No more Jägerbombs for hit107’s Cat Lynch

Survey 2 is out Tuesday morning, and one of the stations all eyes will be on is the new hit107 in Adelaide. 

The first of Southern Cross Austereo’s stations to relaunch under the new “hit” brand, hit107 had a poor start to the year, dropping 2.2 share points to 5.9 (All People 10+).  Plus last month Dani Pola announced she would leave the breakfast show after just 6 months, and move back to her hometown of Perth.
 
SCA Head of Content Craig Bruce told radioinfo last month that the survey result, “…means nothing other than the new breakfast show in Adelaide….is taking a lot of time to find its feet and find its audience.”
 
But with Pola leaving, it may take even longer for the show to find its feet.
 
Part of the battle now is bedding in a new breakfast co-host.  Cat Lynch officially started with Amos Gill on hit107 breakfast this week, and radioinfo caught up with Cat for a quick chat to get to know her, and see how she is dealing with the move to breakfast.
 
Cat, let’s start at the beginning.  Tell me about your radio journey so far.
 
I was broken and disheveled after 2 years of tour guiding and Jägerbombs in Europe. I came home in 2007 and got a job on the street team at The Edge in Sydney, which turned into weekend work and day shifts. Dean Buchanan was Group PD at Nova at the time and sent me over to Perth for my first full time mornings gig and I couldn’t have been more stoked. The PD Leigh Kuhlmann was a champion and had the patience of steel because I was as green as you could get. After 5 months at Nova Perth a spot opened up in the arvo at Nova Brisbane and I was there for over 5 years. Over the last couple of months I have been floating between Sea FM Gold Coast and Hit107.
  
You’re now moving into probably one of the most talked about breakfast shows in recent history. How do you avoid getting caught up in the hype?
 
By never going on our Facebook page and eating every meal in the shower.
 
Was co-hosting a breakfast show on your radar?  When you first got into radio, what was your dream job?
 
It was always a dream… but to be honest not one that I thought would come to fruition! Coming from a music jock background I just assumed that if I was ever breakfast bound it would be in the form of strictly an anchor role. Sometimes it really pays to be in the right place at the right time!
 
Breakfast can be pretty demanding.  What sort of changes have you made in preparation for the early starts?
 
I suggested pre recording the entire show at 4pm every day to avoid the early starts but so far my proposal has been denied. 
 
What’s the one big thing you have learned so far about breakfast radio?
 
You get a shitload more cab charges.
 
You and Amos seem to have a natural chemistry together.  How do you think that has developed?
 
When I first started filling in during the day time here at hit107 6 weeks ago, Amos and I immediately got along and would make a point of hanging out and having a laugh whenever we got the chance at work. We’re very different but at the same time have a lot of similar interests and I find the dude incredibly funny.  Already having that natural friendship banter made the transition from off air to on air a hell of a lot easier.
 
Has there been any breakfast talent, either male or female, that you’ve looked towards or inspired you and why?
 
Meshel Laurie, Michelle Anderson and Nat Locke are all strong, funny women that are incredible at what they do. Marty Sheargold, Hamish Blake and Andy Lee are also huge inspirations.
 
As I mentioned, breakfast radio can be pretty demanding. Away from the mic, how do you keep your feet on the ground?
 
By making sure they are on a surfboard instead. I’m in Adelaide now so I’m gonna have to get a thicker wetsuit.
 
 
Survey 2 results are due out Tuesday morning.  radioinfo will bring them to you as soon as they’re released, as usual.

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