Photography: Emily Chalk
If you’ve ever tuned in to Newstalk ZB or other affiliated radio stations over the past 50 years, there’s no doubt you’ll have probably heard a news bulletin read by Raylene Ramsay. Hers has been an iconic voice on the airwaves, in a career that began as an intern at 2ZB Wellington in 1976.
“When people recognise my name, it always surprises me,” says Raylene, 68, chatting to the Weekly from her Auckland home, which she shares with husband and fellow newsreader Malcolm Jordan, 65.
“I forget I’ve been doing it for so long! “The funny thing is, no one guesses the face behind the voice. When I worked for Classic Hits, people would always get a shock when they saw me. They pictured me as blonde and buxom!”
Growing up in Wellington and Invercargill, teenage Raylene completed a one-year course in magazine journalism before hearing a radio ad offering six-month cadetships for the state-owned New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC).
Her first role within the cadetship – based at Wellington’s Broadcasting House – was as a fill-in producer for long-time 2ZB host Lindsay Yeo.
Gender barriers in the early radio career
“I was a glorified telephonist really,” she smiles.
“But we got on well, and I went on to work with Lindsay as his co-host and newsreader down the track.”
Of course, she still really wanted to be an announcer. Within the company, there was an announcer-training programme, which eager would-be news anchors had to audition for.
“I passed the audition, but they wouldn’t put me on the training course – it was very male-dominated,” she recalls.
“Back then, women on the radio were mostly shopping reporters.”
Finally, given a short in broadcasting
Undeterred, Raylene applied for a job at TVNZ. When NZBC caught wind, she was suddenly allowed to go on the training course. At the end of it, the plucky young broadcaster was sent to Radio Lakeland in Taupō before another job beckoned at Bay City Radio in Napier.
“That was when you were actually playing vinyl records and running the entire programme,” she says.
“My first shift, I was shaking. But I loved it! You had to time everything out – play all the ads and answer the phone – literally a one-man band. Not like these days when everything is in a computer and all you have to do is talk.”
Learning the ropes in regional radio
After an OE to London, Raylene began working in Wellington again, as a network newsreader with Murray Forgie.
“Paul Holmes was doing the morning talkback show after us and I had to read his news,” she tells.
“I remember he came through the newsroom and said to me, ‘It’s not bat-ton when you’re talking about police – it’s baton.’”
A workplace romance begins
Her dulcet tones had also caught the attention of another fellow broadcaster.
Raylene shares, “Malcolm was filling in, reading the breakfast news for Polly and Grant’s ZM breakfast show. Well… he stalked me,” she laughs.
A radio romance takes off
“One day, he goes, ‘I’ve got a couple of tickets for Jimmy Barnes’ concert at the Town Hall – would you like to go?’ “I thought he was asking if I wanted the two tickets, so I replied that I’d check with my flatmate. He went, ‘No, I’m asking if you’d like to come with me?’ And I went, ‘Oh, okay.’ We had a fantastic time and now Jimmy Barnes has a very special place in my heart.”
Since then, they’ve always worked in the same building. Raylene, whose voice is one of the most recognised in New Zealand, says her career has given her the flexibility to raise her two daughters, Amy, now 36, and Alexandra, 33.
A true family affair at NZME
The sisters sit next to one another, both working in finance, on the floor above their parents at NZME’s central Auckland office. And Amy is also married to Coast radio host Jason “JT” Tikao, 48. The pair have a daughter, Emiliana, five, who is picked up from school each day by Malcolm after his shift.
As she celebrates her milestone 40 years working for NZME, Raylene is proud of having worked through all the technological changes that have rapidly transformed the industry. And retirement isn’t a dirty word in their house either. In fact, the veteran newsreader has already started thinking about the right time to hang up her microphone.
Thinking about winding down
“I always thought I’d do it until I’m 70, which is next year,” she says.
“I admit I’m starting to feel a bit tired and I want to spend more time with my beautiful granddaughter because being a grandparent is just the best.”
Looking back, is there an on-air moment that haunts her?
“Oh yes,” she says.
“Once in Hawke’s Bay, I had a tech guy come and do something under the desk while I was live on air. Without thinking, I said, ‘I’m sorry I sound a bit flustered – I’ve got a man underneath me at the moment!’”
You can hear Raylene reading the Newstalk ZB news bulletins for the Afternoon and Drive shows.
