The life of a ‘Rock Jock’ – how he gave back to radio

Adelaide radio legend David ‘Daisy’ Day has written a terrific autobiography called ‘Rock Jock’.

Daisy has given Radio Today exclusive rights to publish excerpts from ‘Rock Jock’. Read part 1 and Greg Smith's chat with him here, read part 2 about the unique way Friday drinks happened in the 80s here, part 3 about his big break is here, part 4 is about crack-ups here, part 5 is a very funny piece on how he got an exclusive every time here.

Below, in part 6, find out how Daisy gave back to the industry……

Three things are synonymous with South Australia: Farmers Union Iced Coffee; Balfours’ pies (I prefer Vili’s); and those dulcet, smooth as aged whiskey tones of news reader and friend, Vaughan Harvey.

While Vaughan was News Director of 5KA in the ’70s, he was also in charge of the School of Radio for the South Australian Broadcast Network. It would be mind blowing to go back and check the names that went through that school.

Vaughan eventually left 5KA. After a short stint at 5AD alongside Rodger Cardwell (the ‘Cardwell Harvey News Report’),

Vaughan didn’t put his feet up and watch the multi-hued sunsets of retirement; he kept Australia’s great radio and television talent coming through his Vaughan Harvey Radio School. Many of us radio people also had the pleasure teaching at his school.

However, when in 2000 both Kevin Mulcahy from Triple M and I found ourselves—through no major planning on our behalf—out of the radio industry. At this stage another Triple M jock, Steve Hart, who was a past student of mine I’d brought down from Lismore to work at Triple M, was selling his radio school  and moving interstate. Kev rang me and suggested we buy it off him and offered our mate, Channel 10’s Mark Aiston, a share in our company.

And so was formed the Media Training Centre. Our offices were in a magnificent old monastic building at 64 North Terrace Kent Town that we rented off Imagination Entertainment. This building was actually once a monastery and came with its own ghost story that made me lock up real quick at night around 11pm and run like hell to the car.

By 2003, after a triple bypass, I decided to go out on my own and formed the Australian Radio School. I bought two radio studios off Mix FM and had my own little radio station called Chart FM up and running. It was a great learning tool for my students. As you could imagine, it was rather tough with a city the size of Adelaide and three radio schools fighting for the same market.

Eventually, Kev folded his school; he’d got back into radio by this stage as breakfast jock at Mix and came to me as a sales guy. Mark put his own very successful Media Training Courses together.

Eventually Vaughan’s School folded too. I branched out and my ‘Voice Over’ weekend workshops took off in such a big way that I ran courses on the Gold Coast too. Now, that was a great time in my life.

And then came the biggest bonus for my radio school. It was a gig three times a year in Singapore teaching radio and voice work. Business class airfares, classy accommodation, transport, interpreter and fifteen hundred bucks for two days work. Then my life turned to shit and I died.

Daisy’s book is available from www.youviewaustralia.com.au for $25.00 plus postage and handling. It’s a must read.