Mickey Maher reaches quarter-century milestone at SCA

“Holy shit, have I really been here for that long?”

Southern Cross Austereo executive Mickey Maher has just celebrated 25 years with the broadcaster, and more than 30 years working across almost all areas of commercial radio.

Maher is currently head of music at SCA, overseeing the music strategy for both the Hit and Triple M networks following the departure of Irene Hulme last December.

“If you’re doing what you love then it doesn’t feel like a day’s work,” he told Radio Today.

“And I guess over that 25 years, I’ve worked in different markets and in different roles, so it’s never really felt like Groundhog Day.”

Based in SCA’s Brisbane office, Maher has survived many cyclones over the years, including the current crisis and its devastating impact on the radio industry. But he remains optimistic.

“I think it’s our time to shine. People are looking to the trusted voice, the trusted brand to keep them company or informed, and I think that’s a great strength of radio.

“It’s an opportunity for us to lean in with the audience at a time that’s equally challenging. How people consume us and when they consume us is different, so we’ve got to find ways to adapt, and I think that’s the key, and I think that’s the great thing about radio over all my years.

“From one year to the next it’s not exactly the same, and what challenges and what competition we’ve got, it has changed dramatically over the years. And I think as long as we continue to put what we do first, and hopefully, work collaboratively as an industry, then that makes us resilient.

“Our industry truly only wins if we all work together to make sure that radio remains relevant.”

Maher began his run at SCA back 1995. He’s worked in many areas of the business since then including the content, promotions, digital and marketing departments.

In 2014 he became head of content for SCA’s regional stations, and after one of those infamous restructures, accepted a role in 2019 as head of music for Triple M nationally.

While many might start to plot an escape plan well before arriving at the 25-year checkpoint, Maher has more on his professional bucket list that he plans to tick off.

“Look, I definitely want to head up a network in some capacity, or head up the content function, that’s definitely on my bucket list,” he admitted.

“Obviously I got a taste of that when I was head of regional content for around five years. That was a great test for me, the diversity and the enormity of a role like that.

“So that’s definitely something on the bucket list that I want to tick off.

“And I guess continue to be challenged. There are new things on the horizon. We continue to see audio-on-demand grow. The ability to learn new skills is important to me.”