Douglas Duo’s plus Steve and John
COMMUNITY RADIO LATEST
Our community radio station Douglas FM is in broadcasting terms just a baby, but already the on-air shifts are starting to fill up with locals who fancy themselves broadcasters.
The latest is ‘Rita and Jilly’, a pair of gregarious gals who snapped up the 10am till Midday slot on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Rita Merrick is well known for her public speaking skills with the CWA in Port Douglas and continues to stack her trophy case with awards. Being a radio announcer comes naturally to Rita who selects all the music for the show.
She originally hails from London but followed the love of her life (Peter) to Port Douglas and has now set up base here “I love it and I’m certainly learning all about Australia and many of the singers like John Farnham and Jimmy Barnes, it’s a wonderful learning experience,” said Rita.
Rita Merrick has many strings to her bow including working for highly respected medical specialists in London from her home in Port Douglas. Jilly is Jillian Hawkes who freely admits she had never picked up a mouse or worked on a computer before this opportunity came along.
She’s the panel operator for the duo which takes in the latest digital radio equipment, so it’s been a steep learning curve for this upbeat Cooya Beach mum “Oh yes it’s been a challenge working the switches and faders and microphones for our show, but it’s also been rewarding in conquering my initial fears and coming out the other side” she said. All volunteers receive professional training before they go live on the radio. If you think you have what it takes, contact the station for a chat.
Jake and Banners
The boys on the Saturday Morning Sports Show are also kicking goals. 19-year-old Jake Black was only 18 when he took over the show on his own but was thrilled when Adrian Bannerman agreed to join him in the studio to do the two hander. Jake is like a superhuman computer when it comes to statistics and can rattle them off without notes “He’s phenomenal” said Banners “He just pulls them out of his head, so you’ve got to be on the ball to keep up with him” he said. Banners himself is a sportsman in his own right with stints at the Port Douglas Reef Raiders and other sporting clubs in the Shire.
Jake Black works for Quicksilver doing his part for tourism, but most of his spare time seems to be taken up with sport “I watch everything and soak it all up, I started as a little tacker with my dad on the couch and now I’m hooked on so many sports, and I just love it” he said. The boys asked me to remind all the local sports organisations in the Douglas Shire not be shy in coming forward to promote their own sport. “The more local the better” said Jake “We just want to get all these different sports on the radio and help them recruit and promote what they do, it’s as simple as that” he said.
A conversation with Steve
A brand-new program starts on Douglas FM this coming Wednesday afternoon with former real estate agent and financial guru Steve Barrett getting behind the desk to present an hour-long interview show called ‘Douglas Conversations’. Steve will talk to locals about their journey in life “Everyone has a story” said Steve “There are so many extraordinary people in the Shire who have done extraordinary things, but you never hear about it in the public space, but now you will” he said. Steve added that he's also keen to talk to young people in the Shire to find out about their aspirations for the future “It will also mean they’ll be off social media for an hour and that has to be a positive thing” he laughed. ‘Douglas Conversations’ goes to air on Wednesdays at 1pm and repeated on Sunday afternoons at 3pm. All the interviews will also be available on the stations podcast page for listening to at a time of choosing.
Deeksy goes troppo
Finally, there’s a new voice on Douglas FM doing the station ID’s. John Deeks who was the voice of Channel 7 nationally for 47 years has volunteered to do the station identification tracks. Yours truly was in Melbourne recently and caught up with Deeksy, who after hearing about the new station put his hand up to do any voice overs required. For many years John Deeks was the announcer who said, "Come on Down!" on the game show The Price Is Right. He is best known as the announcer of Wheel of Fortune (which he joined in 1984), on the Seven Network. He also voices commercials for many Australian retailers such as JB Hi-Fi and now our very own Douglas FM. Thanks Deeksy you’re a legend.
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