Lisa Augenthaler used to turn the radio up to full volume in the bathroom before turning on the light. Even as a child, she was fascinated by radio: she played her favorite programs, wooden spoons served as a substitute for the microphone. In the meantime her dream has come true, she works as a presenter at Antenne Bayern in Unterföhring.
Radio programs are easy to receive and give listeners worldwide access to important information. To commemorate the founding day of the United Nations radio station on February 13, 1946, February 13 was declared Radio Day by Unesco in 2011.
Lisa Augenthaler sees the radio as unique because it reaches listeners in the region quickly and personally: “I just have to press the red button and I’m in the listener’s ear.” For Lisa Augenthaler, the path to becoming a radio announcer was not a straightforward one. First, after graduating from high school, she began training as an actress. But she wasn’t completely satisfied with this job, so she decided to do an internship at the radio station Energy Munich. She had already learned to speak clearly and breathe deeply, so she was able to impress and start a traineeship there. The 32-year-old still remembers her beginnings clearly: After she had successfully spoken her first traffic report, she burst into loud cheers. This was not only heard by the colleagues in the studio, but also by all listeners to the show. In the end she had forgotten to press the red button. At first, Augenthaler was a bit uncomfortable hearing her own voice on the radio, but over time this feeling subsided. Another change was bigger: she had to get up at 3:20 a.m. for the morning programs. “I’d usually come home from the party by then,” she says.
In 2018, the Munich native switched to Antenne Bayern, where she now moderates her own show. What she appreciates most about her work is the personal exchange with the listeners who call the studio during a broadcast. She describes the conversations as honest and beautiful, but at the same time anonymous due to the physical distance. Overall, she has had mostly positive experiences with this form of exchange. She herself still likes to listen to the radio, for example when driving, to be informed about current events.