Toronto Mike'd: The Official Toronto Mike Podcast - Michelle Mackey: Toronto Mike'd #866

Episode Date: June 15, 2021

Mike chats with 680 News and City News news and weather reporter Michelle Mackey about her years at The Weather Network, her move to 680 News and City News, The Arkells, and her work as a mental health advocate.

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Pillars of the community since 1921. And Mike Majeski. Or as I call him, Mimico Mike. He's the real estate agent who's ripping up the Mimico real estate scene. Learn more at realestatelove.ca. I'm Mike from torontomike.com and joining me this week is 680 News and City News news and weather reporter, Michelle Mackey. Hi.

Welcome, Michelle. What an intro. You're such a pro. Oh my goodness. You're the pro here. Please. Let's not make any mistakes here. You are the media professional, but thanks for being here. This is awesome. Are you kidding? The honor is all mine. As you know, I have been listening for quite some time and I have been a fan. So to be asked to be on the pod, big honor. Oh my goodness. So can you be a little specific here? I'm naturally curious. Like, do you know what episode was your first? Like, do you have any memory of what? Yeah, it was,

I believe it was a Kevin Frankish one. Oh yeah, that'll do it. The first one, right? It was, it was from a few years ago because I remember I was at the Weather Network at the time and Kevin Frankish was leaving breakfast television and you know, I'm in news. I want to know what's going on. And a friend of mine at the Weather Network told me there's this guy, Toronto Mike. Okay, what friend? Can you name drop this? Kelly Sonnenberg. She's a meteorologist.

And she was like, Toronto Mike. He's always got the inside scoop on everything media in Toronto. Wow. And that's how I kind of got into it. Okay, I love that story. And that would be the return of Kevin Frankish where he comes clean about the fact that no he did not decide on a tuesday that this would be his last week at his dream job okay so uh despite what you might have heard never believe the hype but that's right uh you're here so many things to cover off the top one is uh you're a little bit late uh but you have a good

reason let's in fact while you tell me why you're late, I'm going to have a sip of this fresh hot coffee you brought me. Thank you so much. Yeah, well, this is the second coffee I bought this morning. So, you know, I really wanted to do something nice for you. You're having me to your backyard. Big fan of the pod, as we've discussed. I wanted to get you my favorite local coffee. It's on my street, a place called The Good Neighbor.

Just north of High Park. What neighborhood are we? Okay, called The Good Neighbor. Just north of Hyde Park. What neighborhood are we? Okay, north of Hyde Park. Yeah, just north of Hyde Park. I know that neighborhood very well. I know this neighborhood well. So I've lived there for a few years. It's my local spot.

They said, do you want a tray? I said, sure. And rather than putting it in the cup holder, I put it in the front seat of my car. Oh, no. And it spilled. Oh, yeah. I hit a stop sign and just tanked. So what we are drinking is the Sydney Grind, which is...

Which is my local... Your local spot. Independent coffee spot. Okay, tell me what you think. It's only been here about... I think it's here about two years now, but the locals seem to dig it. I dig it. It's delicious coffee, and I bonded with the server in there, told her the story.

Did she recognize you? Or was it he or she? No, that never happens. Never happens. Really? Well, rarely. Because you're in, I feel like, because the odd time I get recognized. Okay.

And I think, imagine if I was on like in people's living rooms every night, like you'd be like a member of the family. I would think you'd get recognized often. That would be my guess. Maybe, but no one ever says it. I think it happened a couple of months ago. But your voice you'd get recognized often. That would be my guess. Maybe, but no one ever says it. I think it happened a couple of months ago. But your voice is almost, I find you have a very like I was listening to a lot of your clips.

It's a distinctive voice and it's a voice I enjoy listening to. Thank you. Like it seems to make, makes me happier to hear your voice. So I would think somebody might hear you and I don't know, you're talking to a checkout person and they'll say, I know that voice. Which happened to me in a No Frills once where somebody recognized my voice. Yes.

Which, you know, it was exciting for me. And that guy took a selfie with me. And I remember that guy because he had a Bayside Tigers shirt on and shout out to Zach Morris. Oh, come on. Which I thought was cool. That's amazing. But you're telling me you don't get recognized that often. No.

And I even, you know, sometimes try to get recognized. I was in the store. I was in Rabba a few weeks ago and they were playing 680 News in there. And one of my, it was after I'd gone to tape. So I finished my shift, went to tape, so I'm still on the air. So you can hear yourself in the Rabah. So I can hear myself in the store. And so I was trying to like.

And you're lip syncing. Yeah. And so I go to the cashier guy, and I was trying to talk, you know, in a news voice to see if he would recognize me, and it didn't happen. Oh yeah. That's, that's, that's funny. Okay. So, and we're going to cover all this, of course, I can't wait to, you know, dive deep with you here, but how long have you been on a 680 news? Two years, just before the pandemic, I joined 680 and city news. That means no overlap with my, uh, my homeboy, uh, Peter Gross. You missed him by a couple of years. I know, such a bummer.

He's an icon. So, Miss Peter Gross. Although, shout out to Carl Hansky, for example. Shout out to him, who's in the hood. Carl is such a good field reporter. I still listen to his news reports. I was actually just listening to one on the way here. And try and learn from the pros who've been there for so long. And then, you know,

the Richard Southerns of the world. Who last summer sat in the seat you're sitting in now. I know. What a good, and he helped me out a bit with a good cause I was helping out with called Toronto Miracles. So shout out to Richard Southerns. Richard is such a legend. He's like the nicest guy. He's so quirky.

He's, as you know, the exact same person off air as on air which I think is one of the toughest skills to be your exactly yourself are you yourself when you're on the like you're on a mic right now so you might have you have a switch that says microphone and then you go into mode is this the same Michelle Mackey I would be meeting I don't know at Hyde Park or something on yes this is I is, I think I'm, I mean, I do, I would definitely say I have a bit of a potty mouth that obviously I'm not, I don't do that on air.

I don't swear on air. Have you ever fallen asleep on the air? Never have fallen asleep on the air. Peter Gross did it. Okay. I've heard this rumor. He came on and told the whole story. He thinks that that's part of the reason

he's not there anymore. Is he fell asleep on the air? Because he had a really early shift. He would do sports in the morning or whatever. And they, I guess they threw to him or whatever reason he's not there anymore. Is he fell asleep on there. Because he had a really early shift. He would do sports in the morning or whatever. And I guess they threw to him or whatever, and he's asleep. Well, listen, I think, because I think Simon Bennett is now morning sports. And they put him pre-pandemic. I believe he was kind of in like a back room.

It's quiet. You know, it's dark. I can see how it would happen. He's a much younger man. You would think he'd probably be able to stay awake. Yeah, you would think. But morning shows are a B. They're a beast.

So many questions, so many things. But let me make a couple of declarations or announcements off the top here. By the way, thank you. It's good coffee. I'm sorry about the accident you suffered. What was the name of the first place that you bought the coffee from but it spilled? What was it called? Good Neighbor. The Good Neighbor. And okay.

And I'm just, I mean, north of High Park, but that sounds like a real estate agent talking. Are we talking like Annette Street? How north are we going? Perfect. Yeah.

Annette and Quebec. Okay. So my teenagers, well, one is actually, I'm dating with my, one of them's out of high school now, but my,

I mentioned my Michelle. Yep. Who is turning 17. She goes to humberside collegiate oh you're okay she's i live across the road from that okay you know who lives there across the road uh scary pete who's also known as pete cuno scary pete sorry the full name i believe is scary bald-headed pete uh shout out to him uh he's a good boy as well scary bald-headed pete okay i know this hood very well because, um, and this is again,

lots of shout outs here, but shout out to Joe from TO because for the first three years of my schooling, we're at St. Cecilia's. Okay. Is that close by? That's beside Annette public school. Okay. Oh yeah. So you're, you're on Annette and you're like, uh, east of Runnymede. Yes. Yeah. Basically just GPS coordinates to my home. So stalkers, please edit this out. Welcome. Yeah, there's a lot of people there. But yeah, I know the area very, very, very well. And I like to bike Annette.

It's got the lane and it's not too busy. And that's the thing too. It's kind of a nice, you're north of Bloor, south of Dundas. I run a lot in that area. It's really good. And I'm surprised. I mean, you must be rich. They must be paying you very well. That's a very expensive neighborhood.

