Jacqueline Belle: “We Need to Give Women Self-Confidence”

Jacqueline, you actually studied pharmacy, so why did you decide to pursue a career in the audio industry after all?

Jacqueline Belle: In short, because my heart has always beaten for it. I started dubbing when I was twelve and didn't know whether I could really make a living from it after I finished school. I did an internship at Radio ENERGY, but at the same time I applied for university. Radio ENERGY offered me a traineeship, but I decided to study so that I wouldn't have to give up my dubbing. That wouldn't have been possible with a five- or six-day week as a trainee. I started at M94.5 during my pharmacy studies and realized relatively early on that my heart beats for radio. But I knew that I wouldn't finish my studies if I stopped now. That's why I went through with it and was still at Radio Charivari München during that time. When I finished my studies, BAYERN 3 came knocking, so it was an easy decision for me.

So you've been involved in radio for a long time. What is the appeal of linear radio for you?

Jacqueline: The great thing for me is that it's an incredibly fast medium. You can turn up the mic and be with people immediately. Now, of course, Instagram and social media in general have given us completely new ways of interacting, but radio still has a certain feeling for me. You get in the car and don't have to worry about anything. That's a point we always forget when discussing linear radio. We in the media bubble all say: Oh cool, I can always choose my content. But some people are so busy with their everyday lives that they just want to get in, tune in and get their information, maybe a bit of music and then start their day with that.

Jacqueline Belle: “My personal recipe for success is to always stay natural”

According to the latest MA Audio, BAYERN 3 is the most popular program among listeners between the ages of 14 and 39. The presenters certainly play a large part in this success. What is the secret of your success in reaching the young target group?

Jacqueline: It's a lot about the music, BAYERN  3 is very much geared towards the young target group. And we find the right approach. The presenters have to fit the target group and it's best if you have presenters who are still in this environment. My personal recipe for success is to always remain natural. That was the first thing I learned in radio. Of course you sometimes have to sell things that have been booked, but you should always keep that naturalness.

Together with Jerry Gstöttner, you are now an integral part of the Bayern 3 Frühaufdreher and host the show on a fortnightly basis. What fascinates you about a morning show?

Jacqueline: The morning show itself is the Olympus of radio. It's the show you should make it onto at some point. I'm not interested in listener numbers, whether that's half a million more or not. I think it's great that you have the opportunity to really start the day with people in the morning. You know where to pick everyone up. It's different in the afternoon: has someone just come home from work or been doing homework for three hours? Something else is required then, people might want to go in a more talkative direction. In the morning, the target group is more focused because people are just getting up.

What is the most important aspect for you when creating a morning show?

Jacqueline: Because we have split the BAYERN 3 morning show into two teams, we have to fit together well. On a morning show, you have to have the right combination of being light-hearted and informing the listeners. You have to be able to tackle serious topics in such a way that they fit in with the morning mood. I'm a fan of not going too over the top. I often switch on a morning show and then I'm blown away. What's going on with you, what have you taken that you're in such a mood? It's understandable to a certain extent, as a presenter you get up at 3:30 a.m. and by 7 a.m., when the other people get up, it feels like it's almost lunchtime for you. I like it more like this: two people who like each other are talking and you can listen in.

Communicating the radio lifestyle via social media

You've already mentioned getting up early, how does a day as a morning show presenter work?

Jacqueline: We often have interviews after the morning show that have to be recorded because the interviewees can only do them at that time. Then we have an editorial meeting, where we actually get feedback  on the show every day and discuss the next day. The normal morning show presenter usually finishes at around 11 o'clock. For example, I also do a podcast and take care of the BAYERN 3 Instagram account. So I might be on the station until the afternoon.

How do you do social media for a radio station?

Jacqueline: I had to think about it beforehand: What does a radio station have? A clothing brand has its clothes, but we don't own the music. We just have an attitude to life, a living room for people that we can give them. How do you convey something like that just via text panels? The way social media works is that you follow a person. At BAYERN 3, that's me. From the very beginning, I really enjoyed taking people with me and showing them what's going on in my private life, which may have nothing to do with my job, but which also affects the target group that BAYERN 3 wants to address. That has proved its worth over the last five years.

Do you also use the account for direct communication with listeners?

Jacqueline: Yes, definitely. Since I've been active on Instagram for BAYERN 3, I understand the listeners in a completely different way and have a completely different connection to them. In the past, you always kept your distance on the radio. You stood in your studio and broadcast, maybe someone wrote you an email or called you. WhatsApp was the first time you had the feeling that people could communicate with you directly. Instagram is one step further because you're really close to them. For example, I've already done puzzles with people or played sports with them. And I can ask them directly for ideas for birthday presents or similar. That's why it's a really great tool for me as a presenter, because I simply understand my listeners better.

Jacqueline Belle: Women need to engage more in conflicts and speak their minds

Both through your work on the mic and through social media, you are one of the most present women on German radio. How do you rate the role of women in the German radio landscape in general?

Jacqueline: At the Local Radio Days, a woman approached me after I sat on a panel about women in leadership positions in radio. The lady  said how great it was that I wasn't just laughing at the presenter's bad joke and reading out the weather on the radio, but that I was a presenter with an opinion. At that moment, I realized that this is actually normal for me. I've been at BAYERN 3 for eight years and have always been pushed in this direction. First by my boss, now by my boss. It's always been : You're a strong host and we don't want you to just laugh at a joke. So Jerry and I have always been equals on our show. But if you listen a bit more into the radio landscape, it's actually often still exactly this old role model. How often are there women who really host a show on their own or two women who do a show together? Apart from bigFM, there aren't many radio stations that dare to do that. I think that's a real shame and we need to do more. We need to give women self-confidence and teach them early on in their training how to deal with conflicts and speak their minds.

As a radio presenter, podcast host and voice actress, you cover pretty much all areas of the audio industry. Could you choose one of the jobs if you had to?

Jacqueline: No, I couldn't choose. That's what I love about my life, that I always have variety. It gives me so much to be myself on the radio and not have to play a role. In dubbing, on the other hand, I can be the loving mother or the villain, for example. I also really enjoy podcasting, so I couldn't choose just one area.