Having been a guest on national radio recently (with Myf Warhurst on ABC – if you missed it here’s the link to the show – my interview is just after the 1 hour mark), it occurred to me that I’ve had quite a few adventures in radio and that others might be interested in finding out what it’s like.
My First Adventures in Radio
It must have been about 1999 when I managed to organise a guest spot on Brisbane’s Family Radio (96.5 FM) to help spread the news about the newsletter (magazine seems too grand a word) for Australian Christian women which I’d recently started with the help of some friends.
Three of us trekked into the studios in Milton, where we were ushered into the studio. It would have been dark – with walls covered in black soundproofing, dark carpet and a large computer desk decked out with all sorts of technical looking equipment, as well as stools and microphones for us as the guests – except for a huge window with a gorgeous view (between other buildings) of the Brisbane River. And yes, there was even the “On Air” light outside the door!
Back in those days there was a separate room with floor-to-ceiling shelves packed full of CDs ready to be used on their play list.
We were taking part in a show called “Morning Magazine” which was one I personally enjoyed listening to while driving or even at home with my two tiny tots – I liked the music and they did a couple of interviews with interesting guests every day. And now it was our turn!
We offered a free issue to anybody who sent a stamped, self-addressed envelope (remember them?!) and I can still remember my delight at finding our PO Box full of letters from listeners across Brisbane. Seems I wasn’t the only one looking for a positive, uplifting read that wasn’t full of celebrity gossip!
Guess I’ve always had a bit of get up and go, because in 2003 I self-published a book entitled “Clues to Your Calling”. Once again I hit the promotional trail, and this time I not only guested on another 96.5 program (Talking Life with Peter Janetzki), but also a couple of stations in other areas – Toowoomba and the Gold Coast. There were others, but I don’t remember where exactly as I was sitting in my home office being interviewed over the phone – definitely not as memorable as actually being in a recording studio!
My Hubby the Radio DJ
In the mid-noughties the husbear and a friend had their own show on our local community radio station, Bay FM 100.3, each Saturday night from 10pm – 12pm.
I’m pretty sure only about three people ever listened, but like anything he does, the husbear put a lot of effort into it. He would spend a lot of time during the week choosing songs and researching and writing up interesting facts and trivia to provide a bit of on-air conversation. The station’s selection of CDs was pretty woeful so husbear bought quite a few during that time specially for his show!
I joined him a couple of times when his friend couldn’t make it, and we would don our headphones and each have our own mic. We had a lot of fun chatting away on air and playing some of our favourite tunes til the wee hours (although it made it really hard to get up early the next morning to go to church LOL). I’m pretty sure he had his DJ gig for two or three years at least. Occasionally he would take one of the kids in as a special treat, and they thought it was just the bee’s knees!
ABC Radio
And after that it was radio silence for me for quite a long time … until earlier this month when a producer from Myf Warhurst’s show sent me an email. Apparently she’d seen an article of mine online (that I’d written a couple of years ago) listing some of my favourite “mature” bloggers, and asked if I would agree to be interviewed about the blogging scene for over-50’s?
One of the joys of having my own business is that my time is quite flexible, so while many people wouldn’t be available for a weekday interview, it was fine by me. While Myf is in Melbourne and I am in Queensland, I was asked to go to the ABC’s Brisbane studio – obviously this was about sound quality, as when the husbear heard the spot, he couldn’t believe I wasn’t sitting in the same room with Myf!
Sadly, for any Myf fans out there, I didn’t get to meet the lady herself even though we had a lovely chat on air.
It was a bit different to my previous adventures in radio. Once I’d been signed in by security and given a visitor’s ID tag, I was escorted into a dark room full of electronics where I briefly met and shook hands with one of the Brisbane producers.
I was then shown into a recording booth – a tiny room called the Tardis (yes really), which was set up with a desk and two microphones, a couple of headsets, a jug of water and cups, and two chairs. I was instructed to put on the headphones and to listen to the show until the Melbourne producer cut in, greeted me, and told me we would be going live at the end of the current song and after the “sting” (station promo).
There wasn’t even anybody around to take my photo on such an auspicious occasion, so I had to make do with a couple of (blurry) selfies!
Fifteen minutes later it was all over, and Myf thanked me for being on the show. As the next song played, the Melbourne producer again cut in and also thanked me for the interview … and that was it. I was left to find my own way out of the building and return my security tag. It was a bit of a letdown to be honest, as I was pretty hyped up 😉 .
Later that day I found a recording of the show on the website and listened to myself curiously. Although I hated my voice, I thought I didn’t do too bad a job – although a couple of times I rambled a bit! I got to mention lots of my blogging buddies and talk about what they are doing on their little corner of the interwebs.
The Radio Effect
I might have felt like nobody was listening but clearly I was wrong … I had over 600 hits on my blog that day (most days it’s more like a hundred)!
I also noticed about half a dozen new followers on the Middle Aged Mama Facebook page, and about thirty sign-ups for the Middle Aged Mama weekly newsletter (welcome to my new readers!).
The other bloggers I mentioned said they also noticed a boost in traffic and interest that day so I’m glad I got to share the love around.
And now it’s back to the every day … I wonder how long it will be before my next adventure in radio?
Have you ever been on the radio or even TV?!
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