No. Do you own your own home? No. And I get so mad when I see those new real estate signs, and I haven't noticed this before, but they put a sticker on it that says sold, and then they slap a sticker that says sold over asking. And it's like, we know, we know this. You don't need to clarify. It's redundant. Yeah, of course. This is a good moment for me to say that you're in a great neighborhood, but if you want it to come, it's cooler by the lake. I always tell people that it's cooler by the lake. So you can move to Mimico and you should talk to Mike Majewski because if you go to realestatelove.ca, reach out to Mimico Mike, just say Toronto Mike sent you, he'll take care of you. You know, I might actually take you up on that becauseatelove.ca, reach out to Mimico Mike, just say Toronto Mike sent you, he'll take care of you.

You know, I might actually take you up on that because my partner and I are, you know, starting to talk about buying a house. Why do you think I'm here? See, this is, it's all, it's all circle. I can't afford Hyde Park. I'm here. No, I'm here because that area you live in now,

and I said I had some declarations and announcements off the top. One of which is I want to say happy anniversary to Monica. Today is our eighth wedding anniversary. So when we bought a house, which was almost eight years ago, we, of course, I would love to be where you are, like north of Hyde Park there. But I didn't have, at that time, I needed like a million bucks, right?

This is eight years ago. Now I might need three million. I don't know. But I needed a million. But we didn't have this money. So we ended up here because it's a great neighborhood uh love being by the lake and the trails and stuff and it wasn't a million bucks now it is maybe but it wasn't eight years ago and it's it's a great spot you have space and my partner and I we are in an apartment so

it would be wonderful to have a yard I would love a You know, I'm at that stage in my life where I'm kind of thinking, let's settle down. Really? Cause I have no sense of your age. I know this is the question you're not supposed to ask, but I know. Go for it. I have nothing to hide. You could be anywhere from 25 to 37. Like you could be somewhere there. I am almost exactly in between. I am 30 years old. Yeah. 30. 1990 baby.

Okay. I could, you know, honestly, if you told me you were 25, I'd have believed you. Thank you. If you said you were 35, I would probably be, because I have no, like, I'm not good at this. But I think that's a good thing for being on air, being on the news. Sure. Because, you know.

Because you're evergreen. Yeah, exactly. One of my friends at the Weather Network, you know, she looked so much older than 22. So they put her on air so young. Right. And now she still looks the same age. It's great. And then 30 years later, she's still 22 years old.

Okay. So the two announcements I had to make. One, I mentioned, of course, happy anniversary to Monica eight years ago today. But also, and I'm curious, like, where are you at with the vaccinations for COVID-19? Where are you at, Michelle Mackey? Okay, so I am a Pfizer girl. I am four weeks post-Pfizer and feeling good. I wasn't immediately after.

Like one shot or two? One shot. I just yesterday spent about an hour going old school. So I didn't use the government website. I tried that the first time, didn't work for me. I'm hearing lots of bad stories about the government. I didn't even touch it. It was my day off. I didn't want to ruin my day. So I signed up and I am waitlisted on, I think about six different pharmacies. It's kind of like the Hunger Games, right? Like I remember the first round. So I'm a Gen X older than you. I got the AZ as I call it,

uh, first round because we were encouraged to get the first one we could get. And they said, okay, Gen X, go get your AZ. And I jumped on board today. So I'm going to record with you and then I'm going to bike to the Aaron Mills Walmart way,

way West. I get my second shot today, but my shot will not be another AZ. It's going to be a Pfizer. So I'm mixing and matching because a couple of doctors I respect on Twitter said they're going to do AZ and then they're going to do Pfizer

because there's some studies that are showing that for this new Delta variant, there's better coverage, higher efficacy at least if you do that so basically i'm of the opinion get the first shot you can get like if i was like so i had an appointment to get another az i don't call it az because this is canada that's right i had the appointment for like june 22 or something and then my wife found a spot at walmart for today

which is the first day i'm eligible today so i I said, grab it. I didn't even care what it was. So I am doing the mixing and matching. So I will be in the Pfizer club. So that's exciting news that this afternoon, if all goes well, I'm going to be getting my second shot. How did you feel after your first one? I mean, emotionally and then physically as well. Okay, well, emotionally, there was a good sense of relief. Like I could see the end of this now.

And then you just, every day when you check in at City News or 680 News, wink, wink, wink. That's, I checked to make sure we haven't discovered like there's some variant that this doesn't work with this vaccination.

But so far so good. Like, cause the goal of the vaccination is to keep you from going to the hospital with your symptoms. And so far it's holding up wonderfully against all these variants. So that's great. So I felt this great sense of relief. That's emotionally. And so far it's holding up wonderfully against all these variants. So that's great. So I felt this great sense of relief.

That's emotionally. And I remember biking home from a different Walmart where I got the first shot. Like I was flying like, okay, there's going to be light at the end of this tunnel. I felt really good. Yeah. But then physically,

I woke up the next morning like feeling like a bag of shit. Oh, yeah. And then that next day I was just not well. Like I was not well. not well and then that night the second night I had fever dreams oh yeah chills but then I woke up so this is now two days after I woke up and then I felt fine and I felt perfectly fine so I had like 1.5 days of like so I don't know I'll see how I react to this of Pfizer I getting today. Okay. Yeah, I was okay.

So I went to a late night clinic. I finished at City News and raced there. And I think I got my shot at 11.58 p.m., something like that. And then I was fine the next day. No symptoms. I was so arrogant and, you know, teasing people who had symptoms. And I was like, I'm fine. The next day it hit me like a brick.

Yeah. And I also had this, well, what I thought was weird at the time I had some facial numbness okay and then it went away but I've been talking to a few people and apparently feeling that like pins and needles is fairly common and how long did that last like a day okay and it was fine it just felt like you know when you're uh you go to the dentist and you get something frozen and then it's coming out of the freeze. There's that tingly. Yeah. Right. But I was okay with it. I mean, I just felt like it was working. So. Okay. Good. I was good with it. Good. And now I'm fine. Awesome. The weird thing is, so, so that's good. Like you'll soon you'll get your second jab. I get mine today, but the weird thing

is my somehow because of the way it worked when my oldest actually jumped ahead of me and got his second jab yesterday. I saw that on Twitter. How did that happen? Because the rules are different. So you only have to wait 28 days if you get Pfizer, which he got because he's a young man. And with AZ, they said you had to wait. How did it work? So eight weeks?

Yeah, eight weeks. So basically the waiting period for AZ is much longer than the waiting period for Pfizer. So even though he got his first shot after me, he was eligible for a second shot before me. So he's done. He's still got to wait that 14 days. Wow. That must feel good as a dad. That's one of four though. I got lots of them. And two of mine are not going to be eligible forever. Like if you have any insight as to when they think a five-year-old and seven-year-old can get vaccinated. So I'm now trying to get, now I need my oldest, my Michelle has to get eligible to get her shot. And then the last two, like, I don't even think about it because it's like, we're not even talking about it.

Like, I don't even hear any talk about the seven-year-olds and five-year-olds out there. Yeah, I don't know. I know there was some rumor, you know, if you're breastfeeding and you get a vaccine, some of the antibodies may or may not go to the baby. There's been some research about that, but who knows? It's all so new, right?

It's all very new. It's all very new. Speaking of new, I need to ask you right off the top and then we're going to go more chronological. But I saw the press release that they're rebranding 680 News. Can you tell me?

Because I heard... Give me the... What is the new... I don't even know when it starts. You'll tell me, but what will be the official handle that you'll be giving your, the radio station you work for? I believe it's City News, period. So, but will it be 680 City News? Don't you have to get the, uh... Maybe at the start, but from what I understand is that it eventually will be city news one you know powerhouse radio tv content creation which well i mean that's the way that's the way they're going it is and it's sad in a sense right like the green brand that 680 brand is his everyone has a memory about it it's it is sad like yeah so okay so i because i

okay so i mean i i totally get like this is happening all over the place like 640 became global news radio and yeah you know and i'm i don't know what they branded 1010 but i'm sure it's gonna be city ctv news uh like tomorrow or something i don't know but i'm not surprised by this because this is the way the world's going. But it is interesting that 680 News has been rolling off our tongue since they wrapped up Top 40 and whatever that was, 93 or whatever.

