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Matt Galloway - Waking Up With Toronto on Metro Morning

3/6/2014

7 Comments

 
PictureMatt Gallow, host of Metro Morning
At some point in our lives, most of us have had the unpleasant experience of  having to awake at an excessively early hour of the morning, one that radically departs from our more comfortable routine. It might be to catch a flight, or during a busy time at work, or to go on that promised jog - but whatever the reason, when this groggy inducing torture is inflicted upon us we often can be heard complaining of it being an ungodly hour to be up. "It's uncivilized to be up this early!" we cry. "One simply isn't meant to be up at this time!"

And if this is true for those dreary eyed 5:30am wake up calls, then 3:30am might just be the most ungodliest hour of them all. It's an inconceivable hour to be waking up; a time that represents the very depths of night. An hour so perfectly wedged between being an extremely late night out, or unthinkably earnestly start, that even a city as bustling as Toronto can seem eerily quiet and calm in even its busiest corners. 

But each weekday morning,  3:30am is precisely the ungodly hour that Matt Galloway's alarm goes off. And not long after, once he's finished his short morning routine, he'll gentle close the door of his Toronto home, mount his bike, and ride off in quiet blackness of 4 am as
the rest of the city sleeps soundly in their beds.

However, as many Toronto residents will know, the reason Galloway subjects himself to a routine that for most of us would constitute self-inflicted torture, is because of the unique and important role he plays (along with his fellow CBC producers) in the life of  Toronto. For when 5:30am rolls around, Matt Galloway will hit the airwaves across the GTA, as the host of CBC Toronto's morning drive program Metro Morning. And once that ON AIR light goes on, for the next 3 hours, in-between newscasts, traffic & weather updates, tens of thousands of Torontonians will wake up to the sound of his voice, and Metro Morning, in order to connect with the news, politics, events, culture, and debates of the day in Canada's biggest city.

Picture
It's an early morning mission I certainty appreciate. Because the reason I have such an earnest belief in the idea of the CBC, is that for me it's a primary way I've stayed in touch with, and have felt connected with the issues, culture, arts, and diverse people of this country. It's how I've learned of the debates facing us as a country, heard of new up & coming bands, been exposed to big ideas, and kept abreast of world events. And what the CBC does for Canada, Metro Morning does for Toronto. It is a microcosm of what makes public broadcasting such a priceless cultural and social resource for the fabric of a community, and the CBC for Canada as a country.

As they put it succinctly on their website,
"Metro Morning is Toronto - its face, places, voices and stories." And to that end, each day Matt Galloway will speak to up to a dozen guests, from local politicians, and journalists, to artists, and bring Torontonians what they need to know about life in the city, that day, that week, and that year.

One morning a few months ago, after Metro Morning was off the air for the day, I peddled down to the CBC myself (at a decidedly more godly hour) to speak to Matt Galloway about his love for Toronto, how Metro Morning comes together each, day and what it's like to be the connecting point for life in Canada's biggest city.

7 Comments
Peter O'Leary
3/24/2014 01:07:15 pm

I love Metro Morning --- or should I say I did love Metro Morning when I was living in Toronto. However, I spend my winters in Mexico and I have been unable to get any of my CBC programs here. I tried to get the Olympics, The National, RMR, and Metro Morning. I guess I will have to wait until I return to Toronto in April.

Reply
Lydia
3/25/2014 10:42:37 pm

Have you tried to get CBC online? It seems odd that I can listen online here but you cannot in Mexico.

Reply
Alan McKinlay
3/24/2014 02:17:12 pm

I quite like the program, and tune in every morning. In spite of the obligatory dose of 'world music' at around 8:20. Every morning.

Reply
David Craig
3/25/2014 07:53:10 am

I recently moved to Peru. Despite the distance and time difference (1 hour), I still try to listen to the show via the internet. It is the way I stay connected to Toronto. To my dismay during the Olympics, the simultaneous broadcasts were suspended because of IOC rules. It was horrible. I'm glad Canada did well, but I would have rather listened to Matt & Co.

Reply
Peter O'Leary
3/26/2014 04:41:15 am

Much like David Craig I could not listen to CBC (during the Olympics) However, I have had a terrible time trying to listen to Matt and The National in the evening. Will not be long now before I will be able to listen to MG on my beside radio in Toronto.

Reply
Scarborough tow truck link
7/9/2021 05:14:44 pm

These were the good days of Canadian broadcasting!

Reply
Dani Barros link
9/3/2023 12:28:59 am

Grateful forr sharing this

Reply



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