‘It’s brutal, cut throat and intense - but my God it’s fun’
They wake us up, drive us home and keep us company all hours in between. READ what 10 radio hosts love about their craft.
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They wake us up, drive us home and keep us company all hours in between – and the voices of Aussie radio say 100 years on air is only the beginning.
Erin Molan
Erin Molan’s first gig in radio was reading the weekend news and sport on Canberra FM.
She was working in the speechwriting department of the Governor-General and on community TV and met the boss, convincing him to give her a shot.
That was almost 20 years ago now, and she hasn’t looked back.
“Yes it’s brutal and cutthroat and intense … the hours kill and the pressure is always there – but my God, it’s fun,” the 2DayFM host tells Insider.
“It’s phenomenally enjoyable – it’s a privilege and it’s connecting with people who need it every single day.
“It’s about connection, impact – we have a ball, we connect with our listeners – and we get to change people’s lives … every single day.”
The Sydney-based single mum isn’t surprised the art form that is radio has made it to a century on the airwaves – she listens now because she’s busier than ever.
“Radio is my treat,” she says.
“It’s immediate, entertaining, informative and comforting.”
She says it also helps that co-host Hughsey is one of her best mates.
“He’s done it all, been through it all … and has emerged a very wise man,” Molan says.
“We fight sometimes – usually it’s me fighting – but it’s a very honest and real relationship. He thinks I’m batshit crazy and I think he’s a vegan punish – it’s perfect.”
Dave Hughes
2DayFM host Dave Hughes got noticed doing stand up comedy and spots on community radio RRR. From there came a gig on Triple M on Saturday mornings before he took on the Nova Melbourne breakfast shift with Kate Langbroek and Dave O’Neil in 2001 – and he’s been at it ever since.
“It’s enabled me to share my love of laughter with an audience on a daily basis for over 20 years, and I’m so grateful,” he says.
“I love being able to laugh about my own silly life with my co-hosts and the audience every day, being able to laugh at my co-hosts and the audience’s silly lives every day – and give away tickets to Taylor Swifts concerts,” he says.
It’s also a medium that has given him not only a career, but so many great friends.
“All generous superstars,” he says.
“From my earliest days, funny guy Dave O’Neil and the legend Kate Langbroek, to my current co-hosts, the brilliant Erin Molan and the hilarious Ed Kavalee.
“Through it all was Sacha French, my amazing radio producer from the start. Although she just quit so I don’t know why I’m pumping her up.
“I listen to radio for traffic updates,” he jokes.
On a serious note, the comedian says his show’s listeners are worth the early morning alarm every day.
“They mean everything,” he says.
“Without them we wouldn’t have anyone to give prizes to. A bloke once came up to me and said ‘Remember me? I rang you on the radio once’. I said ‘When did you ring?’ – he said “A number of years ago”. I said ‘What did you ring about?’ and he said “I can’t remember.’
“I said ‘Yep, I remember that’.”
Mick Molloy
Triple M’s Mick Molloy says like “most people” in radio, he “rode someone’s coat tails and then white-anted them” until he got the top job.
Now Mick and MG In The Morning is his happy place – and one of the many reasons he loves commercial radio.
“I’m always up to date with the weather and traffic, I work in a temperature-controlled glass box, and I get to prove to my teacher Mr Jenkins that I can actually make a living hearing my own voice,” the comedian tells Insider.
“I love the competitions. Secret Sound and Beat The Bomb are two of my favourites – I once created Secret Bomb, but the federal police shut that down pretty quickly.
“Probably Led Zep’s Stairway To Heaven or November Rain by Guns N Roses are my favourite songs – I don’t really know the songs that well, I just know they’re long enough that I can get a decent toilet break in while they’re playing.”
Ever the funnyman, Molloy says whoever gets him his first coffee in the morning is his best mate – but he has one secret fans may not know.
“Not many people know this but I go around to John Laws’ place every week,” he says.
