In a time of continued industry uncertainty and radio redundancies, Georgina Marckwald is a shining example that you can pivot – and benefit from the courage of trying something new.
In January, after almost five years as the Mornings Announcer and Music Director at Brisbane’s KIIS 973, Georgie’s role was made redundant.
But now, the multiple ACRA winner is taking the skills she’s acquired over seventeen years of working in radio and putting them to excellent use in the podcasting realm.
Last year, two of Georgie’s long time radio buddies Tom Murray – currently the Breakfast audio producer at B105 – and former KIIS 973 Breakfast producer Cass Yannakopoulos started a podcast called The Lunchbreak.
The idea? Honest, funny, unfiltered chats about life and whatever else you’d talk to your mates about on your lunch break.
They asked Georgie to come on the podcast as a guest for a few eps.
It went so well, Georgie has now officially joined the team.
Georgie was on maternity leave after giving birth to her third child when her radio job was made redundant. Her baby daughter was just four months old.
“When I got the call to say I needed to be on a Zoom meeting with HR, I knew straight away what was about to happen,” she says.
“I’d been made redundant from Nova when I was pregnant in 2019. That hit really hard.”
But Georgie says she’s grown up a lot since then, and realises it’s merely a business decision, not a personal one.
With redeployment a possibility, Georgie says the company offered hold her redundancy until she was due back at work in January this 2025.
“Unfortunately, in January, they didn’t have anything quite right for me.”
“But life is very different with three kids, a lot more chaotic, so I did take a step back and think ‘What do I want to do now and what will actually suit my life?’”
Having been in the industry so long meant Georgie had received a few different job offers from old colleagues.
It was a boost she sorely needed. During her time at home with her children, Georgie felt she’d developed a bit of ‘imposter syndrome.’
“So to have people say ‘Come work for me’ helped build my confidence,” she says.
“Some of these jobs were not on-air or music directing. It was great to know that people believed my skills were so transferable.”
She considered leaving radio/audio world. She looked into marketing and events roles. But – having got into radio in the first place because she loved entertaining people and music – Georgie found it hard to move on from her first love.
“I was the weird 10-year-old making my own radio shows on tape deck,” she says.
“At the end of the day podcasting and radio go hand in hand. So although this is new for me, I’m using all the skills that I’ve learnt over my seventeen years in radio.”
Georgie absolutely loves being part of the podcast.
“Tom and Cass are two of my oldest radio friends. When they asked me to come on as a guest, I was just excited to be with my buddies and behind a microphone again.”
“I’m thrilled that I now get to do it every week! When we get together and record, all life’s worries disappear.”
“It’s a bit of an escape from the daily grind and we hope our listeners feel the same way.”
Georgie’s advice to anyone in radio who’s navigating redundancy? Believe in yourself.
“You got that job for a reason. Someone else will want you too.”
“And don’t take it personally. Keep an open mind when it comes to job opportunities, don’t be afraid to pivot into something new.”
Episodes of The Lunchbreak are released every Wednesday and are available on various platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts