The most frequent fill-in host will soon take over the permanent reins of The Early Edition, which is CBC Radio One's flagship morning show.

Stephen Quinn becomes the host starting on January 2 following the impending retirement of Rick Cluff.

This means that Quinn will have to wake up "dark and early"—to borrow a Cluffian phrase—to be in the broadcast booth from 5 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. every Monday to Friday.

What many listeners don't realize is that hosting a morning radio show requires a multitude of skills. Part of the job entails knowing when and how to end segments smoothly at precise times to accommodate frequent traffic, weather, business, and news reports.

While it might look easy from the outside, there are some similarities to being an air-traffic controller. That's because the host must remain cognizant of various segments appearing on the program according to a tight script while also conducting current-affairs interviews that challenge guests and engage listeners.

In this regard, hosting a morning program is far more challenging than being in the broadcast booth for a leisurely chat show.

Quinn has had to deal with many of these elements as host of the afternoon program, On The Coast, so it's not a surprise that the public broadcaster has moved him into the even more complicated morning spot.

Because the morning show kicks off the day, it's imperative that the station generates a large audience, some of whom will keep the dial on CBC for national shows such as The Current, q, and As It Happens. Cluff has generated superb ratings in his 20 years hosting The Early Edition.

During Quinn's tenure at On The Coast, there was also a significant increase in ratings in the afternoon. This likely made him a shoo-in to be Cluff's replacement.

Replacing Quinn on the afternoon show from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. is Gloria Macarenko, a long-time TV news anchor on CBC. She currently hosts the midday B.C. Almanac radio show as well as the Our Vancouver TV show on CBC.

The public broadcaster has not yet named a replacement for Macarenko on B.C. Almanac, which is a provincewide call-in show.