Knowing as much as they do about the interview process, it’s no surprise that journalists are often more comfortable asking questions than answering them. As Master of Journalism student Catherine Morasse laughingly says, “I’m the one who’s usually holding the microphone.” But Morasse, warm and wonderfully communicative, quickly settles, and brings both her past and future plans vividly to life.
Recipient of the River Philip Foundation Journalism Scholarship, at the time of writing, Morasse is getting ready to move from Ottawa to Halifax to begin her studies in King’s Master of Journalismprogram. Born and raised in Hull, Quebec, she’s been holding that microphone and working as a journalist in a range of media positions for the past eight years. After studying media at Cégep de Jonquière, well known for its journalism program, Morasse began working at Ottawa and Gatineau weekly papers before moving over to Le Droit, Ottawa’s major French-language daily, where a three-month internship led to a position editing and writing about the arts. “Le Droitwas my training ground,” she says. “I was writing in the newsroom, on the weekends covering everything and then I was assigned to cover the arts.” Concurrently, she did an Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences in Conflict Studies and Human Rights at the University of Ottawa. And there’s more: for the past two years, Morasse has worked at Radio-Canada developing her television and radio broadcast and production skills.