Jackie O, co-host of Australia’s biggest radio show alongside her colleague Kyle, during the session “Jackie O – The Whole Truth” unveiled her secrets to success which led their show -”The Kyle and Jackie O Show”- straight to the top, despite having received backlash in the past.
Jackie spoke about how she met with Kyle around the end of 1999 and how their bond has evolved so much, that now they seem to be “two steps ahead of each other”. One key element of their successful radio show is the fact that they know each other tremendously well; hence this being her advice to those who are keen to engage with collaborative radio shows.
However, the success did not come overnight. Jackie admitted that, in the past, an incident had occurred during their first show with Kyle, which almost put them out of the industry, and evoked much media turmoil. The thing about radio, as Jackie mentioned, is that “if you don’t succeed, you are done. It takes just one show to leave the top”. Although the scandal received a lot of attention, it did not hurt the reputation of the show, as one would expect, since ratings were still going up. However, it did make the presenters feel that they had lost their track and their personal values as professionals.
After their decision to move radio stations, Jackie and Kyle have established their names in the Australian radio industry, as they have brought in innovative elements. Specifically, Sydney is used to them and fully accepts their style, while Melbourne is more conservative with their radio shows. Either way, launching to a new city is a challenge itself.
One thing is certain: Jackie appears to be optimistic about the future of radio, “there is still a lot of life left in it”, because it will always be a form of company for the public.
image © Hedda Axelsson
