According to First Nations broadcaster Barry Lea, finding your place in the commercial radio sector is all about hard work and making an opportunity for yourself.
Barry Lea is a former Wallaby and actor who recently starred in Survivor 2016. However, it is in his capacity as a broadcaster in a commercial radio, Star FM in Cairns, that he delivered a keynote speech at the recently held Commercial Radio Australia Conference (Melbourne 07/10/2016). The theme of this conference was to explore diversity in the sector.
In most of the commercial media in Australia the representation of culturally and linguistically diverse voices is limited. The Commercial Radio Australia Conference looked at ways that technology can change that.
Barry Lee believes that executives in the commercial media are aware of the socio-economic make-up of their audiences and have to adapt to this reality.
However, drawing form his personal experience he feels that breaking into professional sport was easier for him as an Indigenous athlete than making it into commercial radio.
He explains that most sports codes will go out of their way to include Indigenous and culturally diverse players in their ranks and make them feel welcome if they need their services.
In commercial media Indigenous professionals and minorities have to work very hard in order to get noticed.