As student broadcasters, Show Radio is both the scariest and the most exciting time of our studies. We will be announcing and producing three-hour broadcasts on the back of our interviews with Easter Show vendors and various animal fanciers. It is the time when most of us will have our first experience close to the real-life industry post-graduation.
Our thoughts are mostly “Where is the package for this next segment going?”, “Oh no, was I on air just now?”, “Where is our guest?” And many other busy thoughts. In the busyness of the moment, with all the pressure of our first full broadcasting experience, it rarely occurred to us that this little student collaborative actually had a fanbase. Or at least, I didn’t have much time or mental energy for this consideration.
But then, an easy-to-miss Facebook comment on the Show Radio page illuminated just that: Not only do we have IRL fans, but many of them are long-time listeners tuning in every year to hear the AFTRS students cover the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
Meet Ben the Fan. And Ben is the Show Radio fan, who in fact has been listening to Show Radio for twenty-four years!
“I tune in every year and I really look forward to it every year”, says Ben in our interview over Zoom.
In fact, Ben is quite the Show Radio historian.
“I’ve sort of followed show radio as it moved around the dial. It went to 94.5 for a while, then it went to. 95.3 and 1 1 0 7 0.9. And of course now we’re digital and you know now you guys are taking advantage of all the, the internet that the internet has to offer…”.
When I asked Ben if he thought Show Radio had experienced much change throughout the years,
“Show Radio has really kept up with the times and has embraced, um, all the, you know, modern technology with podcasting, a really updated website…It’s quite exciting to see that change and sort of being in the media business myself… I certainly recognise the, the need for these things to happen and it’s great that show radio’s kept up with that…”
Ben himself is also blind.
“Yep. I’m totally blind. So I can’t see at all…” Ben notes cheerfully. This factor plays very little in how independently Ben lives his life: Ben the Fan is not only in the media business himself with the ABC, he is also a disability advocate and media educator in various developing countries across the world.
Ben agrees that audio broadcasting plays an important role for those who experience vision impairment by enhancing the experience of participating in live events like The Sydney Royal Easter Show but also around the world.
“…You get a real host of experiences…you know, learning a lot, not just from people who are reporting from other countries, but people who actually live and work there…”
Show Radio is an important right-of-passage for radio students of AFTRS. It can be stressful, exhausting and also thrilling. All the blood, sweat and tears put into producing a 3 hour morning show feels more than worthwhile when you know that you have a dedicated listener like Ben the Fan cheering you on year after year.
So thank you, Ben, for being our longest listener. We will see you again next year!