I used to listen to 680 when it was Top 40. Wow, you were one of the first. Well, I was one of the last, maybe. Thanks, Michelle. Okay, I got a few years on you. But Tom Rivers was my morning show and he was on 680 when i was like yeah when i was a much younger man so shout out to sick uh it was called all hits cftr yeah well i remember listening to it in the car with my dad at a very young age

so okay so you're 30 so i'm doing some quick math yeah you you would you would have got a couple years i guess yeah because it was established in 93, I believe. Right, I think so. I think so. I'm always fascinated because I've had, you know, Evelyn Macko and some of these OGs on to talk about the switchover. But I guess I think the last song they played might have been We Built This City on Rock and Roll or something.

And then they're all news. So they got in first. So it'll be city news. Yeah. Yeah, we'll have to find out. So it'll be city news. Yeah. Yeah, we'll have to find out if it's 680 city news or whatever. But I think there will be weird for people. It'll be a bit like, oh, that's the Rogers Center. And they'll be like, oh, you mean Skydome?

Like there's going to be a little of that. It's going to take time. Think about it. It's been around for almost 30 years. So everyone, it's going to take time. But I mean, the programming itself will be the exact same. The only difference really is going to be, you know, instead of 680 news time, 105, it'll be city news time, 105. But it's going to take some time.

And I wouldn't be surprised if, you know, the anchors have some slip ups. Oh, for sure. When does it take effect? I believe the fall. Okay. So there's some time to kind of adjust. There'll be notes everywhere, I suppose. Oh, for sure.

I mean, it was like my very first day on 680 News, I almost slept and said, Michelle Mackey for the Weather Network. Oh, yeah. And one of my friends from the Weather Network was listening at the time and called me on it. And how long were you at the Weather Network? I was there for five years. It was my first kind of, you know, foot in the door, job on TV.

Sure. And that's a, that's, okay, I have a clip I'm going to play. Oh, boy. And it's going to segue nicely into a certain jam by a certain band you love. But here's how we're going to rock. Firstly, you're not a Toronto girl. You're a Peterborough girl. Peterborough.

Born and raised, baby. Can I call it the patch? Oh, yes yes you can I'm impressed you know okay well my buddy Hawksley Workman lives there now

so you moved there okay Hawksley Workman they've got a few great songs and somebody I can't I can't remember I tweet like on

anniversary of episodes I'll be like on this day this guest came on and somebody I tweeted maybe yesterday they said oh proud Peterborough boy or something. Oh yeah who was that? I know I should check it I should have taken a note and I'm like yeah I got a Peterborough girl coming in tomorrow like I can't remember who it was but there's a lot of good people coming out of the patch. It's a great city

I mean born and raised I've had such a great childhood and it's yeah a great place to raise a family. And you left it that's how great and I left and I'm not coming back so shout out to Peterborough so do you still have family there I do yeah my mom dad and sister are still there so I'm back you know I was back over the weekend for the first time in a long time and are they gonna listen to are you gonna tell them to listen to this episode are you gonna wait to see how it goes? What have you bombed? Then you'd want to like.

Then I wouldn't tell anyone, but I need, my parents don't even know what a podcast really is. So I'm going to be the one to send them the link. Press play on this page. Yeah, exactly. So you, okay.

So you, uh, here, actually, do you know a Robert Carnell? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He's a, he, I just from Twitter, but yes. Okay, so Robert just sent me a note to say that you could do an episode on Taylor Swift. You could kick out T-Swizzle jams very easily. I do love it. Now, the jam I'm going to kick out shortly is not a Taylor Swift jam, but you do love Taylor Swift. Oh, big time.

She's my girl. I've been to all the concerts. And, you know, I have to say, even during the rough years when not many people liked her, I had her back. It wasn't not many people. You mean when the country crowd got mad at her for going pop? Yeah, let's be honest. Let's be honest. Yeah.

I just heard a podcast about this. But she was a country artist. Like her first song was like called Tim McGraw or something like she was country breakout nashville country and then she sort of starts crossing over yeah and then uh she's on both for a while yeah she did 1989 right and then then she does like a flagrantly pop album or whatever which is like non-apology there's no like slide guitar there's's nothing. No steel guitar or whatever. And then the country audience said like, you're dead to us because the country audience doesn't like it when you leave them. They're very fickle about that.

Right? No. And then so that she had that to deal with for the first couple of years. And then the whole Kanye West thing that happened. Right. And, you know, videos were released and everyone called her a snake and blah,

blah, blah. And I was with her the whole time. So if Taylor's listening. She might be listening. So Taylor, you got a big fan here. I suspect that country music is popular in Peterborough. Am I right?

Oh, big time. I have actually just recently kind of gotten into it. But I remember at parties growing up, I'd always get so mad when Country was on. It wasn't my thing. But Carrie Underwood was kind of the bridge. And Carrie Underwood, married to Mike Fisher, who was my neighbor growing up. Get out of here.

Amazing. Yeah. I saw she was still showing up at these Predators games. Yeah. And they still come to Peterborough every summer and stuff. So you'll see her in the Sobeys and that kind of thing. Wow. Yeah.

That's amazing. Okay, so thanks, Robert, for the question, the comment. Now, Asher Roth. Tell me who's, because I know Asher Roth. Yeah, you'll recognize his voice. 680 guy. He does traffic, sports, news. He basically does everything at 680.

He's like a Swiss army knife. Correct. Okay. Does it all. Ask her what her favorite spontaneously improvised on-air nickname was. Okay. Well, let's answer that first. Asher loves to just throw me off when he's anchoring and I'm reporting in the field. So he will often do things that will purposely make me break or crack or laugh in some way.

And it was Halloween one night and he threw to me live and said, and here's our Halloween correspondent, Monster Mashel. And it was just such a bad nickname that I had to address it. And then it just, you know, it just ruins the rest of the report because I'm laughing throughout it. That's classic Asher Roth. And also ask if her Oscar parties are pre-planned. So what does this mean? She says, you'll understand you have some epic Oscar parties. Okay. Two years ago, Oscars, I'm covering that. I'm in studio reporting on that. Asher is in the anchor chair. And again,

Asher loves to throw me off by asking questions that will pull me off my script, make me laugh, etc. And he said, Michelle, you know, do you have an Oscar party you've planned? And unfortunately, I don't know what happened. I think I meant to say Asher, but I said my ass. And then I started laughing and I had to apologize. And just the rest of the report was just in the trash can. So bad. Yeah, that's funny. Now, good.

Thank you, Asher, for the twofer there. Okay, so when did you, Michelle Mackey, when did you know you wanted to be on television or radio? Oh yeah. Uh, probably a very young age. I loved performing. I was always that kid who, if my parents had friends over, there would be an, um, performance of some sort. So you're an extrovert. Oh yeah. Cause some, some people are introverted and they can present like you do. Like they, they actually put on a mask, but actually they're introverted. But you're like a bonafide extrovert. Oh, full on. Yeah.

And so I always knew I wanted to be a performer of some sort. But there's this great quote and it says, journalists are theater kids who can't sing. And I felt like that really spoke to me and did my first year of university at Queen's studying drama. And I just realized very quickly that that is not something I wanted to do. So I went home to Peterborough, Trent University and started volunteering at Trent Radio, fell in love with it. And that was kind of the beginning of my broadcast career. How the heck do you end up in Australia? Australia, mate. Oh, that's such a bad accent. You're better than me. It's an offensive accent. So I really wanted to travel after I

graduated my undergrad. And so I wanted to get my master's in journalism because by then I knew I wanted to be a journalist. And I was like, let's, you know, feed two birds with one seed. So that's better than killing them with the stone. I know. I used to say, hey, you want to watch us record? You can watch how the sausage is made. And then I changed it to watch us bake the cake. That's so much nicer.

I know, but that's what you just did. I know. I made an effort to do that. You don't want to kill birds? Why do we want to kill birds? No. I love birds. We're outside right now.

And sometimes when I'm recording over here, I can like hear a bird song in the background. And I'm like, I like that. Like that's what I'm looking for. Don't throw stones at the bird. No. We want to feed the birds. Much better. Honestly, PETA would be proud of you.

