Helping radio’s next generation

To the outsider, life as a radio announcer might seem an exciting, even glamorous pursuit. But the truth is, it can be a lonely existence, especially when your first job is in a remote outback town and you’re only sixteen.

Imagine it. You’re all alone, your accommodation is the local pub and you’re surviving on a steady diet of free chicken schnitzel, chips and gravy.

Like others before him, this was Leroy Brown’s experience.

Long before Leroy was the South Victorian Group Content Director for SCA, he was that teenager. A kid living his radio dream. And overcome with homesickness.

Leroy – who hails from Whyalla, SA – tells Radio Today “My first job offer came to me in the form of outback mornings announcer at 4VL Charleville in Far North Queensland. I moved into the Charleville Hotel.”

“I was living on pub food for about two weeks. The next part of the story isn’t my finest moment. I got homesick and came back home with my tail between my legs.”

The experience didn’t douse Leroy’s passion, nor stop him forging a successful radio career over the coming decades – working at stations around the country, from Hot 100 in Darwin to K-Rock in Geelong,

Leroy understands only too well the dream of working in radio. In fact, he was so obsessed, the process of getting into the industry was almost a full-time occupation in itself.

“I’d look for jobs on the Monday, send out demos and resumes on the Tuesday, record and edit shows on the Wednesday, follow up on feedback on the Thursday and get some more flying hours on the air on Friday, putting into practice the feedback I’d been sent from content directors during the week.”

Leroy signed up with his local community station in Whyalla and did radio courses in Adelaide, listening to those on air at SAFM and MMM and taking notes from two of SA’s finest in Sean Craig Murphy and Craig Bruce.

Networking has meant budding young announcers aren’t afforded the same opportunity to ‘do their apprenticeship’ in regional stations as they once might have had.

It’s challenging just to get a foot in the door, but Leroy believes there are great opportunities to be seized, such as podcasting. He says it’s a chance get some flying hours on the board and create content on a platform that will help prepare people for a career in broadcasting.

Leroy is passionate about helping others get their break in radio and supporting their industry journey, and that’s where Air Heads Radio comes in.

“Air Heads Radio began as a book I started to write while I was doing breakfast at K-Rock. I figured I had all this knowledge in my head that I’d picked up over the years and I wanted to share it.”

“It wasn’t until I stepped out from behind the microphone and into leadership that I realised how much value the words I had written down carried for those wanting to launch a career in radio. The Air Heads Podcast actually came second but was released first, to work hand in hand with the book as a resource for young announcers.”

“Finding a mentor or coach is a sure-fire way to put your broadcasting career on the right course. If you want to learn how to play guitar or surf, you get lessons, right? Our industry is no different.”

“Sharing what you know with those coming up through the ranks is key in the development of future proofing this industry.”

Away from radio, family time is something Leroy cherishes and says his wife Kylie is incredibly supportive of what he does.

“The kids (Kiara, Jackson, Caleb and Asher) have also been a great over the journey, with Kiara actually following in my footsteps a little and starting to craft her own career in radio, notching up her flying hours at the same station where I got my start, 5 Triple Y in Whyalla.”