What's New August 31, 2016

ACRAs Finalists Fever – #4

There are thousands of hard-working, dedicated and amazingly creative people throughout the radio industry – and every year a small fraction of those people make the short list as a finalist in the ACRAs. Today we feature, Peter Clay, Joel Anderson and Sarah Faour. Let’s Roll Out the Red Carpet.

The ACRAs Finalists Fever – counting down the days to the big event on October 8 by profiling the finalists across all categories. You can get involved by emailing us [email protected]

BEST PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Peter Clay – smoothfm, Sydney NSW, NOVA Entertainment M

Where did it all start Peter…

I started as an office boy at the end of 1990 at 2DayFM in Crows Nest. Six months later I was driving the newly created Black Thunders and also working on the Morning Crew. My career involved producing the Morning Crew with several lineup changes, becoming Business Manager of Agro Enterprises and looking after the puppet and Jamie in QLD while working at B105. I then returned to Sydney to EP Wendy Harmer, Peter Moon and Paul Holmes. In 2000 I joined Channel V as a Supervising Producer and then became Production Manager of V, musicMAX and CMC…Oh and the MusicBUS which is a whole other story.

In 2003 I moved to ARN to Produce Jonesy/ Kayley, Jonesy’s Breakfast Bar and then Jonesy and Amanda. Two years later I left to set up Tracy and Tim in Melbourne for ARN.

After that I worked at MCM Entertainment/ MCM Media and Triple M before finally arriving at dmg Radio/ NOVA Entertainment in 2011. At NOVA Entertainment my role was Network Special Projects until I took over as Program Director of smoothfm in December 2014. And here we are….

Tell us about your entry…

Well it is basically where I tried to represent what I have done in the role over the past 12 months in one minute. It is harder putting some of these entries together that doing the job itself… No no, it is just hard writing things about yourself and basically hearing audio that sings your praises when I would rather fly under the radar and just let the product do the talking.

What’s the best part of your job..

Byron Webb, Simon Diaz and I would always say; “Wouldn’t it be good if you could get a radio station and hire all of the people you like”. Well we have done that at smoothfm as it is not only about your job skill set but it is just as important to fit into the culture. It is a small team so it needs to be a harmonious workplace and touch wood, we really do enjoy that every single day here at smoothfm so the best part is working with this bunch of people that make it so enjoyable.

What are you most proud of in relation to smoothfm over the last 12 months

Seeing all of the staff enjoy the No.1’s…. I remember how good it felt when 2Day beat Doug Mulray back in the early 90’s and when we cracked the million listener mark and that was the feeling I had when we went No. 1. It is a small team that achieves so much by being really focused on putting out the best product possible. We all get on, we see each other outside of work too and to celebrate that victory more than once now is an amazing feeling that cannot be replaced.

Your speech, if you were able to make one…

I would thank a few people that have shaped my career, but most of all I would thank the team that I work with right now in Melbourne and Sydney at smoothfm.

From Mike and Jen in Melbourne to Bogart and Glenn in Sydney, I really believe we have the nicest people in the biz…. Ty, Simon, Byron and Cam are just top class and Mel, Richard and David are just genuine people that I am lucky to call friends. We have the most credible news service with Ron Wilson, Steve Blanda and Glenn Daniel which is a key difference on FM and one that we are very proud of.

The team behind the scenes do an amazing job, Kate Mason programs both markets and all of our DAB stations which is huge. Jamie Row and Jordan Peters have amazing attention to detail and Travis Evans is a master of production. Now there is one person that makes my day so enjoyable and that is Georgie Page. She is an incredible talent and looks after all the weekend shows and special guests that do shows on smoothfm. Plus there is the Integration teams and producers Anna, Lauren and Karen and I know I will ultimately forget someone, however I will say that I enjoy working with them all…

The person I would end my thanks with is a man who is incredible to work for and we just hit it off professionally and personally. Paul Jackson has created this brand, he decides the music played on smooth and really plays an active role in the day to day sound and feel of the station. He challenges me every single day and I am sure that he and I will work together for many years to comeof.

BEST STATION SALES ACHIEVEMENT

Joel Anderson – Zinc 96.1 Sales Team;Zinc 96.1,Sunshine Coast QLD,Grant Broadcasters NM

Your Career so far…

I started in radio in New Zealand when I was 14 as an announcer. When I moved to Australia at 17 I got back into radio in the casual promotions team and from there got a foot in the door in Central Queensland as Promotions and Marketing Manager at 4CC. By accident I fell into sales and turned out to be quite good at it!d.

Tell Us About Your Entry…

Best station Sales achievement – surrounded by a great team of passionate media gurus who are not afraid to put in the hard yards to get results. Significant revenue growth across our Zinc Brand was a massive milestone for the team and now to be a finalist is very humbling.

Your speech… let rip.

II am incredibly proud of each and every one of the sales team. This achievement isn’t just about our sales team but the rest of the departments that help us succeed. Traffic, Creative, Production, Promotions, Finance – we couldn’t do it without you
, and of course we have a great product ( gotta keep the programming team happy 🙂

BEST NEWCOMER ON-AIR

Sarah Faour – Triple M, Melbourne VIC, Southern Cross Austereo M

Alright…. layout your career…. hmmmm you’re a new one..

I grew up wanting to be a footy journalist. Along the way I fell in love with radio. Cutting my teeth as an Assistant Producer for Hughesy and Kate was the beginning of my broadcasting career and I learnt that being authentic and laughing at yourself on air is essential. In 2010, Triple M poached me (I always wanted to be poached!) and shipped me off to work on The Grill Team in Sydney (Matty Johns, Mark Geyer and Gus Worland). The Hot Breakfast was in my line of sight – I’d always wanted to work with Eddie, Mick and Luke and deemed their show to be the best in the country. 18 months later I hit my bullseye and was a member of the HB team, living back in my home city! The News From Thomastown is one of my regular segments, inspired by anecdotal stories about my family. Mick Molloy heard me talking about my half Turkish-half Lebanese siblings, the Turbos, and said, “you’ve got to do this on air.” Over the last 12 months, I’ve interviewed the likes of Hugh Jackman and Nia Vardalos from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. And I’ve started doing Boundary at AFL games for Triple M Footy.

Your Entry… tell us about it

Ha! My ACRA entry is a News From Thomastown segment. One of the things I talk about in the segment is how often, my Lebanese father and Turkish step-mother get sayings, concepts, things mixed up. Lost in translation, if you like. For example, my Dad says, “I don’t need to be all trim and proper” or instead of a ‘D&M’ he will have a ‘DNA.’ When a nits outbreak hit Thomastown, there was a mix up at the chemist between KP Solution, used to treat nits and lice and KY jelly, used for, you know, doing it! So the entry is me telling Eddie, Mick and Luke this story.