About Jay
Jay McCreary is a radio broadcaster, broadcast journalist, voiceover artist, and audio/visual producer based in the UK.
He began broadcasting in 1997, and until recently presented the evening show on Revolution 96.2, which was voted Best Evening Show in the North-West in the MerryKova “Battle Stations 2011″ poll. He currently presents the evening show on Energy FM on the Isle of Man, and presents the Saturday breakfast show on Revolution 96.2, based in the North West of England. He is available to cover radio shows on a freelance basis, and has previously broadcast & produced shows for BBC local radio during a 4 year stint at Radio Manchester.
Jay is also an experienced video producer, having filmed and edited many corporate and educational programmes for various clients.
He is an experienced voiceover artist and audio imaging producer, and also has experience in media training, social media, online content editing, and forensic audio visual restoration, analysis, and consultancy.
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Brief History Lesson
Once upon a time there was a baby born, called Jay.
When he was two weeks old, Jay’s dad thought it would be funny to make him wear his headphones…
Five years later, Jay’s parents bought him a tape recorder and a microphone…
These innocent acts of kindness resulted in the creation of one man’s obsession… to become a random voice on the radio!
Over the years, Jay grew up listening to the radio and learning from his favourite radio presenters on a variety of stations until he was old enough to actually start doing something about it himself.
Following his departure from North Chadderton School in 1995, Jay went on to study media at Oldham College, where he met a wide range of interesting and influential people…
Jay’s radio lecturer was in the process of launching his own radio station, Oldham FM, so the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Through a series of trial RSL (restricted service licence) broadcasts in 1997, Jay and some fellow students began presenting the news on air. On the following trial broadcasts, Jay read the Traffic & Travel news and got his own weekend show. Then, when Oldham FM was finally granted a full time licence, it was launched in 1999… as 96.2 The Revolution (now Revolution 96.2). This provided Jay with his first full-time paid radio job, presenting Traffic & Travel news for the Breakfast and Drivetime shows.
It wasn’t long before Jay began covering shows on a regular basis, and presenting roadshows, for the next 5 years. This long stint at a growing and successful radio station taught Jay a lot about the radio industry.
Jay wandered off in early 2005 to experiment with other radio projects while various changes were happening at 96.2 The Revolution. New projects included nationwide in-store radio for some well known organisations, including Asda FM, PC World and Topps Tiles FM, freelance voiceover projects in radio & video, and working for the BBC.
Jay spent over a year working behind the scenes on Terry Christian’s breakfast show at BBC Radio Manchester, and also had the good fortune to work with the late, great Tony Wilson on his weekly outside broadcast. Working alongside these broadcasting veterans, along with presenting some early morning slots, matured Jay’s broadcasting knowledge and skill set. He worked at the BBC for 4 years, from 2006-2010.
In September 2008, further changes were made at 96.2 The Revolution that grabbed Jay’s attention and made him decide that he wanted to return. Former Key 103 and Capital presenter Steve Penk had bought the station and was recruiting for a brand new line-up.
Jay hand-delivered a demo CD containing his previous presenting work, and several phone conversations later he was able to return to the very station that gave him his first radio job almost 10 years previously.
He was given the evening show, weekdays from 6-10pm, a light-hearted entertainment show, filled with banter, the occasional quiz, nonsense, and fluff… which initially ran for a period of approximately 4 years. It became a popular show, even winning an award for “North West England’s Best Evening Show” in 2011.
It was also around this time Jay started presenting shows on Energy FM at the same time, a commercial radio station based on the Isle of Man, along with picking up some cover on other commercial stations.
However, after 4 years, Jay decided to return to university and work towards a Broadcast Journalism degree. The final 96.2 The Revolution Evening Show was broadcast on Friday 14th September 2012.
He didn’t want to leave 96.2 The Revolution completely, so as his Evening Show ended, he began presenting a Saturday show, shortly after which 96.2 The Revolution found itself under new management once again, changing its name to Revolution 96.2.
Jay is now a qualified broadcast journalist and educational lecturer, and currently presents the evening show on Energy FM, and the Saturday breakfast show on Revolution 96.2.