On Valentine’s Day 30 years ago a young fellow called Dave Cameron did his first shift on air at Austereo‘s Fox FM in Melbourne. Love, for Cameron, was in the air, on the air and, across a huge range of roles, off the air from that day on.
Music and Content Director roles would see Cameron go to Perth, Adelaide, Sydney then back to Melbourne where he become Chief Content Officer for Southern Cross Austereo, as it now known, at the start of 2020. He leads the strategic direction of more than 100 AM, FM and DAB+ radio stations as well as SCA’s podcast and live radio streaming platform LiSTNR.
30 years with one network is one milestone, Cameron’s contribution to it across states, roles and stations is quite another. Below are some comments from colleagues.
SCA CEO John Kelly said:
“Dave, a huge congratulations on your 30 year anniversary with SCA. It’s been a privilege to work alongside you the past eight years and witness first-hand what an exceptional content and people leader you are. Thank you for your dedication, passion, commitment and contribution to SCA’s successes along the journey. A remarkable milestone achievement – well done.”
Hamish Blake & Andy Lee said (Cameron looked after the Hamish and Andy show for 12 years):
“Dave, or Grumpy Dave as he was known on air, was vital to the rise of our show. Whatever we wanted to do, he’d say ‘yes’ first and then head off to work out how to fund it next. Not many shows are lucky enough to have unwavering support no matter what the idea. It simply meant ideas keep getting bigger and bigger. We were lucky to have him.”
Fox FM’s Fifi Box said:
“Congratulations Dave on 30 years at SCA (putting up with me for 23 of them!) You have been the most loyal, supportive, and inspirational influence on my career, there is no leader in this industry who has more passion, dedication and commitment to their talent than you. But more than being an outstanding radio legend, I am most proud of our friendship. In the words of the late great Tina Turner, you are Simply The Best!”
And 104.9 Triple M‘s Mick Molloy said:
“Dave Cameron is the embodiment of radio. He lives it, he breathes it. So much so, even in conversation he will do a time check followed by a traffic update. He is such a brilliant operator – I mean, who else would put a clause in people’s contracts to make them say something nice about him at his 30-year anniversary. I really need to read the fine print! Well done Dave.”
Radio Today also extends our congratulations too.
This story first appeared on Radio Today