A young Jack Post sounded excited to be on air when he started with Hamish & Andy at the age of 20. Thirteen years later he has kept that youthful exuberance which has worked its magic again as part of the #1 Melbourne FM Christian O’Connell Show.
Here Jack Post talks to Mediaweek about snagging dream radio jobs and how he nearly failed at breakfast radio.
Christian O’Connell and Jack Post in the Gold studio
How Jack met Christian
I was with the Hamish & Andy show when we went over for special episodes from London during the 2012 Olympic Games. We broadcast a simulcast that went to Christian O’Connell’s Absolute Radio breakfast audience and to our drive audience in Australia.
When Christian was thinking of coming out to Australia he asked Andy Lee for a recommendation for someone who could be a sidekick on his new show. Andy put my name forward.
I still don’t know how many other people were considered, but I think I am the only one who went to see him. I went over to London and on a Friday after his show, Christian, his producer and I all went to the pub. I am not a big drinker and I was trying to keep up with an Englishman and the number of pints he was able to get through. On top of that, I was jet-lagged and I was really struggling to get through the afternoon.
I didn’t think I was very impressive because I couldn’t keep up with the drinking and I looked like I just wanted to find a place in the bar to go to sleep. But that didn’t seem to put him off! The next day he invited me over to his house and we chatted more. I don’t know if there was anybody else in the mix at that stage.
What makes Gold breakfast #1
Christian. O’Connell. The chemistry is important, but you kind of have to get lucky. The three of us [Christian, Pats and Jack] are not an obvious matchup. The success comes from the leader and from the start to the finish it is his show. When Gold brought Christian to Australia, they said it was his show and they have stayed true to that promise. There aren’t content directors sticking their fingers in and management is not trying to push the show in one direction or another. ARN trusted Christian to make the show he wants to make. Because of that it sounds very different to any other show that you get on the FM dial in Melbourne in the morning.
There are other shows with big personalities at Fox, Nova and KIIS but they sound similar in some ways because of the music they are playing and their shows weren’t too different in their setup.
Jack Post with Andy Lee and Hamish Blake
How to play a sidekick
It is not a role that is common in Australian radio. The idea of a sidekick is more common in British radio. I feel I fit that space very well because I don’t have any ambition to be the leader of a breakfast show or my own drive show with my name in lights and my photo on the billboard.
I feel I do play a supporting role very well. I did something similar for a long time with Hamish & Andy [which continues on the H&A podcast]. The approach I have most mornings is what can I do to give the star of the show more things to talk about and more things to joke about.
Bad is good in breakfast radio
I am not at the stage (yet!) where I will change what I do to suit the show. [Buying a Tesla. Getting sunburnt.] But when anything goes wrong in my day the consolation is that at least it will make for something good to talk about on the show. Everything bad has a silver lining to it. Christian manages to highlight the quirkiness around me. I didn’t think I was a quirky person before working on the show. Now I do.
How Jack Post nearly bombed out of breakfast
When I started I didn’t think I would make it. I was working on a drive show for 10 years before starting in breakfast. On the drive show you have a long time to warm up before you have to go on. It was really tough for me to be ready to start each day at 6am. During the songs I would try and get on the couch and have a little nap. I’m not sure if I might have come close to being cut from the show.
I am glad Christian stuck with me because I have changed my whole sleeping schedule to be up and focused in the mornings. I used to be a late-to-bed person, now I am in bed by 8.30pm and asleep by 9pm.
Jack’s wife as subject matter
Bianca gets brought up a lot on the show as she is often part of the story. She listens to every show, but she listens to the podcast and is usually about two days behind. I therefore have time to prepare for when I get reprimanded. She is generally very good about it and understands how the show works.
Jack and Hamish and Andy and Christian
Do you have the Midas touch for radio?
I might have the Midas touch for being in the right place at the right time. I honestly feel very, very lucky. To fall in with Hamish and Andy felt like a one in a million opportunity. It now feels like I’ve moved into another one in a million opportunity with Christian. I am a big fan of all their work and I can’t think of any other show I would rather work on more.
I still feel excited to be on air like I did 13 years ago, even though on paper I’ve been around longer. I still feel at times I am brand new to this radio thing. I don’t ever feel jaded and I’m still excited to be part of it every day.
I still feel like I am learning every day, especially from Christian who is a great teacher.
Radio, great. TV, not so much
[People surrounding Jack Post have lots of ideas for television. Hamish and Andy have hosted successful shows most years for the past decade and Christian O’Connell has a vault of TV format projects.]
TV has just never interested me as much as radio. I worked on Hamish & Andy’s Gap Year in New York and some of their travel shows too. I like radio because it is immediate, TV takes time from concept to broadcast. I have a short attention span, I like to do things immediately after I think of them.
See also:
Jack Post signs with Brad March management company Marchmedia
Christian O’Connell: Can the British import continue to lead radio ratings?