I know. I know. Probably wouldn't be proud of me for what I ate for dinner last night. But that's besides the point. So I went to Australia, was there for two years, got my master's in journalism and, you know, I was, uh, waitressing at the time and just interning here and there and doing a little bit of everything for a couple of years. That's the furthest any guest has gone to get their like journalism degree or whatever. That's a long way to go. Yeah. But it was great. Like I felt like, you know, in a sense I have kind of this international experience that I brought back

with me when I was applying for jobs. Sure. Okay. But if you had got like, like what if you had got an on-air job in Australia, you could be like an Australian media personality right now, right? Well, that was kind of my goal, but I was told I would never work on air because of my accent in Australia. But we like that, don't we? I feel like we like it when you have an accent. And then it's such a difference in Canada because we embrace accents, right? But news in Australia is, I would say, 10 years behind where we are. It's still very traditional. You know, you compare city news to some of the stations in Australia and it's night and day.

I did not know that. I did not know. I did not know that. Yeah. I did not know that, but I do know here, I noticed I'm watching this Euro cup. I watch a Euro cup match during the day or whatever. I'll throw it on.

And definitely like if the play by play person has like a British accent or, uh, I, I, it just seems, uh, better somehow. I love it.

I love it. I know. And I, like I, I get asked sometimes because I started a TikTok account a few months ago and it's all these

young kids who ask the questions and a lot of the, they, someone asked me a question, you know, why do you have

to talk that way? And I think I just do kind of talk in this newsy voice day to day. Oh, I had this, so I had to be educated because years ago,

Siobhan Morris, do you know Siobhan Morris? Yes, yes, yes, yes. Who, by the way, now lives in Barrie because she's on CTV Barrie. But she lived near like, you know, Annette and Run and Meet. Oh, did she really? Yeah, like near the church. That's right.

You know what? I think I saw on her Twitter once that she commented about something in the junction. Right. And I really wanted to be her friend for a long time. And then she moved to Barrie and I just, I missed that opportunity. I could hook you up. Her dad built the House of Rock, the White House of Rock at Hitz F-977 in St. Catharines. Are you serious?

Yeah. That's so random. Paul Morris. So I've had her dad on the show. What? But she's been on a couple of times. I quite like her. But I, at the beginning, I thought she was putting on some kind of a phony reporter voice when she was on the air and she explained

that she was like enunciating yeah which i know nothing about well when i first started at the weather network one of the things uh shout out to derrick snyder oh oh it's okay you know what that's bojana mowing the lawn that's okay oh good times it's good just because these are unidirectional mics so it won't be okay i'll go more it's so no it's okay it's okay. You know what? That's Bojana mowing the lawn. That's okay. Oh, good times. It's good because these are unidirectional mics, so it won't be oppressive. Okay, I'll go more in front of it. No, it's okay. It's okay. But Derek Snyder was the first guy who hired me in part at the Weather Network.

Shout out to Bojana. Yeah, that's right. Honestly, she's 85 years old. She mows. That's not her lawn. Oh, bless her heart. She's 85. Yeah, and she mows that lawn like every week.

And again, that's not her lawn and once i was recording the have you ever heard a pandemic friday episode of yeah yeah because a lot of listeners i noticed so some people once they once you're in on the pandemic friday you're like you're hooked or whatever yeah i i talk to people who love the show they like the cherry pick based on guests and they've never tried a pandemic friday and i i'm like we have 65 of these golden nuggets just sitting there for free. Like try one. And if you don't like it, don't try anymore.

But anyway, one day we were recording and then Bojana was like on a ladder, like cleaning out the gutters. Like she's like super, I know she can't hear us. Cause I know she's like super woman. She's unbelievable. 85.

And it's not even her own. It's not even her lawn. And, and there, I know there's a young man who lives there. Like cause son lives there so there's like a a healthy able-bodied 30 30 year old baby living there but still i know because she liked i think she likes it okay i hope so i mean i would feel so bad if i was the son i know but i i don't know this for sure but i'm sure yeah the kid i I'm sure, yeah, the kid.

I'm sure there was a conversation and she was like, I like to do it. Okay. I'm sure that happened. Yeah, I'm sure. What was I saying? I get so sidetracked. I know.

As you know, there's tangents galore on this program. I'd be easily distracted by Bojana mowing the lawn next. But that's the fun of it and that's what makes this so great is we go here, there,

and everywhere. I can't remember what you were talking about now, but you were, you're in us. You came back from Australia. So let me pick it up there. And if it comes back to you, go ahead.

Okay. Here it is. Yeah. So when I was hired at the weather network, uh, one of the people who hired me, Derek Snyder gave me this great piece of advice about being yourself on air and off air.

And I would talk too fast when I was on air and off air. And I would talk too fast when I was on air and I wouldn't enunciate. So I started doing it in my everyday life. Oh, okay. I should try that. Yeah. Just do that in your everyday life. And, and, you know, rather than saying, um, I was running, I was running. Like I just, I always enunciate now. Okay. If my name was, I'm going to spell my first name. It's not really my, but M-A-R-T-I-N. Say that name for me. Martin.

Okay. So I forever, I would say Martin. Martin. Like it was D-I-N. But then there's Toronto, which is like Toronto. Right. And are the rules at 680 or City News on how to say the name of our city? No, I think I have heard a couple of newer reporters call it Toronto.

And I think I probably did at first, too. The Caribbean community nails that second T. Really? This is why whenever people, once in a while, you know what it was? Jamar O'Neal or is it McNeil? I should know this. Jamar O'Neal. Oh, my goodness. I can't remember. Okay, but Jamar O'Neal, or is it McNeil? I should know this. Jamar O'Neal. Oh, my goodness.

I can't remember. Okay, but Jamar. Yeah. Who took Roger Ashby's spot on Chum. Okay. Okay, on radio. Alongside Marilyn Dennis. Oh, yeah.

Okay, you might have heard of her. Oh, yeah, I've heard. So when he got to the city, he would say Toronto, and people were giving him flack. Like, he came over and we talked about it. I never give him flack. I would were giving him flack. Like he came over and we talked about it. I never give him flack. I would never give you flack. Uh,

because I, as I understand, uh, from my, my Caribbean friends, uh, they do hit that second T like it's, uh,

like Toronto, like there's a toe. Okay. So to me, it's really like offensive almost to, to basically complain about how, but somebody said the word Toronto, like,

Oh, we don't say the second T. It's like, oh, no. Go F yourself. Here's the thing. Okay, go. You will never, ever be forgiven if you mispronounce someone's city name. And so I was once on, because when we were at the Weather Network,

we would also do CBC News. Yes, yes. And so I was on with Heather Hiscox in the morning. I mean, I have to name drop that. Come on. No, I do a lot of name dropping Hiscox in the morning. I mean, so I have to name drop that. Come on. I do a lot of name dropping. Okay. Oh, good. Okay. So we're allowed to do that here. Okay. So I allowed you, I encourage it. This is not a, I'm not owned by a cable company. I want you to name drop. Okay. We're name dropping. There we go. And so it was after Oprah or no, it was, uh, it was Whoopi Goldberg in a comedy show said,

shout out to Moncton, Ontario, but she meant Moncton, New Brunswick. And so the producers were like, here's this great idea. Why don't you make up a fake forecast from Moncton, Ontario, even though it doesn't exist? Right, right. Turns out I went on air, did like, oh, it's 75 degrees. Moncton, Ontario doesn't even exist. Ha, ha, ha.

Yeah, it does. Very, very small, small town in southwestern Ontario, Moncton. And so that didn't go great. Didn't go well. Yeah, no, shout out to Whoopi Goldberg. And Moncton, Ontario. Moncton, Ontario. So sorry.

I've been to Moncton, New Brunswick. Yeah. I walked on the ocean floor because that's where the Bay of Fundy has that big tide. Oh, yeah. That's right. I did that. Like, I'm going to say Morgan was alive. So I'm going to say that was four years ago now.

Four years ago. Four years ago. Shout out to Moncton, New Brunswick. Okay. So, and did you know Maestro Fresh West now lives in St. John, New Brunswick? Like, this is where he lives now. No. And he was Mr. 416, Mr. Toronto.

Yeah. Why did he move to, okay. He thought it was a good move for his son. Okay, fair. They weren't as locked down as you might've heard, although we're coming open now. But anyway, that's a fact. He came on the show and talked about it.

