Jay-Jay Feeney talks quitting radio and new ventures with Paula Bennett – Ask Me Anything

Jay-Jay Feeney announced via Instagram in June she will be leaving radio broadcasting.

For nearly three decades, Jay-Jay Feeney was one of the most recognisable people on radio. After more than 20 years on The Edge Breakfast, Feeney moved to More FM’s Drive show for six years.

But earlier this year she announced she was hanging up her headphones and moving on from live radio.

Speaking to Paula Bennett on her NZ Herald podcast, Ask Me Anything, Feeney said being on the radio was the “best job in the world”, but admitted it was an exhausting one at times.

“It’s all the preparation, coming up with the ideas, being everywhere, everyone wants a piece of you, and you’ve got to deal with management and their decisions that you might not agree with, and the stresses of just working in an environment with people that you’ve got to rely on to do things for you. And they’re not always thinking the same way as you and or maybe they are and it’s just like you’re doing all this extra work and it’s really exhausting.

“So it’s not the radio show. The radio show is fun, but everything else around it just exhausted me.”

She said the need to be positive and upbeat for three to four hours of live radio could also be draining on the rare days when something was going on in your personal life that took down your mood.

Her decision to leave was something she had been thinking about for several years, and she said the ultimate decision came down to how the media landscape has changed.

“Back when I was at The Edge, for example, we were encouraged to just push the boundaries, say what we want, do what we want, just really get people listening and pull stunts and do whatever. That was a fun time.

“So when I went to More FM, it’s family-friendly, our audience is more conservative. You’re not allowed to be that person you were on The Edge.”

Feeney said she felt “quite restricted” and that she wasn’t being challenged enough.

“It’s not like anyone is to blame for that, it’s just the way the kind of station I was on and the time of life, the way that things are in the media right now. I just felt a bit, not lazy, just boring. I feel a bit boring and stale.”

She said she is scared to remind people about some of the things she and her colleagues used to do on the radio, because they were fine 20 years ago but would get you cancelled now.

There were able to have sell-out parties in pubs, and people would come on stage and strip naked in order to win a T-shirt, Feeney said.

Another memorable moment was the Dancing of the Flaming Pubes, when they would set someone’s pubic hair on fire.

“One time we were in Palmerston North, and this guy did the Dance of the Flaming Pubes and the smell was so bad that everyone evacuated,” Feeney said.

Now, Feeney has teamed up with her ex-husband and former radio co-host Dom Harvey to work together in podcasting.

Listen to the full episode for more from Jay-Jay Feeney about her new venture, her relationship with Harvey now, and how she took the leap to leave her job behind.

Ask Me Anything is an NZ Herald podcast hosted by former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett. New episodes are available every Sunday.

You can follow the podcast at iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.