Yvonne Malak

I was infected with the radio virus 30 years ago, when I was a teenager – and I’ve never found a cure!

In the 80s I was able to experience the pioneering spirit of the first private radio channels going on the air. In the 90s I was part of a very exciting project: the launch of 104.6 RTL. In the 2000s I experienced how exciting and demanding it is to be a program director.

I started from scratch – and have been learning my trade for 15 years, incl. as a presenter of every daily timeslot (e.g. as a sidekick with “Arno und die Morgencrew”, as a morning presenter at 104.6 RTL, as a afternoon presenter at BB Radio). I quickly assumed more and more responsibilities (e.g. in 1995 I became the head presenter at 104.6 RTL, in 1998 I became the head of entertainment at BB Radio). From 2000 until the beginning of 2006 I was the program director at market-leading stations, the last of which was BB Radio, the Berlin-Brandenburg station. In addition to the sunny side of radio, like winning ratings wars, I also got to know the difficulties that radio station management faces. I know the pains my clients face – often from my own personal experience.

For nearly ten years, I have passionately shared my strategic and practical experiences for our medium – with management, program directors, morning show hosts, presenters, OAP employees and of course, up-and-coming talent.

I have also been involved in many exciting projects, for example, since 2014 I have been on the Grimme jury for the German Radio Prize. I have a university teaching post for radio marketing (University of Music, Karlsruhe), I give seminars in Vienna (Privatsenderpraxis), Stuttgart (medienpraxis, LFK) and Hamburg (Akademie für Publizistik), I regularly write professional columns (e.g. at www.radiowoche.de) and, whenever I’m able, I’m very pleased to share my ideas at trade fairs, like Radiodays Europe (Dublin 2014) and the Lokalrundfunktagen in Nürnberg.

I am currently writing a book, “Erfolgreich Radio machen” (“Success at Radio”), which will be published by UVK in February 2015.

However, what I’m most proud of are the close, long-lasting business relationships which connect me with my clients – many since the start of my self-employment. My benchmark is the success of my clients and their satisfaction with my performance. The demands I make on myself include finding an individual solution for every client, always offering 100% complete service, and continuously working to improve and train myself, so that I can always provide new ideas and fresh input.

 

Best regards,
Yvonne Malak