Her list of achievements is long, as you would expect after a successful 30-year radio career and she has worked side by side with some of the industry’s biggest names and some of the best and most successful networks.
Toni Tenaglia was also the first female to present a drive show on FM radio when she helped launch Hobart’s first FM radio station Triple T.
She is also credited with being the youngest metro Music Director.
And Finished 10th in the 1994 Celebrity race at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix!
While Toni (who I believe has the coolest name in radio) is still on-air working casually for Gold 104.3 every second Saturday and as required during the week, she has just launched her own business.
Toni Tenaglia Media.
radioinfo’s Kim Napier caught up with Toni to find out more.
What was the motivation behind setting up your business?
“I’ve watched how over the years the industry has slowly shrunk,” says Toni (left).
“Leaving few mid dawns or late nights in the metro markets for young announcers to learn and develop their craft. Over the years I’ve seen how difficult it’s been trying to hire even weekend casual staff for metro stations because their on air skills just weren’t up to scratch and I thought someone has to do something about this. I have always loved working with people and training them, whether it be announcers or training music directors, so thought it’s now or never and have gone for it.”
How do you undertake the training – can it be done remotely from whatever market you are in?
“The great thing with on air training is it can be done from anywhere, so announcers all over the world can send me their on air shifts to critique. I’m also putting together workshops and from next month I will be training people to use G Selector and teaching how to schedule music. I’ve had great success training music directors and I love to do it. I see this as giving announcers another skill to put on their resumes.”
What’s the biggest challenge for on-air announcers in 2016?
“Tough question….I think the biggest challenge is finding work.
“There are so many talented people out there, but there are a lot fewer positions available these days. At one stage we had mid dawns, breakfast, mornings, afternoons, drive, nights and late nights, these days, realistically there’s only 1 maybe 2 time slots for announcers and that is a day shift (luckily most stations still have a morning and afternoon shift), if you’re lucky some stations might even have a night slot, but again very rare. Unless you’re a big name, TV personality or comedian, it’s going to be tough. This is where the regional markets are so important for new talent to learn their craft. It’s also why it’s so important these guys get proper training so they at least have a chance at breaking into a metro market.”
What’s the biggest mistake young announcers make?
“LOL…thinking they know it all! Some can be like dealing with a teenager who thinks they know it all and you know nothing, hahaha.
“Lucky there’s not too many like that around. I’ve been really lucky that anyone I have been working with has lapped up as much information as they can get and has been very keen to learn. My theory is learn as much as you can from as many people as you can and then adapt the information to suit your personality. Figure out what is going to work for you.”
Who do you admire as an announcer and why?
“Wow, tough one. I can’t say I have one person I admire. I have worked with so many fantastic people over the years who I have learnt so much from. I don’t think it would be fair to single out one or 2 people as each person I’ve worked with has taught me something different.”
For further information, contact Toni at [email protected] or call her on 0457 772 721.
Kim Napier