Penny knows her listeners – she’s met most of them

 

When Penny Terry was asked to take on a revamped afternoon program for ABC Northern Tasmania she took hold of the opportunity with both hands and quickly hit the road.

She’s chalked up more than 50 outside broadcasts in the past 18 months and even when she’s back in the studio she’s replaying a fair chunk of material she’s collected in the field.

The ‘Your Afternoon’ team takes its tour of Tasmania seriously,” says Penny.

Not only do we find a location to set up the gear and broadcast from, we take the long and winding road there, knocking on doors and wandering streets and paddocks collecting stories along the way.”

Penny says listeners often ask if they can come along as her driver, and she imagines the Grey Nomads would be jealous of her itinerary.

She says she loves OBs because she’s able to extract genuine stories from talent. 

How many times do radio presenters find the perfect talent or story only to hear ‘oh but I couldn’t possibly go on the radio’?” Penny asks.

When you turn up on their main street or at their front door, they just say yes –  a person’s pride about their patch is not to be underestimated, it get voices and stories on the radio that you’d usually never hear.”

Penny says there’s a freedom to OBs that allows a commitment to a story. The team often arrives in a location with a reasonably blank canvas and after a couple of hours finds the town starts to tell its story.

It’s unscripted, unedited and so real,” she says.

Plus, there’s nothing more refreshing than getting away from the 24 hr news cycle.” 

The afternoon program is typical of the ABC Local Radio format, in that it centres on audience interaction. Penny says the program’s commitment to understand and experience the world of the listener builds trust.

You’ll always find the better story sitting in the pub or local café than you will sitting at a desk miles away,” she says.

Then after I’ve been miles away, the stories seem to find their way to my desk – it’s a cycle.”

Penny has encountered many memorable characters in her time on the road, and she spoke of one particular experience which really made a lasting impact on her.

Recently we broadcast from the pub at Dunalley, a town that was devastated by the January bushfires,” she says.

Close to the end of the program I was speaking with the local volunteer fire brigade chief Brad who I’d interviewed over the phone numerous times and each time Brad was positive, professional and community focused.

“When I asked him what the local volunteer fire fighters were talking about most in recovery, I wasn’t ready for his answer.

“He said ‘We had one job to do and we couldn’t do it. We couldn’t stop our town from burning down’. 

“During the emergency coverage the praise for the volunteer fire fighters was overwhelming, so to hear that they felt they’d failed was so gobsmackingly honest, it was painful. He would never have told me that over the phone.”

Of all the locations Penny has visited over these recent months, she cites the live broadcast from the Women’s Prison in Tasmania as one of the most amazing.

She says she was able to take her microphone wherever she wanted apart from the maximum security cells.

Being ‘on the inside’ behind the razor wire, fences and locks gave me a real insight into the loss of liberty, which I could describe and pass on. For those couple of hours I was the same as them,’ she says.

Penny is identified as a rising star in ABC Local Radio, but her ambitions at this stage take her no further than the next OB. She believes she’s in the perfect job.