“He hasn’t let me in yet, but I’ve received some great advice through the intercom over the years.
“I listen to radio mainly so I don’t have to talk to my Uber drivers – get them to crank it up real loud, too. I think it’s just the variety across so many stations. Like I can turn on one station and hear the horse racing, and then go down the other end of the dial and it’s the greyhounds. Incredible.
“The listeners are the life blood of what I do. They make every day fun, and I genuinely couldn’t do it without them. But if they come within 10m of me on the street, I will have my security detail capsicum spray them,” he jokes.
Britt Hockley
KIIS FM’s Britt Hockley says her journey to radio was an organic one.
“I’ve always been able to talk underwater, which is why I started the Life Uncut podcast with Laura Byrne,” The Pickup host says.
“We had the podcast for I think two to three years, putting out two or three episodes a week consistently, meaning we had hundreds of episodes when we started radio.”
She’s not surprised radio has made it to 100 years and is bigger than ever – it’s the reason she laughs every day.
“Every day, I get to work with Laura and Mitch Churi, meaning every day I am in absolute hysterics – we have so much fun together and are all genuinely best friends,” she says.
“We get to interview so many amazing people from all different walks of life. The incredible opportunities to learn new skills and work with so many different people, like working with Kyle over the summer.
“My co-hosts Laura and Mitch are my besties for sure, and Kyle has acted as a mentor for me for the last year. I’ll often go to him for advice, or run ideas by him.”
On a personal level, for her, radio is escapism.
“Radio, of course, can have serious moments, but generally it is light, fun and engaging and let’s you be entertained without using too much brain power,” she laughs.
“I think we all need that. Our listeners are the most important thing. We’ve had around 65 million downloads and are lucky that we had so many amazing listeners on the podcast that transferred to radio.
“Radio has allowed us to reach a whole new audience. I learn something new every day, I get to work with great people and interview the most interesting people from all over the world.
“At the end of the day, If I can give someone a laugh or help them feel less alone in any way, I’m a happy woman.”
Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli
Wippa always knew he was meant to be on radio, and wasn’t going to stop until he’d made it.
“After undertaking a 10-week course at a Melbourne Radio School, which gave me the opportunity to get together a demo, I drove up the East Coast of Australia, dropping my demo into every radio station to see who’d have me,” 96.9’s Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie co-host says.
“5AU Port Augusta took me on and it wasn’t long before some friends, Hamish and Andy, invited me to be the street guy on their radio show in Melbourne.
“I Iove creating ridiculous ideas and having a brave brand like Nova support you – such as the current launch of my first book, the erotic novel The Far Too Personal Trainer.
“I love the team and I love the connection – what you hear on air is exactly what you hear off air. Don’t make me choose between Fitzy and Kate, it could get ugly.”
He loves the local side of radio and the power of news and topics to do with your home city.
“I also love the difference of opinions you get with your listeners, their passion for prizes and their willingness to share their ridiculous stories, so we’re not the only ones with ridiculous tales,” he says.
“One of our favourite radio events is our annual Backyard Cricket with the Prime Minister at Kirribilli House.
“We were thinking about what we could do with a house that wasn’t being used and how we could bring Kirribilli House back to the people and came up with the idea of holding a backyard cricket match in the grounds of Kirribilli.
“We approached Julia Gillard when she was PM and she said no. We tried again when ScoMo was PM and surprisingly he said yes - it’s the first time I’ve seen a PM playing cricket in boardshorts.
“Several prime ministers later our Backyard Cricket game continues to reach new heights … I love the creative outlet radio can bring.”
Ryan ‘Fitzy’ Fitzgerald
Fitzy’s life on the airwaves started as a boundary rider for Triple M in Adelaide before he was offered the role as sports reporter on Nova in 2004.
Nearly 20 years later, Fitzy says radio is what’s good for his mental health.
“No matter how tired you are, that instant rush you get as the mics go on at 6pm, it’s addictive,” the Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa with Kate Ritchie show co-host says.