So real quick here, you did return. So the plan was after you're in Australia, you did return. So the plan was after, uh, you're in Australia, you did return. Did you return and then get the job at the weather network or did you get the job at the weather network and then return? Yes. I got, which one? I, I read, yes, just a generic guess. Uh, so came back, was jobless for about three months and I was applying everywhere, you know, Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Edmonton, Alberta was willing to go anywhere. And then I got a job offer up in Sudbury, Ontario. And I had also just had the interview for the Weather Network, but I hadn't heard back, but I had such a good feeling about the Weather Network.

I don't suggest to young people getting into the industry to do this, but I said no to Sudbury on a whim that I would get the Weather Network. And a day later I got the weather network. Oh my goodness. Okay. That's exciting. So what is your job at the weather network off the hop here? Like, is it like, are you going to be an on-air person? You're hired to be on-air weather. I started as, you know, an on-call fill-in weather presenter. Okay. Do you get like a crash course in meteorology big time because you're i want to bring up a guy actually i'll bring him up later okay who uh has been over and was a meteorologist where you work okay so and i i don't understand his new job but that's another story we'll talk about that so you're at the weather network and uh you're on air and tell me how you become like

michelle mackie how do you become, like, Michelle Mackey, how do you become a weather specialist? Well, the first thing is, like, you really do have to go above and beyond the crash course they give you. They're going to give you all of the information, but unless you study it and are passionate about it, it's not going to go anywhere. And, you know, we've seen people at the Weather Network who come in

who really don't care about weather, who maybe only want to be on air, and they don't last because you're ad-libbing everything. You have to know weather like the back of your hand, whether you are a meteorologist or not. Right. Now, just to go back to something that we were tripping on earlier, FOTM Moose Grumpy, who's also from Peterborough, by the way.

Okay. FOTM? FOTM means Friend of Toronto, Mike. Okay. Okay. FOTM? FOTM means friend of Toronto Mike. Okay. Okay. You're now an FOTM. That is true. That happened. That is,

that's true. I've always wanted to be like the friend of a pod. You are an FOTM. And I got an answer on who the other FOTM was who had his anniversary episode and is from Peterborough. Sean Cullen. The great, he's a comedian. He was in Corky and the Juice

Pigs, I believe was his. Oh, yes. Sean Cullen is from Peterborough. Very funny man. Oh, see, we produced some good people. No, I mean, I'm Mike Fisher and Michelle Mackey and Sean Cullen and Moose Grumpy. There's some, and Hawks, no, Hawks, he's not from there. He's from Huntsville, I think.

Okay. But he lives there, which is good enough. So thank you, Moose Grumpy. There's some, and Hoxie's not from there. He's from Huntsville, I think. Okay. But he lives there. That counts. Good enough. So thank you, Moose Grumpy, for filling in the blanks there because my mind could not come up with that name. Okay, so you're at the Weather Network. Do you want to shout out some people who helped you out at the Weather Network? Oh, yeah.

I mean, Peter Bosinoff was my boss. He gave me kind of. That's a good name for a boss. Isn't it? His name should be Peter Bosinoff. Bosinoff. Yeah, just like the nicest guy on Derek Snyder. And they just both took me under their wings.

And, you know, Derek was an executive producer and he would pull me into his office every week and we would watch my, my hits and we would go over what I did right, what I did wrong. And it changed, like, it just helped me more than, than anything else. Okay. And so shout out to Derek Snyder. Derek Snyder. Snyder yeah okay uh and uh Kim McDonald uh how long has she been there oh my gosh she's a legend she's been there

for I think 20 plus years okay so she's friends with my dear friend uh Sweet Rosie who was actually at the Weather Network for many many years but hasn't been there in a long time but uh she's friends of kim and i can't remember how it came and twitter kim said she'd come on toronto mic but then when i when i wrote her to like hey let's book it uh she ghosted me so shout out to kim mcdonald so you can mcdonald she uh she is very funny dry sense of humor right and i remember i was very nervous meeting her because she had been there for so long and she is just so welcoming and very funny, which I didn't see coming. I'm going to play a clip of you at the Weather Network

and then we're going to play a song and then we're going to talk about City News and 680 and I got lots of other things I need to talk to you about. So I hope you don't have any appointments in the next half an hour. But I'm going to give you some gifts first because I mentioned you're an FOTM now. Okay, so I have a palma pasta lasagna for you you're but that's

an empty box because i didn't want to like leave it out here in the sun or whatever but it's in my freezer oh my gosh thank you so much that's empty mike what are you doing uh palma pasta they're good people and they have a sale going on apparently because garnet barnsdale's off today to buy like a there's some big sale going on apparently because Garnet Barnsdale is off today to buy like a, there's some big sale going on there. But PalmaPasta, go to palmapasta.com. There's fresh craft beer from a local brewery here we have. Come on.

That's Great Lakes Brewery. In fact, I put three on the table, but I'm actually, I've got more for you in the fridge. So you're bringing home some fresh craft beer. That is fantastic. Thank you so much. And you'll love it. I don't know if you've ever tried Great Lakes before. I've never tried it.

Do you drink beer at all? It's okay if you don't, but maybe your partner does. I've heard it, you know, mentioned here. Okay. You'll love it. Honestly. I'm so excited.

That octopus wants to fight. It does. I'm a little terrified, but that's great. Octopus wants to fight. There's a Toronto Mike sticker for you on that box of Palma Pasta. Oh, come on. That's from stickeru.com they're in liberty village but they're online sticker you.com get

your decals get your uh get they're good people too this is a high quality sticker yeah well honestly i have uh some toronto mike stickers i've put on things like bikes and stuff years ago still look good so yeah high quality sticker get your stickers from stickeru.com uh and last but not least there is a bottle of like hand sanitizer on the table and that's courtesy of ridley funeral home they're pillars of this community as well so much love to the good people at ridley funeral home especially brad jones but yeah i've got to say funeral homes i think some of the nicest people on the planet work at funeral homes. Because they have to be compassionate. It's just, it's amazing.

I don't think I could do that job. Did you notice it got quiet? Because Bojana's done. She's so fast. That's efficiency. She was. That's an 85-year-old woman. Yeah.

I know. And she's amazing. But yeah, the people at a funeral home have to be compassionate, right? Because you're dealing with people at their most vulnerable. They've lost a loved one. And you can't, that's not for everybody, but this is a family-run funeral home. And if you have any questions or concerns about anything in that world,

you can just have a chat with the aforementioned Joe from TO who went to St. Cecilia's with me. That's how far back we go. Sadly, like a six-year-old student, he's a teacher, Joe. A six-year-old student passed away. a teacher, Joe, a six-year-old student passed away. Oh, jeez. And the family was their new Canadians,

no money, didn't know what to do. And Joe had a conversation with Ridley Funeral Home and they don't profit off children's death. Like this is like some code of the funeral home industry or whatever. And Joe couldn't believe how, it's like, oh, how did they get there? They don't have a car.

They go pick you up and they take you home. It was unbelievable. Joe's going to come in and tell the story, but yeah, shout out to the good people at Ridley Funeral Home.

Truly, I really do mean that. I think they are some of the kindest people on the planet. Oh, absolutely. But if you use that hand sanitizer, you won't require their services

for a very, very long time. Okay, that's all set now. Okay, so, why do you leave? Oh, I'm going to play the clip and then we're going to find out

why you would ever leave the Weather Network. And here, let me play. Let me see here. So this is you on the Weather Network, Michelle. It's time now for your morning report. Here's a look at what you'll be waking up to across the country. We are expecting a little rain in the prairies.

Not the kind of day you want to be wearing that leather jacket. The story in Ontario, the. Not the kind of day you want to be wearing that leather jacket. The story in Ontario, the heat. Maybe a good day to get some lemonade from the store for the afternoon, join a book club, stay inside. That heat warning includes Lakefield, where my sister went to private school. Stateside, Nashville at 90 degrees. The risk is there for some thunderstorms. A similar forecast in through Memphis, home of Drake's dad.

But drive me back to Hamilton. You'll be waking up to sunshine and temperatures in the 20s. Hamilton, of course, home to the Arkells. And they'll be joining us right here on the Weather Network Thursday morning. Okay, so you dropped a lot of Arkells references there. Many. We got song names. We've got, you know, some lyrics in there.

