Top New Talent Class of 2018: Where are they now?

Staff Writer

In the lead up to unveiling Radio Today’s Top New Talent to Watch in 2019, we thought we’d take stock of where those who featured on our 2018 list ended up.

While many have cemented roles or been promoted at their current places of employment, several have moved on to bigger and better things.

Here’s what a few of our Top New Talent Class of 2018 are up to now.


Crystal Vas – Star 106.3 Breakfast, Townsville

Receiving ACRA nominations for Best On-Air Team (regional/provincial) for two years running, Crystal worked as part of two different breakfast shows at Power FM in Bega before being promoted to the Grant Broadcasters station in Nowra.

She’s now one-half of the Crystal & Brady Breakfast show Star 106.3 Breakfast show in Townsville, and last year penned an Op-Ed for Radio Today about the difficulties maintaining a work-life balance in the radio industry.


Brooke Boney – Entertainment Reporter, Channel Nine ‘Today’

Brooke grew up in Northern NSW, before studying journalism at UTS and volunteering at Koori Radio.

She then did a stint in Canberra where she covered two election campaigns, multiple leadership spills and four Prime Ministers as SBS’s NITV News political reporter. An accomplished journalist, Brooke has also covered Indigenous and foreign affairs for ABC News.

After spending two years in charge of news on Ben & Liam’s triple j Breakfast show, she was headhunted by Nine to replace Richard Wilkins as the Today show entertainment reporter for 2019.


Danny Lakey – Hit Network Nights

Originally from Western Australia and grew up in Perth, Danny started out in radio doing casual music shifts at Hit90.9 Sea FM Gold Coast and has also worked at Hit92.9 Perth and the Breakfast shift at Star 106.3 in Townsville.

In 2017 he was co-hosting breakfast across the Hit Network in Central Queensland alongside Carly Portch, before being put into Mid-Dawns.

Danny was then thrust into Hit National Nights when Ash London jumped to Breakfast. Now he can be heard on Hit Nights from 8pm-11pm.


Ben Stevenson – Hit Coffs Coast Breakfast

Ben left Hot100 Darwin’s Breakfast show after three years at the end of 2017, and in his time there the show had a huge share of 35.2%.

It was Ben’s fast humour and dedication to going the extra mile for a stunt (including a completing a bike race on a penny farthing and skydiving for charity) that made for easy and enjoyable listening, and helped the show claim #1 Breakfast in the survey.

In 2018 he secured a gig with Southern Cross Austereo at Hit Coffs Coast, where he still hosts Breakfast with A.B (Annabelle Brett).


Stay tuned to Radio Today for our Top New Talent to Watch in 2019, out next week.

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Mat
12 Dec 2019 - 7:27 pm

Danny lakey, has a great show really funny. He had a great co-host doing weekend breakfast with tanya hennessy. His show currently 8-11pm would be top notch with a new co-host.

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