Local Radio from London

He’s back on home-soil in Coffs Harbour after a stint in London but he stayed on-air at Triple M Coffs Coast despite being on the other side of the world.

This week, Michael Moffett took time out of his busy schedule to chat with me about the venture.

Q: You gotta feel good to be home again?

A: It’s great to be home again. The first 2 days were some of the hottest for London in a long time, getting up to 33 degrees, and still 23 degrees at midnight when I finished the first show.

Q:  Can you tell us why you were overseas?  and how long were you away?

A:  I have always aimed to do big stuff, and to show what can be achieved in non-metro markets with small teams, and no producers if you work hard. As for this trip, it becomes a great talking point with your listeners. For me, it was also about taking our listeners to London through the stories and magic of the city via the radio show, which may also have them decide to travel to experience it themselves. 

I was there for a week doing the show, each day I would go out about 8am to record content, both audio and video, then get back to the hotel by around 3pm to cut up the audio segments and also edit the video packages. Then go through the music log to set it up for the show. Then have dinner before going live on air from 9pm – midnight local time which was 6-9am Australian time.

I had a couple of daily segments, one of the segments this year included some incredibly talented London Buskers. I recorded a quick chat and song with them – this wrapped up the show each day.

Q:  Most people would’ve said “I’m away” – but not you.  What convinced you to broadcast for Coffs from London?

A:  The first time I travelled to London, I walked around the city and like any broadcaster can relate to, I would see so many stories and so much history, especially around music, that I wanted to share with our listeners. I worked out how it could be done, convinced our team, and made it happen.

Q:  Did you take equipment with you ?  the airline would’ve loved you!!!

A:  This is the second time I’ve done it, the first was in 2019. Both times the gear all fit in my carry on luggage. Just a laptop, microphone headset, Rodecaster Pro and an internet connection. I also had my Rode WirelessGo2 for field recording.

Going through security, the airlines were actually really easy to deal with, some just asking what it was for, but mostly asking if I still had a belt on or anything in my pockets…

Q:  How complex is it to set up the equipment on arrival?

A:  The setup takes about a minute or two. Technology now allows us to be able to do so much with very little. The Rodecaster connects to my laptop, I can also take my comp line calls through my laptop. Our codec is a website that connects back to the Triple M studios called IPDTL, it was crystal clear and less than about half a second delay. I can also still fire off the songs and ads with Zetta2Go from London.

Q:  Would you do it again?  How would you do it differently?

A:  Absolutely, I would definitely do it again. Possibly next to the USA. The London trip was solo, however it would be great to look at incorporating listeners as well, likely through our local travel agent and doing a type of bucket-list tour to see it through other sets of eyes.

Q:  Where do you see yourself in the future? 

A:  Last month marked 8 years since arriving in Coffs Harbour, and about 23 years in this industry across 3 states. One thing I’ve learnt is, for me, it’s about what we can do to engage with our community, ways we can help to keep people informed and entertained daily. 

We are in an industry that allows us to do some incredible stuff if we try. Honestly, I haven’t actually set a timeline regarding where I will or want to be, sometimes that can only disappoint you. But if you set a goal to always work hard, and do things differently it makes life pretty exciting.

Affectionately known as “Moffee” – thanks for you time and all the best in the future.

You can hear him at Breakfast on TripleM 106.3 Coffs Coast.