Right. Drake's dad. Yeah. But the first one you dropped there sounded like leather jacket. Oh yeah. Now, so I got many, many questions and I'm going to play some leather jacket. But when did you fall in love with the Arkells? Wow. It's kind of a funny story. I, uh, I was dating. I did. You were dating somebody in the Arkells. Not in the Arkells, but I, uh, I went on. A roadie. I went on Tinder. Okay. When I first got tokells but I uh I went on a roadie I went on tinder okay

when I first got to Toronto as a single lady and I went on a few dates with a guy who said he was friends with the Arkells he is friends with Arkells and I hadn't really heard of them but I started listening to their music and so long after you know it didn't work out with this friend of the Arkells, I just fell in love with their music and it kind of became the soundtrack to my life. And I've loved them ever since. Okay. Well, you can, you can do so much worse. This is a great band. Uh, I'm thinking that when you were dating that guy on Tinder, that was like the, the boss is coming time. Like that's when, uh, it was leather jacket time. Okay. okay well let's play a bit of that and we'll keep talking Hundreds of stories before I showed up They tell them to me and pull photos up

And they're all connected like a pair of handcuffs No one seemed affected, and everyone is fucked But there was a softness, a kind of understanding Those 2am decisions, always shaking landings And no one ever knew What could be demanded Maybe it's the car The car that she was handsy You call me up

From a payphone I said, hang tight I can drive you home I put on a pin With a southern accent I offered you my dance Let it shake you My dad's letting Jackie Yeah

You know what? Good, right? Good stuff, yeah, very good. Very good. It's a lot of pressure for them, but some are sort of anointing them like to be heir apparent to the Tragically Hip.

I feel like that's an unfair, it's like when Sidney Crosby was a kid and they're like, oh, here's the next great one. I don't think that's fair. No, and I think, I listened to a podcast that they're on. It's called Mike on Much.

Great podcast. Yeah, I've heard of this. Yeah, it's a really good podcast. And I think they've mentioned it before. And, you know, they're really humble guys. And I think they are very honored by that. But, yeah, they're humble. And I think they're maybe the best.

This is a big call, but I think they're the best singer-songwriter band of our generation in Canada. Wow. Okay. And they're a Hamilton band. Hamilton boys. Yeah. Cool. So that Tinder date changed your music.

It did. It really did. So shout out to... Did you get your current partner? Yeah. Did you meet this person? I don't... Gender, I don't know.

Neil Osborne. Yeah, he, him. From the 5440? Yeah, he... Not him. Does he know? He shares a name with the... He does.

And so a few years ago, he started including his middle name and everything. He's an FOTM, Neil Osborne, as well. Oh, wow. Okay, well, Neil Ever Osborne is my partner. Wow. And so we've been together for three years, and when I left the Weather Network,

he got a job at the Weather Network. Wow. So he's now head of their climate department. Okay. Do his friends call him Ozzy? Yes. Ozzy, yeah. Ozzy. Yeah, he has some weird names.

I was just about to drop some pet names. I'm not doing that. The Wizard of Oz? Hey, that's good. But Ozzy is the classic. And at the Weather Network, when there's a big snowstorm, it's the Blizzard of Oz. Oh, well done. That's what I do. I never, okay.

I see what you did there. Okay, so this is the gentleman who's moving to Mimico with you. Yeah. You know, you're not in Mimico right now. I feel I need to tell you that. Where are we right now? New Toronto.

Where am I? This is New Toronto. So, nestled between Long Branch to the west and Mimico, well, Mimico's a panhandle. I don't want to, Mimico's a panhandle. So, Mimico's to the north and to the east of where you are now, which is called New Toronto. Okay, New Toronto.

I like it here. Yeah, honestly. I'll tell you what. I'll tell you what. That shed there, I guess we got to get a little plumbing in there, some electricity in there. Or just $3,000 a month. It could be yours.

That's right. We'll see what we can do. But yeah, shout out to Mimico Mike, who we talked about earlier. But you're at the City News and 680. Did you get that gig and then quit the Weather Network? Or what happened here? Yeah, so I had a couple of friends, Jamie Pulfer and Jeff Rahoman, who I had, you know, just kind of, Jamie was a good friend of Neil's,

and Jeff I had met at a couple of- I can't believe you're dating Neil Osborne. Neil, the Neil Osborne. The Neil Osborne's daughter, Candle. Very good musician. Yeah? Okay. Candle with a K.

I mean, come on, she has to be famous. She's very good. That's a great stage name too. Candle Osborne. I love that. So yeah, I met them and Jeff had been kind of bugging me for a while. When are you going to come to 680? And finally, I sent him an email and said, okay, give me Amber LeBlanc's email.

She's our news director. And so I emailed her, came in for what I thought was just a chat about future opportunities. It was a full-blown interview. And I had to do an audition. But you'd be very good in an interview. I can tell just from our, what do we spend an hour together, that you would be great in an interview because good energy. I was very nervous for today.

I get very nervous when people ask me the questions. I'm good at asking questions, not always answering them. So that one was great because I didn't know it was an interview going into it so i didn't have time to get nervous right i thought it was a meeting no anxiety yeah it was fine pre pre-interview okay so i nailed it i think so does that come like is that a package now like okay 680 has to also be city news like how does it work because one's a radio station one's and i know like some people i know like i mean richard southern you can see them on both or here here here. Yeah.

But sometimes like, I don't, I don't think Carl Hansky is ever on city news. He does. He does breakfast television. So he does. It's early though. So shout out to Sid Sixero.

Yeah. Who's never been on the show. You should get him on. I think, I think many years ago he just didn't reply to my like emails or something. So I just didn't. I really like him i think he's a good no he's an obvious like he's like a lot of people are like how come how come

sid hasn't been on i don't have a good answer i don't have a no from him i just have nothing from him okay but it's definitely not that i haven't asked him so yeah it's possible i'm ending up in spam or something but like how do you once you send an email and you don't hear back like what's your you know what do you do like you know well i go public on twitter that's what i do if i don't hear an email from someone that actually happened a little while ago i was covering a story on uh mpp randy hillier oh yes he's a problematic yeah and so he wasn't getting back to my emails and i just knew if i publicly tweeted at him he would get back to me yeah but you're you're uh you got a weight of like a Rogers Media behind you. Whereas I have, what do I have behind me? You've got like 9,000 followers.

You're doing just fine. At least unlike some clients of mine, all 9,000 are real human beings. As far as I know, I have never purchased a follower. So shout out to me. Okay. So you got a gig and then you had to say goodbye to the Weather Network. Yeah. Was that difficult after five years?

It was so hard because like the weather network is very family oriented. It feels like kind of a small. It's in Oakville. It's in Oakville. And you know, it was where I got my start and I was so comfortable there and I had some seniority after five years and I was taking a risk to just leave that. And I was full time,

Monday to Friday, great vacation and all that. And it was like, okay leave that. And I was full time, Monday to Friday, great vacation and all that. And it was like, okay, bye. And did you get a, did they do a cake? Oh, they did a full on brunch. So I did the morning show that day and then we finished around nine. Because they like you.

I'm sure if you were a jerk, maybe you would just get a card or something. A card. Did you get like gift cards for the keg? For the keg? Did anyone give you a gift card for the keg? No, I'm trying to think. I think Anne Romer got several keg gift cards.

I know. And several cakes as well. There was a lot of food. And then it was pre-pandemic. So I think people, I think we went out for dinner, probably something like that. Right. But then I transitioned pretty quick. I remember my last day was on a Monday and I think we went out for dinner, probably something like that. Right.

But then I transitioned pretty quick. I remember my last day was on a Monday and I was on air at 680, I think on a Thursday. And how are things going at City News and 680 News, which will soon be known as City News, just to, you know, confuse us. Yeah, exactly. No, I love it. I mean, I've never been happier. I like being able to do both TV, happier. I like being able to do both TV, radio, weather, news, a little bit of everything each week. Like there's no set schedule necessarily. I never know where I'm going to be. And I like that. I don't like being, I find same thing every day, almost a little boring for me. And how is this strategy going? Like post, and this is before your time, of course, but post Gord Martineau, like there, there's not really a, like a anchor face of the news, right?

Yeah. Like, is that, how's that going? Like it's not that you could be a hundred percent honest with me, but that's a tough question. No, that's okay. Um, well, I mean, at 680, you got like Catherine Gisele and Paul Cook in the mornings who are, you know, everyone knows and loves. But I think I heard a rumor. Listen to me talking about rumors. I'm just outing things. I think I heard a rumor that once we become City News, there might be more of a push for personalities to kind of be back in the spotlight on the 680 side, maybe. I'm not 100% sure.

