Michael Costello is a Melbourne community television veteran with over 30 years of experience who, after moving to Echuca, inquired about training in radio.
ONE FM 98.5 in Shepparton took Mr Costello up on the offer and fast-tracked his learning due to his prior experience with community media.
Mr Costello’s new radio show, River Allsorts, is prerecorded and goes to air every Thursday at 5pm. It features a variety of music, with a focus on the 1980s.
“We mainly have ’80s music on the show, but we occasionally dip into other eras and genres,” he said.
“The show is a general music show; my motto is a little bit of anything, with a few surprises.”
Mr Costello spoke about the challenges of switching from television to radio and how much he enjoyed the process.
He also highlighted the wider benefits of community radio.
“It’s quite a change going from television to radio, but it is similar in the technical aspects,” he said.
“The show is going really well so far, but I just have to learn to talk on demand, which will probably be the most challenging part of the task, but I’ll eventually get the hang of it.
“It’s been great. We have recorded four episodes so far, and it has been fun.
“It gives people a voice that they normally wouldn’t have, and it gives people a chance to try their hand at radio and get a few messages out to the community.”