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Date Posted: Monday, December 06, 12:25:32am
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Subject: WSE DiaryNovember 04 2010, 2:46PMJo Stanley reveals how getting her first big break shaped her life==The high 297

WSE DiaryNovember 04 2010, 2:46PM
Jo Stanley reveals how getting her first big break shaped her life
By Danielle Bombardieri

One of Australia’s most popular comedians and co-host on top rating Melbourne breakfast radio program Fox FM’s ‘The Matt and Jo Show’, Jo Stanley, has revealed this week how getting her first big break in radio has shaped her life since.

As Ambassador for The Big Issue’s new women’s program Jo Stanley has opened up about her professional and personal life as part of their Anti-Poverty Week campaign, Everyone Needs A Chance.

It was a couple of weeks ago that my agent passed on a message from The Big Issue (who I am an Ambassador for) about a social media campaign they planned to run during Anti-Poverty Week called Everyone Needs A Chance. They were hoping I could share a story of when I had been given a chance and help inspire the homeless women that are being given the opportunity to work on a new initiative called the Women’s Subscription Enterprise (WSE).

The idea of the WSE is that it will provide homeless and disadvantaged women with a chance to be included in something; to earn an income; to make friends; to boost their self esteem and confidence in a friendly and safe environment which will then rub off on other aspects of their lives and lead to a more positive future for them and in many cases their children.

And it got me thinking… the biggest chances I have been given professionally have been instrumental in my development as a person and have gone on to define my life as I know it today.

For over a decade I did the comedy circuit. Performing stand up on a regular basis, rarely to more than 150 people at a time. One night a Group Program Director for Fox FM in Melbourne was at a show my then comedy partner and I were performing and saw ‘something’ in us.

It was after that we were approached by the station to do a Sunday night program from 10pm-12pm, which truth be known was probably not to more than 150 listeners!

But it was this one ‘chance’ that marked the beginning of who I am today. I had never even considered radio as an option before my first gig on Fox but through the confidence that the station had in me I was given the opportunity to learn what the industry was about, take some risks, make some mistakes, develop an audience and go on to have a wonderful career and wonderful life.

And it’s not the salary, or the recognition, or the great parties, which have made my development as a person so rewarding. It’s that due to my work, I am having to make judgments on a daily basis on issues in our society... what I talk about on air is taken by what is happening in the media; what we are watching on tv, what we are reading in gossip magazines, what the newspapers are reporting on.

This has meant that I have had to develop values, standards and opinions around all sorts of issues, on a much stronger level than if I was never forced to think about them, or asked my opinion. This has really shaped me personally, and particularly after having giving birth to my daughter, has made me think a lot about the type of parent I want to be and the sort of values I want my daughter growing up with.

And I have to wonder, would I have become the person I am today, with these opinions and values, if it wasn’t for the career I have had?

I will never forget my first ‘big’ chance in the media industry and will always be grateful for that opportunity, even if it did come with ‘sheer terror’ from my end. I will also never forget some of the ‘smaller’ chances I had leading up to that one ‘big’ chance… because I believe that prepared me to be ready for when I got my big opportunity; to ensure I didn’t blow it!

The only way you can grow, and move forward in life, is by facing the unknown and really valuing that you have been given an opportunity because someone does believe in you, even if you don’t. Sometimes it’s about trusting the faith that others have in you and taking a big leap.

Lisa Wilkinson
"There has never been a time more crucial than now to address the needs faced by Australia’s 46 000 homeless women."
Jo Stanley
"This groundbreaking program will not only allow some of the Australia’s most disadvantaged women to believe in themselves."

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