But at City News, I like the format of not necessarily having an anchor. I think it's much more new age to just throw to the next person, to the next person, to the next person. Almost like kind of a YouTube playlist. And much like I noticed with the award shows, they've been kind of like, they've been no more like Billy Crystal host or whatever. I hate that though.

I gotta be honest. I do like the host. We need an Oscars host. Well, we need Ricky Gervais to host them all. All of them moving forward. Shout out to Ricky Gervais. So, okay. So you're at six.

Okay. I have a question about, it's from Tim Nash. So Tim Nash says, do weather reporters have a responsibility to educate people about climate change? How does, see, this is the tough question that you were worried about. No. Yeah.

How does the, how does she, that's you by the way, approach this often sensitive topic? Ooh, that's a great question. Tim Nash. Shout out to Tim Nash. Well, first of all, Tim, yes, we absolutely do have a responsibility, a profound responsibility because we see climate change reflected in everyday weather. And that in itself is kind of a gap to bridge this really sensitive topic. And I think also one way to talk about it is find common ground and be solutions oriented.

I think people don't want to hear about the doom, the gloom, the impending disaster. They want to know what they can do, what is working, and how we can have a hopeful future. And so Neil at the Weather Network. Ozzy. Ozzy, my boy. They have found that these solutions-based stories perform much better than the doom and gloom. People seem to respond better to that. I think that that's a great approach. Now, Dr. Diane Sachs is a client of mine and she's got a great podcast called Green

Economy Heroes where she's kind of doing that. Like, because, you know, she was the environmental commissioner for this province. Like, she's been very clear about the dire consequences if we do nothing right now. But what she's decided to focus on is those Canadians who are starting businesses. Like, these will be businesses that will generate revenue and profit and stuff. But they're green focused. So it is for a greater uh it's a solution these are solutions so and she's been doing that for over a year now at green economy hero shining a light on these canadians and it's i i like that approach like you said instead of just coming on and saying

you're you know your grandchildren are going to this is what their world will be like this is like you know what i mean and if we do nothing your grandchildren will be like on fire uh yeah so you're right it's tough it's tough yeah and and we listen it's still very important to cover forest fires and floods like we always will do that but people want to know what they can do little micro things every day and and that's really important for you know right on-air weather specialists and meteorologists to, I think, help people understand. And again, for the record, you are not a meteorologist. No, no.

That's like, this is because, I mean, shout out to Adam Stiles. This is the guy I want to bring up here because Adam's been over. He's got like letters after his name. Oh, I know. He's a legend. Like he's a meteorologist.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He knows, like he can look at a weather model and know what's going to happen five days out from one model. I'm glad you said that. So why the heck is he now like in recruitment or whatever? Like what's going on with Adam Stiles? I don't know what happened. I don't know. This guy, he's American who came here with all the credentials.

And we talked about you weather specialists, you know, you're not meteorologists, like there's a difference. And now he's like, I don't know, it sounds like he's in HR. Yeah, I think he's in some sort of management position at Sportsnet. Right. But he'd be a really good manager.

Like, I feel like he's nice, but he's not afraid to tell people, you know, smarten up. and so i think it's a good move for him so we got he got kicked upstairs is this what happened adam styles like because i just i'm curious you would know right because uh adam styles was the meteorologist at city news but no i believe it was you know his own choice because they filled his spot with uh natasha ramza high okay so well i mean yeah i'm, I hope it was his choice. That's for sure.

But he means it's a good move for him if that's what he wants to do. Yeah. Just wanted to... And I mean, better hours too, to be honest. Like when you're doing that city shift, you're working, it's three to midnight. So I think his new role,

I would imagine is more of a nine to five. I could be wrong because it's sports, maybe a little bit later, but... Right. So much love to FOTM Adam Stiles. That's right. Who loves his Great Lakes beer. He's a big craft beer guy. Okay. This is a huge passion. He's huge passion. I think he owns a restaurant. So after yes, subsequent to his appearance, he has started maybe a craft brewery or something. Yeah. I think you're right. He's a big craft brewery guy. Yeah. Yeah, you're right. So he, yeah, he, uh, trained me up when I, uh, when I started at City News. So I got a chance to spend a few days with him.

Awesome. Awesome. Okay. So we're going to pivot here. Okay. Uh, but do you want to name check anybody at City News? Like just maybe anybody who, uh, is awesome there. I know, I know this won't be like one of those things where you didn't name somebody that means you think they're an asshole or whatever no that's okay do you want to name check anybody at city news or 680 yeah before i move you pivot you well i'm gonna drop mark mcallister because i just met him a couple weeks

ago and i mean he's been on there forever like i remember watching him when i was young and so i was up in the weather center and he popped up because he was doing a segment out on the patio and I was working away and he said, oh, hi, Michelle. And I was like, oh, my God, you know my name. Anyways, lovely guy, super humble and just great at his job. So a big fan of him at City News. Natasha Ramza High obviously is an idol of mine. And at 680, there's too many. But I think Jeff Rahoman is, you know, is my top guy.

Big fan of Jeff Rahoman. Speaking of McAllister, Billy Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge. Okay, this is the, that reference, I know you're very young. I'm very young for that too, but that is a reference to, I better clue you in a bit, but that is a reference to Ode to Billy Joe. Okay. Which, when you go home and listen to Ode to Billy Joe, you can thank me later.

It was a number one hit. I believe it's a Billboard number one hit. Like, this is not an obscure song at all. Okay. Bobby Gentry. Honestly, what a song and that's like the uh oh big big the big hook in the opening okay stanza i will uh billy joe mcallister jumped off the tallahatchee bridge so you can later hey you and ozzy can listen to that

tonight you can thank me later okay all right let's talk about you being a mental health advocate yeah i'm an open book ask away well I guess my first question is, um, what prompted you to become a mental health advocate? Yeah. Well, when I was in high school, I started to develop symptoms of an eating disorder and eventually that turned into seven years of battling anorexia. And so when I, and the turning point really was when I started working at the Weather Network, I really got healthy. I got a therapist. I, you know, gained a healthy amount of weight. And I just reflected on that a few years after I felt like I was in a place of recovery and was like, what if I can use my platform to help other young girls and boys kind of get

through this? And so I started dabbling with the Canadian Mental Health Association, doing a couple of small talks here and there. And it seemed to help a couple of people. And so I just decided to keep going with it and share my story and inspire other people to, you know, recovery as possible. Well, I think talking about it is a big deal, especially removing the stigma because like, to be specific here, I'm going to drill in a bit. So anorexia nervosa, this is basically like a

mental illness where you see yourself as fat, regardless of any, any any any metrics regarding obesity of any sorts like and i we always you know you always hear these tragic stories about somebody who when you might look at them you think they look skeletal for example yes but they they look in the mirror and they think they're fat yeah so that happens for me i never looked in the mirror and saw myself as fat, especially when I started losing weight, it just became this all consuming, almost addiction to losing weight. So is this where you would basically like count calories? Every single thing on my plate, I would count. I just kept reducing, reducing, reducing and working out to an extreme weight scale every day. And, you know, then started,

that progresses to cutting out meals. It really is an addiction. It gives you a high when you lose this weight and in the most unhealthy possible way. Oh my goodness, right. And I mean, good on you though for seeking help and recovering. Yeah.

Is it like being an alcoholic where you can you know don't drink anymore but you are always an alcoholic correct always so it's like it's the strangest thing because with alcoholism and drug addiction you just never touch that again you can't or else you relapse but with food you still have to eat to survive that is true so it's a really weird thing because you have to train yourself right to learn how to eat to survive. That is true. So it's a really weird thing because you have to train yourself to learn how to eat again, to learn when you're full, to learn your hunger cues. And I found for me, I was obsessed with food. I was obsessed with losing weight.

And it wasn't until I gained a healthy amount of weight that I started thinking logically about food again. And what is that logic now? Is it just essentially that you, you, uh, require this fuel and it's like putting gas in the car, put gas in the car. I look at, look at it as like a way to get strong. And if I ever have kids, I think that's how I'm going to raise them as a way. Like we eat food to be strong and healthy. Sure. And we work out to do the same thing, not to lose. But it's hard. I mean, we live in a culture that is very diet focused.

