Australia’s only full-time GLBT radio station, JOY 94.9 has recently announced the appointment of their new General Manager, Perth’s own Danae Gibson.
Gibson has been involved with RTRfm here in Perth since 1992 in many different roles, giving her a solid background in community radio. She has been a presenter on shows such as Sheer Queer, Out To Lunch and most recently, Morning Magazine, has sat on the RTR board and lectures in radio broadcasting at Central TAFE.
‘We are very excited to have Danae Gibson as our General Manager,’ said JOY 94.9 president Stephen Duns.
‘Though there was an extremely strong field of applicants, it became clear that Danae was the preferred candidate.
‘She will be an excellent addition to the JOY team.’
JOY 94.9 is based in Melbourne’s City Village Community Hub, a nine-story building in a prime CBD position that houses a number of GLBT community groups such as the ALSO foundation and Melbourne Queer Film Festival.
Gibson spent some time in Melbourne recently familiarising herself with the station, its staff and volunteers.
‘I’ve really enjoyed the process of getting to know the fantastic community station that is JOY 94.9 and I’m really excited about joining the family,’ she said.
After listening to the programs broadcast by JOY, Gibson was impressed by the station’s technical capabilities, diversity of music and the broad spectrum of the community represented.
‘I love that it has interactive possibilities, you can SMS and phone the programs and there is a real diversity of programming.
‘I tuned in last week and I got to hear Fluro, the 80’s program and in the same week Broadway Before Bedtime, I like that difference.
‘The bits and pieces that I’ve heard have duo’s presenting the shows so there is often a man/woman mix and that’s nice too.’
The first JOY broadcast was on World AIDS Day in December 1993. The organisation continued to broadcast on a part-time basis, sharing a frequency with Aboriginal and Muslim radio programs until they were granted a full-time license in 2001.
Since then the organisation has grown vastly and celebrated many milestones, such as broadcasting from inside the barricades of Sydney Mardi Gras in 2008 and the construction of new studio facilities at the City Village earlier this year.
‘I think it’s a good functioning station that’s ready for new growth and we’re all interested in what will happen in the digital age of broadcasting,’ said Gibson.
Gibson’s new position will commence on November 9, just in time for the summer festival season and she is looking forward to the move across the country with her partner.
‘I’ll be enjoying a cultural change,’ she said.
‘I’m looking forward to combining my love for sports and arts in a city like Melbourne.’
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