Walking the talk: The remarkable radio journey of Sarah Maree Cameron

Sarah Maree Cameron had often thought about having a crack at talkback radio. She joked to friends that she was simply biding her time.

She never dreamed she’d actually be doing it before the age of 40.

Yet recently, Sarah Maree – affectionately known among her radio mates as SMC – found herself hosting her first six-hour talkback show on Melbourne’s 3AW, filling in for Peter ‘Grubby’ Stubbs on Weekend Break, an experience she describes as exhilarating.

“To have the trust of Grubby to look after his show as he took an extremely rare day off, plus have the backing of 3AW’s Station Manager Stephen Beers meant so much,” Sarah Maree tells Radio Today.

Having previously presented shows on Melbourne’s Fox FM, Triple M and Nova 100 as well as the Breakfast shift at Geelong’s K rock, hopping over to the AM dial was something of a new frontier for Sarah Maree.

“I feel fortunate to have people at 3AW championing me,” she says.

Of her life growing up in Melbourne’s south-east, Sarah Maree says “I’m the youngest in a loud family that always had the radio or TV on – or both at the same time,” she says.

3AW, Triple M and Gold were the stations that featured the most.

“If it had anything to do with comedy or sport, it was on in our household,” Sarah Maree remembers.

One day, Sarah Maree was gifted a karaoke machine and a Talkgirl recorder so that she could record herself singing. She ended up using them to create radio shows in her bedroom and was later involved in the launch of legendary Melbourne community station SYN FM.

Having completed year 12, Sarah Maree was accepted into uni but wasn’t keen on taking up the offer she received, as it would have meant moving to a regional area at the age of just 17.

Instead, she opted for a broadcasting course at Holmesglen Institute of TAFE.

“Afterwards, I had the pleasure of walking a path that many radio people I looked up to had done – Jim Barbour‘s course at Swinburne.”

As part of her Swinburne studies, Sarah Maree did her work placement at Nowra’s Power FM.

“I remember getting the station tour and pinching myself that I was there and allowed to go on air.”

But just as it was taking off, her radio journey suddenly ground to a halt.

“After the course finished, I couldn’t land a gig anywhere in Australia,” says Sarah Maree. “I was applying for anything that had an on-air component right across the country but after a few months I gave up, grabbed a backpack and headed for the US.”

She then made her way to Canada, where she accepted a job offer in Lake Louise.

“After discovering there was a radio station just down the highway in Canmore, I emailed Dad instructions on where to find my aircheck on the computer at home and asked him to send it to me.”

“I was able to pass that onto the Program Director of Mountain FM Rob Murray, who then hired me as a presenter.”

In what was only meant to be a quick trip home for Christmas, Sarah Maree got more than she bargained for.

“My friend Daniel Ennis – who was working in engineering at DMG – let me know that Toni Pipicelli was on the hunt for some summer casuals at Nova 100.”

“I landed a gig at Nova which led to me being an assistant producer on Nova nights then hosting late nights afterwards.”

Suffice to say, Sarah Maree never returned to her life in Canada.

The journey through radio is often paved with ‘pinch yourself’ moments. A major one for Sarah Maree was being in the studio at Fox FM, hosting a national late nights after the Hot 30 countdown.

“Tim Lee hooked that I was coming up next and said ‘around the country’. I was (1) shocked to hear him say my name and (2), had a wave of realisation that at 22 years old, I was standing in the studio of a station I long admired, hosting a networked show.”

Sarah also remembers September 2019 as being an incredible month.

“I’d recently moved back to Melbourne to take a job with Triple M. That month, I found myself broadcasting from the Brownlow Medal then at the AFL Grand Final where my beloved Richmond Tigers (who I also work for) won the flag. I think I was floating on Cloud Nine for a month, if not more.”

Having made many friendships along the journey, Sarah Maree is held in high regard among her radio colleagues.

As K rock’s Music Director and Workday announcer Chris Holland (pictured above with Sarah Maree and Matt O’Gorman) – tells Radio Today “Sarah Maree is a firecracker. I wish I had a quarter of the self-belief she presents with.”

The pair first me in 2008, when Holland was training her to replace him as Assistant Content Director at Darwin’s Hot 100 and Mix 1049.

“She now fills in casually with K rock and Bay in Geelong and it’s fantastic to have someone as strong as her, in both a professional and personal sense, be able to step up as part of our team,” he says.

Sarah Maree is also a successful stand-up comedian, a job truly not for the faint hearted.

“Comedy can be challenging, but so can radio, TV and many other industries,” she reasons. “You’re sharing a lot of yourself on stage through your energy or the content you’re covering.”

Sarah Maree has had many Program and Content Directors but one who had a particularly huge impact on her was Mike Cass, during her Nova days.

“Perhaps it was his experience in the UK market and what he was able to bring to Australian radio that was so captivating. I was and continue to be inspired by Mike.”

But Sarah Maree says it’s her radio friends who’ve influenced her the most.

“The early morning chats with Tom Lewis (pictured above with Sarah Maree) when we were doing brekky together at K rock, the many chats with Matty O from Triple M – especially when we were often the only people in the Triple M area during lockdown.”

“Also the long chats with Renée Peterson, Annabelle Brett, Al Plath and Mikayla White, to name a few. I feel blessed to have the friends that I do in the industry and I love that we’re able to be sounding boards for each other.

As Matty O tells Radio Today, Sarah Maree has been an incredible mentor and colleague.

“Sarah Maree is also an amazing friend. Her work ethic is infectious and inspiring. You’ll also always find her going above and beyond to help others wanting to break into the industry without a thought of anything in return.”

“She’s so well-loved across the board and I know I’m not the only one celebrating her successes.”

As the media landscape continues to evolve, Sarah Maree remains thankful for any opportunity she has to contribute to it.

“I love media. I love creating content. I love working in a team. If I’m able to be near those things years from now, then I’m happy.”