ACRAs 2022 Best On-Air Newcomer finalist Loren Barry can be heard every weekday morning on The Marty Sheargold Show from 6am – and again in the national show highlights at 3pm. Barry is an energetic addition to the Triple M Melbourne Breakfast show, delighting listeners alongside Marty, Troy, and Will.
Loren started her radio career as a Nova FM street teamer, getting her break on the Meshel & Tommy show as their on-air Casanova of choice. When the opportunity arose to become a full-time producer, it was a no-brainer for Loren to take the opportunity and bid farewell to her teaching studies – and she’s glad she did.
Following her Casanova stint, Barry went on to become a gun producer for successful radio shows like Nova’s national drive program Kate, Tim & Marty, and later Kate, Tim & Joel. She is now an integral member Triple M’s Marty Sheargold Show on-air team, led by veteran comedian and broadcaster Marty Sheargold. Barry has a unique on-air chemistry with the team – and it is no surprise the program has built a cult following, which sees the podcast often exceeding 150k monthly listeners.
Breakfast radio hours may seem gruelling to some, but Barry loves rising early and being able to connect with listeners as they start their day. Being the only female on a male-skewed station’s breakfast show is something that she doesn’t take for granted – and loves when listeners tell her that they enjoy tuning in with their daughters in the car. Growing up, she was sometimes referred to as a ‘chatterbox’ and it may be no surprise that Drama was her favourite subject.
Barry is a die-hard Carlton FC supporter, also supporting the Blues in the AFLW comp. Within herself, there’s an undeniable competitive streak that sits close to the surface, which comes out as her alter ego ‘Patricia’ when any sort of game is played on-air. As soon a game kicks off, Barry transforms into the ultra-competitive hot-head that the team refers to as ‘Patricia’.
Off-air, Barry’s Instagram followers are well acquainted with her beloved Italian greyhound, Noni – named after Play School legend Noni Hazelhurst. The name was selected before the pup, so the fact that Noni is male can confuse people at first. Listeners have warmed to Barry’s buoyant sense of humour and no non-sense attitude – with her big smile somehow being beamed through the airwaves. With experience behind and in front of the microphone, Loren Barry is a radio superstar already with a bright future ahead of her.