“I also love the relationship with the listener.
“I find it so gratifying when people open up their lives in sharing a story or asking for advice. I listen to radio to escape.
“It has been the best form of improving mental health.
“To exercise, walk … while listening to the radio has been very therapeutic.”
While he’s done a lot of crazy things over the years, throwing a car 86m with a 20 tonne trebuchet called The Bob KatterPult to break a Guinness Book World Record in 2011 has to be up there with the wackiest.
“It was one of the weirdest, most rewarding days ever,” he says.
And as for winning an ACRA Award – it’s more about the team for Fitzy.
“I get more satisfaction knowing that the team around have been recognised.”
Ricki-Lee Coulter
Ricki-Lee was sitting on the couch watching TV when she got a call to fill in on the Kate, Tim & Joel – a show that just six months later became Ricki-Lee, Tim & Joel.
“As a music artist, your world can be very insular and you are always focused on what you’re doing, so you don’t really socialise with many other artists or people in the industry … but with radio, there’s a revolving door of people coming through the door that you are meeting and hanging out with and I’ve made so many new friends from doing this job,” the Nova afternoon host says.
“I’m lucky that two of my buddies are the best in the business, Kyle Sandilands and my Nova co-host Tim Blackwell.
“Very early on, Tim and I bonded over the craft of radio – and every day I sit opposite him in the studio and watching him do his thing, every day has been an absolute master class. When you’re sitting in a studio chatting with your friends and laughing your ass off for two hours a day, it can be easy to forget you’re live on air around the country – but when you run into listeners in the street or at a bar or at the airport and they tell you how much they love the show and how much our show puts a smile on their face at the end of a shitty day … that means the world.”
Laura Byrne
Ever since she was a little girl growing up in Wollongong, Laura Byrne has loved listening to the radio.
“My home station back in the day was WAVE.fm and every night, once I’d finished my school work, I’d listen to the hot 30 countdown and try and call up the competition line,” the KIIS FM The Pickup host says.
“I had the competition line on speed dial on my mum’s landline.
“Looking back now, it’s so funny to me what a core memory the radio played in my evenings as a kid.
“Working in radio – personally, I love the challenge of it.
“I love working alongside incredibly talented hosts and producers who really push me to be a better broadcaster.
“I love how it connects people, and how it taps into all kinds of emotions - from being easy background chatter, funny highlights to those really special conversations that touch our listeners all across the country.”
Tim Blackwell
For Tim Blackwell, listening to John Laws as a kid was and saying ‘I need to do that’ was the start of it all.
“The rest is history,” Nova’s Ricki-Lee, Tim & Joel co-host says.
“The three best things about working in commercial radio?
Free tickets – free tickets and free tickets!” he jokes.
He says to be recognised as Best On Air Team at the ACRAs was a highlight, and listens to radio himself because of the medium’s live element.
“It’s in real time – it reflects what’s happening now,” he says. “No other medium comes close.
“Our listeners are everything. Without them I wouldn’t be able to pay my mortgage, so thanks guys!”
When it comes to highlights. Blackwell says launching Nova 937 in Perth with his favourite band, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, was hard to go past.
“The rush of the moment, to be the first person to speak – albeit nervous as hell – will stay with me forever. Flea even called my Mum to ask if I was breastfed. It’s a job that feels so different each and every day.”
Mitch Churi
Mitch Churi’s first gig was the “glamorous” one as The Cash Cock on the Kyle and Jackie O show – and he says it was exactly what you’d picture it to be.
“The best things about working in commercial radio are the millions of dollars, the private jets – the need to embellish everything I say,” the KIIS FM Pickup and Night Show host says.
Winning best music presenter in Australia last year was a moment to remember for Churi.
“Winning an ACRA Award truly meant the world,” he says.
“It solidified my place in the industry and affirmed my love for the craft. I listen to radio for the human connection. Nothing like listening to a live broadcast – nothing can beat it.”
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