifteen years, and now it’s Brittany and myself. So, two personalities in a room definitely adds a whole other element to it.”

Both hosts are new to sharing a show, so the quality of their work hasn’t come without challenges. Palliser says that both him and King are good at working with other people, so their show hasn’t managed to implode like other morning shows have.

Palliser says “The idea of the show is community, community, community. We’re both from this community, we love this community, and we’re a part of it.”

Chris is happy to be back in Victoria raising his kids where he grew up. Chris says “One of the big reasons I wanted to get back to Victoria was that feeling of community.”

Palliser says“I think you can have a greater impact getting out in the community here than in Vancouver because it’s just so big, you kind of don’t know where to start.”

Chris believes radio has a lot of life left, and will not die anytime soon because it can be personalized to the community. He says “There’s always a place for that personal connection.”

Chris Palliser is optimistic about the future of 107.3. Brittany and Chris are building a foundation to become one of the long running morning shows that have made their mark in Victoria.