Top New Talent Q&A: Jess Eva

Jess Eva has been named in Radio Today’s Top New Talent to Watch in 2019.

Jess really broke through into the mainstream consciousness of Australia’s media after the 2018 series of Nine’s The Block, but she had already cut her teeth on radio.

She spent six years hosting 91.9 Sea FM Breakfast on the Sunshine Coast, and while doing so she launched her own childcare support service.

This year Jess was tapped to join the new-look Triple M Sydney Breakfast show ‘Moonman In The Morning’, where she’s already making an impact with her sharp wit and personality and proving she’s easily good enough for a metro market.

Get to know Jess with our Top New Talent Q&A:

Who/what inspired you to choose a career in radio?

A desire to create something every day.

I used to pick tomatoes, then I worked in a paper cup factory and also represented Australia in lawn bowls.

When all of that didn’t work out I thought I’d give radio a crack so I did a two-day course out the back of a guy’s house. Got a job as a sales rep in Muswellbrook and left a demo on the bosses desk every day until he put me on air.

What radio shows do you first recall listening to as a kid (or when you first started listening)?

I remember listening to Amanda on 96.9 Sun FM (now Star FM) in the Goulburn Valley. I loved the thought of being creative, and use of your mind to create something different every day.

How did you end up in your current gig?

Jamie Angel contacted me after I was finished with The Block 2018, I was also co-host of the 91.9 Sea FM breakfast radio show. I thought I’d completely screwed up the Triple M trial after doing a rave about how I’d caught nits in my trial and for some reason they offered me a job!

What’s been your most memorable on-air moment so far?

Speaking out about my mate’s postnatal depression and having literally hundreds of mother’s contact me in the same position and making a difference.

What’s one skill that you’ve mastered, and what’s one skill that you’re currently working on?

Being honest and unashamed of your life’s downfalls has been my main style of on-air banter. I’m currently working on making every break killer and adapting my mind to geniuses like Lawrence Mooney and observing how the masters operate.

How do you prepare for your shift on-air?

Write write write. Prep your breaks and share them with as many people as possible to see what gets a smile or what bates your audience. A BBQ with mates is an easy test market to see what is compelling. If they love it, your audience probably will too.

How does the person you are on air differ from the person you are off air?

It doesn’t, I think transparency is vital.

What advice do you wish you could give yourself when you were just starting out?

Stop trying to be what others want you to be. Be strong in who you are, and don’t let being different be a bad thing. There’s heaps of ideas I wish I’d executed that I truly believed in. However, someone told me ‘that’s stupid or it won’t work’ only to see them eventually be done by another market and was really successful.

If you believe in something just do it, if not on your show, do it on your socials, blogs, YouTube channels etc. In this modern day of multi-platform exposure, don’t ever let anyone tell you, you can’t be seen or heard.

What’s your dream radio job?

I’m in it.

If you weren’t working in radio, what would you be doing?

Probably still picking tomatoes or peaches.