And it doesn't help. I would get, because I follow you on social media. And I mean, you are, like I said, you're in people's living rooms at night. Like there's Michelle and you'll be delivering, I don't know, a weather forecast or something on city news right and now you're in and and uh I know I know people who are like is this person pregnant like I get these notes like that's if I'm I mean Toronto Mike has been around a long time since like you know decades oh when

when am I TMZ like is something I don't touch this with a 10-foot pole like i don't know if this person is pregnant and i don't care you know i hope they want to be pregnant if they're i don't know i have nothing to do it but this happened to somebody recently at ctv toronto news uh a weather person yeah and i was getting all these notes there i see a bump in their belly like was it lindsey morrison she is pregnant by the way okay Okay. So I did learn that. She took Dana Levinson's spot. Yes. Who was doing that for 19 years. Yes.

Shout out to Dana Levinson. I work with her every week. She's fantastic. Yeah. She's fantastic. Yeah. She's great. On the DL.

Dana Levinson. She's great. DL. Okay. Yes. On the DL. For Dana Levinson and DL. See, it works both ways.

It's very clever here. So it must be, what I'm saying is that that you do like people can be like so rude. Oh, my gosh. Especially on Twitter and stuff. Yeah. So you're so exposed. Yeah. And then people are assholes.

So this is a particularly tough spot for you. Yeah. And I feel like there's also this weird thing, too, of like skinny shaming. Like I find more than. Oh, she's too skinny like that? She's too something eat a burger i got i lost some weight years ago and i was getting like yeah you look like you have cancer and it's like what is the difference between that and telling someone they're fat right there's no like don't shame period don't you know don't even go there but the thing i always tell myself whenever I get a mean comment like

that is I literally could not do the job I love if I was sick again like I couldn't physically or emotionally do it so that's kind of what pushes me through and I still see a therapist and all that just like it's important to celebrate the wins as much as it is to talk about your issues. So, okay. Here's a question, a Twitter question. Are your DMs open or like, do you need to, and I know I'm just curious. I recently opened them on Twitter because I found sometimes you get good news tips. Right. So I recently did that. And so far Twitter has been fine.

Right. I had an incident on TikTok recently, which got very mean and ruthless. This was my personal crisis. So last week, I did a little TikTok video asking people why they don't put mufflers on their cars. Because every time I was live on air at Young Dundas, someone would like rev an engine and I was getting so mad about it. I was like, what's the point? Why do you not put a muffler on your vehicle? Anyways, it went viral in the car community.

And I was, you know, it was just a little joke, but the amount of comments, they were so ruthless, very sensitive topic, apparently. You struck a nerve, I think. I struck a nerve, but, you know, like, it was just, I, yeah, so I'm not going to touch the muffler situation ever again. You learned a valuable lesson. I learned a very valuable lesson.

So if somebody is listening and they think they might have an issue with anorexia or even, what is the like umbrella term, like eating disorders? Yeah. Eating disorders. They could DM you. Oh my gosh.

Absolutely. 100%. And that does happen sometimes. And my DMs are open. I will respond. Like that is huge. So remind us, even though I'm going to say it in a minute in the intro,

but it's Michelle Mackey. Is that the? Just my, just my name on twitter okay but i think that's awesome like if anyone listening even if you know somebody or whatever just you could have a like a confidential chat with uh michelle here anytime because you are like you're a mental health advocate which is awesome by the way so kudos to you because uh i think it's good to see somebody who's,

you know, battled eating disorder that in can, can, can, can, you know, can, you can confide in and kind of get some help,

like some direction. And I found like when I was suffering, I didn't have that person. It was missing. I didn't have anyone. I idolized who I saw as being outspoken. I remember at the time, Mary Kate Olson had anorexia and went to treatment,

but never spoke publicly about it. And that's fine. You know, every- Also, she might not answer your DM. She might not answer your DM as well. But I just thought I really wanted to see someone outspoken about it when I was sick.

So hopefully I can be that. Okay, good for you. Where do you see yourself? This is like my final curiosity question. So you're happy as you said, you were as happy as you've ever been. Yeah. And you're like,

you're 30 years old now. You're on city news. You're on 680 news. And like, what is the longer term? Like, where do you see yourself in like five to 10 years? Do you want to be the anchor?

Yeah, it depends. I mean, I really like being out in the field when it comes to news. I want to be kind of on the front lines of things that are happening actually in it. I don't know if that's going to change when I get a bit older. But for now, my dream is to be some sort of content creator. You know, an umbrella term where it could be tv radio digital i do it all

you're a storyteller yeah welcome to the club this is all i'm trying to do is just share stories and tell stories yes okay exactly and and do you like the weather part like that's a part of the role is to kind of be a weather specialist uh is that a part, like, is that still exciting and interesting to you? Or would you like possibly a meteor, not meteor, that would be a meteor, a subject matter to sink your teeth into, more nourishment on that front? Yeah, I looked into going to school for meteorology, but I spent all my money on that damn master's degree. So it's kind of like,

I'm very passionate about it and I would never want to not, double negative, never want to not do weather in some capacity. So I always want to hold on to that for my entire career, even if it's just fill in on, you know, when people are away. Well, I think you're very good because this was originally scheduled for yesterday morning. Yeah. Okay. Or I don't know, sometime yesterday. Yeah. And I looked outside and it was like raining at the time we were supposed to be back here. So I feel like you're very good at what you do because you, you had the foresight to say, let's do it Tuesday. And this is a perfect day. This is the bluest sky you could ever see. And it's high pressure, baby. It's perfect. Like you just knew you looked, you looked at the

modeling and you said, yeah, do this. That's definitely what happened for sure. Yeah. Okay. Before I play some, uh, rosy and gray by the lowest of the low, how was this? Like, uh, I love that you listen. I'm honored you listened to me. That's fantastic. It makes me feel great. And you were great. I think you've got a great personality. Oh, thank you. The world is your oyster, as they say. But how did this go for you? Okay. I was very nervous, as I mentioned. There's the lawnmower again. That might be her property now because she does the neighbors and then she does hers. It sounds louder.

Well, maybe it's a different lawnmower then. Yeah. I think this one has more horsepower behind it. But this, I would say you are a fantastic interviewer because immediately I was very comfortable. I never really felt like you asked me a question. I felt like it was very conversational. I know you did ask questions, but it felt more like a chat with a friend, which I think is the goal of every journalist, right? That's by design. So I was immediately comfortable. I think I answered things okay and I am

very excited to tell people about this. So you're saying I should have recorded it. Yeah, I think you've got something here. I think you should keep going with this pod. Okay, and on that and then here's the magic words. Ready?

You ready? I'm ready. And that. Some want t-shirts that say, and that. And that. Should I sell t-shirts that say, and that. Yes. You need merch.

You need an online merch store. There is Toronto Mike t-shirts available. If you go to torontomike.com and you click T's, T-E-E-S at the top. What about mugs? There might be mugs too. I don't know what's available in that merch store. I got to check it out, actually. I should find out what I'm selling.

Yeah. But I need end that. And I should also just drop at the end of this episode that we're going to have a meeting of the FOTMs, like an outdoor socially distanced meeting on July 16. So more details to come. But this is kind of exciting for Pandemic Friday fans. We're going to

do the finale live somewhere outdoors on August 27. So like if you have a calendar, FOTMs can put like 7pm July 16 and 7pm August 27 in their location and 7 p.m. August 27

in their location and details to be announced. But that's kind of exciting. That's a huge deal. That's a big deal. I hope it's covered by 680 News and City News. Yeah, I think you might have an in there.

And that brings us to the end of our 866th show. You can follow me on Twitter. I'm at Toronto Mike. Michelle is at Michelle Mackey. Our friends at Great Lakes Brewery, they're at Great Lakes Beer. Palma Pasta is at Palma Pasta.

Sticker U is at Sticker U. Ridley Funeral Home, they're at Ridley FH. And Mimico Mike, he's actually not on Twitter. He's on Instagram, at Majeski Group Homes. I'm going to get myself

a Pfizer shot. Yeah. See you all next week. This podcast has been produced by TMDS and accelerated by Roam Phone. Roam Phone brings you the most reliable virtual phone service to run your business

and protect your home number from unwanted calls. Visit RoamPhone.ca to get started.