Working for triple j is something many a young journalism student aspires to, and for Moree’s Karla Ranby, that dream has come true.
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Karla has been working with the national youth broadcaster for nearly four years now, and after many graveyard shifts and holidays spent working, she finally has her own show.
The born and bred Moree girl is set to host Weekend Lunch in 2018, in addition to keeping her current full-time job as group music researcher / producer.
“It’s amazing, it’s a bit of a dream job,” Karla said.
“I’ve been at Triple J for nearly four years now and in that time I’ve been doing dawn shifts and fill-in shifts and working Christmas, Easter, New Year’s, public holidays. It’s nice to finally have my own show.
“Having a voice on a platform like triple j, the gravity isn’t lost on me. I feel really grateful.”
Although it’s been her dream job since she first started listening to triple j as a teenager working in a pizza shop in Moree, Karla said she “never imagined anything like this in my future”.
“I feel like I fell into it,” she said.
Karla studied journalism at the University of New South Wales before transferring to the University of Technology Sydney where she graduated with a journalism degree.
She then spent “hundreds of hours” interning at various radio stations before putting a demo down at triple j.
From that she was given the mid-dawn shift, from 1am to 6am, which she did for three years before landing a full-time job as researcher / producer at the start of this year. With her newly-announced on-air gig, Karla said it’s a dream job combination.
“I like producing and doing a bit of everything,” she said.
“I love being on-air but I just as much love doing things in the background.”
Karla completed all of her schooling in Moree, graduating from Moree Secondary College in 2005.
She’s one of seven children and most of her family still live in town.
Having been Moree Showgirl, recipient of the Auscott Scholarship and heavily involved with public speaking and debating, Karla said she owes a lot to the Moree community.
She encourages other young people to chase their dreams and says coming from a small town can give you a bit of an edge.
“Try as many things as you can to figure out what you’re interested in; it might mean trying and failing, but there’s no shame in that,” she said.
“Start knocking on all kinds of doors; you never know who’s going to open that door.
“There are lots of opportunities out there for the taking.”
