Former Melbourne breakfast personality Jo Stanley has founded Broad Radio.

She tells radioinfo is it a concept that she has been thinking about for a while, and is now putting into reality.

Broad Radio is radio for women, by women, who love a deeper conversations, who are seeking content that expands their world and news they might not get anywhere else.

Jo and her colleagues are building their station “from the ground up,” beginning with one hour per week, streaming live on Facebook and Youtube. It will have stories about inspirational women, and lots of fun chats about “our stage of life – the great bits and the really hard bits.” 
 

“It’s radio with pictures,” says Jo Stanley. “You’ll be able to call us, just like any radio show, but if you miss the live stream, you can catch up any time.”

Eventually she expacts that 1 hour will become 2 hours, and then 5 days a week, and down the track the team is certain there will be a 24/7 live station. “Starting small will ensure we build our audience and take them with us.”

Why are you creating Broad Radio?

“Women really love audio entertainment. We’re very engaged with podcasts, and that kind of longer form conversation that can delve into the heart of life. A lot of us who are over 40 are time poor – jugging caring for kids and ageing parents and work – while really trying to rediscover who we are now that we’re in that middle stage of life.

“So I felt like there is an opportunity and a need for women to connect and share how we’re feeling and thinking, and to really celebrate all sides of us, in a more immediate way than a podcast. I really believe in the power of radio, so I feel profoundly blessed to create Broad Radio for women who I hope will feel uplifted because of our show.”

Jo Stanley has been working on Broad Radio solo for a long time, and has now “been lucky enough to gather a brilliant crew of women and men who believe in what we’re doing and are passionate about creating new and really positive content.”

The team of producers, engineers, editors and writers on Broad Radio are:

·       Cecilia Ramsdale (SCA and Podcast One) is coming on as EP

·       Row Murray from Triple R is tech and marketer.

·       The on-air team – journos and writers and comedians and commentators – includes: Angela Pippos, Shelley Ware, Zoe Daniel, Anjali Rao, Bianca Chatfield, Kirsty Webeck and Kerrie Stanley.

“I honestly pinch myself that I get to work with all our off air and on air team. They’re truly outstanding professionals – and I get to play with them!”

Jo intends to let the audience shape the show.

“We’re nothing without them, because our whole purpose is connection. When we lift each other up, we all thrive. So we want to hear from our audience – what are you interested in, what do you wish was spoken about, who do you want to learn about, what things are you passionate about, what are your stories? It’s the part of radio I’ve always loved the most, and I can’t wait to hear from women about their lives.” 

Jo Stanley started her radio career with a weekly night show on Fox Melbourne with colleague Jodie Jay, after being discovered at a standup comedy gig. She went on to host a number one FM breakfast show on Fox with Matt Tilley, then she moved to GoldFM, where she and co-host Lehmo left on a high, reaching number one FM breakfast in her last survey with the station.

She told Craig Bruce in a 2018 edition of the Gamechangers podcast that her advice for success in radio is  “just turn up every day and have fun.”
 

Speaking to radioinfo at Radiodays Europe, she gave some tips on defining your personal brand:

“In my early years at Fox FM the marketing department had one of those meetings and told me my personal brand was ‘pretty, witty, fashionista. I had an ah-ha moment. How did those people get the idea that was me. It wasn’t me, but I didn’t take the trouble to define myself, so someone defined my brand for me… I learnt not to let that happen again.”
 
From that learning Jo developed a philosophy of personal branding: “define your personal brand then step into it, before someone defines it for you.”

The Broad Radio website can be found here.

See our coverage of Jo’s career here or click the tag cloud below.

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