Ka kite, former Coast Access Radio station manager Nikki Carroll

Last month, Nikki Carroll stepped down as Coast Access Radio station manager. As a former CAMA (ACAB) treasurer and long-time Community Access Media champion, CAMA is sad to see Nikki go. We took the opportunity to have a chat:  

  • Please tell us about yourself.

I’m in my late 50s, a mother of three and a Supergran of one, and I’ve lived on the beautiful Kapiti Coast for nearly twenty years. I grew up in the Wairarapa and ventured to Wellington in my late teens. At the time, I married and moved to Horowhenua, where we started our family before moving down the coast.  

Having spent many years in customer service and retail roles, I eventually worked for Coast Access Radio in 2016, and there began a love of broadcasting. This led me to become a full-time student in 2019 at NZ Broadcasting School in Christchurch, studying journalism – when I was in my early 50s and at least three decades older than the other students I met there. I completed my internship at the Horowhenua Chronicle and graduated as the top Journalism student in early 2022.  

  • Please give us an overview of your role(s) in the sector.

I began my career with Access Radio in a part-time Funding/Administration role, which slowly expanded over the next three years to include content creation, live broadcasting, and community networking.

By the end of my first year with Coast Access Radio, I had also joined the CAMA (then known as ACAB) executive, taking on the treasurer role I held for the next three years.

After completing my broadcasting degree, I was asked to apply for the station manager role at Coast Access Radio in late 2022. I have spent the past two and a half years working with a fantastic team that has helped to boost the engagement/relationships with and content of the Kapiti and Horowhenua communities we serve.

  • What were some of your highlights working in the sector?

During my first period with Coast Access Radio (2016-2019), some of the highlights were:

(a) Establishing and producing youth-oriented content by engaging with local high schools on the Kapiti Coast and in Horowhenua; (b) having regular live-to-air slots as part of the Morning Show and Friday Afternoon Drive Show; and (c) actively promoting and supporting the establishment of a primary Performing Arts Centre on the Kapiti Coast.

During my second period with Coast Access Radio (2022-2025), some of the highlights were:

(a) hosting the first in-person CAMA national hui since Covid; (b) interviewing Richard O’Brien, renowned for the Rocky Horror Picture Show; and (c) initiating an investigative documentary led by John Campbell for TVNZ.

  • What’s something different or unusual about yourself that people might not know?

When I moved to Wellington in my late teens, I discovered the joy and addiction of community theatre. This continued through the following decades in Horowhenua and Kapiti and led to many lead roles in jukebox musicals, especially in my 40s and 50s. My first lead role was in Nunsense at Levin Performing Arts Society in 1996, and I’m currently rehearsing for a different role in the same show, which will be staged at Kapiti Playhouse in April 2025.