This is the nineteenth in a series of interviews exploring the career and life journey of women in the media industry. The aim of the series is to reflect on the wisdom they have gained during their journey.
So far we have had a cross section of women in different roles and career stages, including the most recent articles on Millie Starling, Emma Lawson, Andrea Ho and Rachel Patterson. All the past features are listed below.
This week we profile, Erica McGee who began her career as a journalist in community radio and has worked in many roles, on air, production and management, for different stations across Australia plus overseas. She now works as Group Content Director for Triple M & Hit.
1. Describe your current professional life and your stage of life.
I’m currently the Group Content Director for Triple M & Hit in regional WA, a role I share with Dan Cole. Given the vast size of our state and the responsibility of overseeing 26 stations, two breakfast shows and 10 workday announcers, this partnership is crucial!
I am married with two adult stepsons and made a sea or rather a tree change from Perth to beautiful Dunsborough in WA’s southwest two years ago. Prior to this role I was Content Director at Mix94.5 for nine years, including 18 months in a dual role as Acting General Manager of SCA Perth.
2. How did you come to be in this industry?
My path into the industry was a series of opportunities that evolved over time. In high school, when I needed to choose work experience, my mother suggested journalism as a potential career. The idea appealed to me as it combined all the things I enjoyed so I pursued a Bachelor of Arts (English) course at Curtin University.
During my studies I was introduced to radio through the community station on campus, then 6NR, now Curtin Radio. My first year of radio was spent in a very old facility with outdated equipment, and I remember telling my mother, “If there’s one area of the media I will never work in, it’s radio”.
Something clearly clicked in me; after graduating in 1992, I started job-sharing as News Director at 6NR. From there I moved quickly into a role as Breakfast News Editor at 6iX, and then onto the news team at PMFM 92.9 where I began filling in as co-host on the breakfast show. That’s where the germination of a new career path began.
In 1996 I took time off for obligatory travel in my 20’s, spending a couple of years overseas, including a year at RAM FM in Derby, part of the then GWR Group.
Erica McGee and cohost Marty Haynes
After returning to Australia, I took on a role as breakfast co-host at FM104.7 in Canberra, where I met Marty Haynes, who would become a lifelong friend and co-host. We spent 11 years as a breakfast team, eventually re-locating to i98fm in Wollongong.
In 2009 I decided to pivot away from on-air roles and took the Executive Producer position for Triple M’s brand-new breakfast show The Grill Team in Sydney.
A few years later, in 2011, I moved back to WA to become Executive Producer of The Bunch at Mix94.5. By 2012 I had added Assistant Content Director duties, and by 2013 was appointed Content Director.
3. What are your core beliefs? How are your values evident in the work you do or the life you lead?
I am driven by empathy and fairness, caring about people first and the job second.
Having been on-air myself, I understand the pressure of performing five days a week, often with little sleep and doing brutal hours. I spent 25 years doing breakfast radio!
Our announcers are all confidence driven so it’s important they know I have their backs. That doesn’t mean there’s no room for constructive feedback – they receive that on a daily basis, but they know it comes from a place of wanting the team to improve and succeed.
4. How did your education, formal and informal, enrich your career/ life journey?
University gifted me some lifelong friends and a solid foundation. My Bachelor’s degree was a double major in Theatre Arts & Journalism. I’m thankful for the performative skills and creativity I learned in the theatre space, skills that translated directly to radio performance.
My education in radio really ramped up when I moved to Sydney to join Triple M. Under Jamie Angel’s guidance, I learned more in 18 months than I had my entire career up to that point.
During my time at Austereo, I was incredibly blessed to work alongside some of the industry’s giants – Guy Dobson, Craig Bruce, Sam Cavanagh, Brian Ford, Rex Morris and Richard Mortlock. Coupled with some of my early Content Directors in Perth in Brad McNally, Keith Fowler & Duncan Campbell, I’ve truly been fortunate to have learned from the best in the biz.
5. What are some of your key decision change points and how did they shape your career/ life journey?
There have definitely been some significant forks in the road!
The first was leaving the PMFM Morning Crew to travel. Another was moving from news to an on-air breakfast co-host role in Canberra in 1998. Turning off the mic to focus on roles behind the scenes at Triple M and Mix94.5 was another significant decision.
In 2010, after being diagnosed with stress-related depression, I took a break from my role at Triple M. SCA was incredibly supportive during that time, and their approach to staff mental health has helped shape how I handle these matters with my staff.
When I returned to that position in Perth, I was better equipped to know the red flags and warning signs and manage my work/life balance better.
Taking on the role as Acting General Manager of SCA Perth was a defining moment, giving me broader insight into the radio industry holistically. Leading the team in that position during Covid is something I am very proud of.
My most recent big move was to walk away from the Content Director role at Mix94.5 to take on the Group Content Director role for our regional markets. This move allowed my husband and I to move into our dream home, in our dream town.
After the challenges of Covid and my mental health battles, this step sideways has been one of the best decisions of my life.
6. What makes you happy? What makes you get up in the morning?
What makes me happy is my family, friends, my dogs and my colleagues. I truly work with the best humans, both my teams in Perth and now in regional WA are an absolute delight.
I believe so strongly in the power and importance of regional radio. The connection we create with our audience is unique and vital.
7. Share your words of wisdom for others in the industry or those wishing to work in the industry?
Be kind – it’s the way you get the best out of people.
Be seen – make sure the leaders in your company know who you are, and that your peers from opposition companies do too!
Don’t be in a rush – your career will hopefully be very long; you don’t need to hit your peak next week.
And if you can, work in regional radio. You’ll never regret it!
8. Describe your vision for the audio media industry in the near future.
I believe the future of audio is VERY bright. Technology is making access to high quality products more accessible every day, and the opportunities for advertisers to reach known audiences is incredible and growing.
The podcast space has gifted anyone who is a communicator the greatest opportunity to spread our wings.
Audiences will always want connection, local voices, and content that makes them feel good about themselves and the places they live.
9. What role would you like to play in shaping the audio industry of the future?
At this stage in my career, I’d like to give a leg up to the audio stars of the future. We need to be clever and strategic about continuing to create opportunities in an industry where numbers are shrinking.
10. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I still love my job, after 33 years. That’s pretty cool 😊
Erica McGee and Taylor Swift
Series compiled by Serena Ahern for radioinfo.
If you have a suggestion for someone to be considered for this series, please send a note to [email protected]
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