For the last 30 years, 101fm radio host Mike Bennett’s life has revolved around broadcast media, so it’s perhaps no surprise he’s taken on one of the station’s top jobs as committee president.
While he’ll remain on the airwaves at his usual Monday morning timeslot from 9am till midday, he’ll now have the added distinction of shaping 101fm’s creative direction and membership recruitment.
“Basically, our role is to make the station bigger and better than it was before,” he said.
By doing that, he hopes to continue repaying the loyalty of 101fm’s listeners and sponsors who’ve kept them on the airwaves around the clock during Covid and ensured the station is in a great position.
The last two years have impressed upon him just how great the Logan community is and why 101fm is an asset to them.
“Throughout Covid we kept on the air 24/7,” he said.
That’s 24 hours of live content a day at the most challenging of times.
“We were providing a lifeline for listeners,” Mr Bennett said.
“They see us as not only providers of music, they see us as friends and people they can relate to.”
Mr Bennett’s media journey started when he was 10, when he turned to radio as a way to overcome his shyness. It’s where his passion for community media began.
“My first radio job – here we go, this is giving my age away.”
In 1976, he got into hospital radio as a schoolboy.
“I was painfully shy and really struggled to talk to anybody, and I heard this advert on my radio station back in Scotland, in the UK, wanting volunteers for hospital radio ‘come and make friends and boost your confidence’, and I thought I’d have a crack.”
Mr Bennett then had a stint in commercial radio and became a video journalist for British channel ITV in his early 20s. Along the way he interviewed bigwigs, like former UK leaders Gordon Brown and Tony Blair.
Seven years ago, he moved from the UK to Australia. One of the first things he did was start volunteering with 101fm.
He has since shared his time between 101fm and as a media advisor for Media Answers Australia, providing advice and filming services.
“To be honest, I get as big a kick out of doing radio now as I did at any time in my career,” he said.
