The alarm went off at a quarter to five this morning. I usually get to work by about 6.15. Obviously a lot of the programme production and preparation is done the day before - even days before - but you have to keep in touch with the news and what's going on around the place. I check back on calls, e-mails, letters that we get in to the radio station on a daily basis. We get a lot of ideas and clues from listeners. I watch all the newspapers, magazines, publications, press releases - you name it, I go through it. Scott Williams (the show's presenter) gets in before 8 a.m. and on his desk will be the day's programme. We sit down, talk and bounce ideas off each other. If anything else comes up, I'll get cracking on it before the programme starts at 10. Between eight and 10 I'll be looking at the following day and the following week; more preparations, organising more interviews with people. There's a lot of production and planning for weekend programmes. Also, towards the end of the week we have a repeat of the best of the week's interviews.

Between 10 and noon it's all go. I'm the producer. I'm in the studio with Scott and I also take all the calls and vet them. The best thing about the programme is the surprise factor. If somebody calls in with a really hot topic, that'll change the course of the whole programme. We'll move the schedule around to suit it. Consumerinterest issues are probably the main topic and theme of the programme - what's affecting people, the value they're getting for their pound. I come from a strong news background. I started off in Limerick 95FM, where I was a newsreader for two years. Then I moved to 96FM and 103FM in Cork, which is itself very much in the news at the moment. I was in the newsroom for four years and I was the producer of the opinion programme, a three-hour chat show running every morning from 9a.m to noon. Last May I moved to Lite FM. When I was younger I also got a lot of experience in both television and radio. I started in children's programmes with RTE and 2FM, and steadily built up experience from that, including experience of documentary-making. However, what I enjoy most is producing programmes, because I like to have my finger on the pulse. You get a feeling for what the listeners want and what they're interested in.

I see comparisons between Lite FM and the stations in Cork and Limerick in terms of the listener loyalty and listener respect. But I love Dublin. I've made a big step in moving to the capital and I find there's a lot more choice, storywise.

There's an awful lot more happening in Dublin. In some respects, it's almost easier to plan and produce a programme in the city because there's so much choice. This is also a new learning experience and learning curve for me, particularly since this is a brand new station. I like the intimacy of radio. In television you have all these other factors like the cameramen and the lighting and everything. On radio you just have the mobile phone - you're on the air with the presenter and it clicks. The listeners can really pick up the atmosphere by listening in. That's the power of radio, especially for talk shows. People can see through phonies and they will know if you're not being sincere. If you're dealing with an interesting topic, they will listen.

In conversation with John Cradden