Last weekend the great and the powerful came to pay homage to one even greater and more powerful than themselves, Alan Jones, on the occasion of his 25th year as a broadcaster. Having topped the Sydney breakfast ratings yet again with a 17.7 per cent share in last week’s Nielsen Ratings, his detractors argue that what that means is that 82.3 per cent of people don’t listen to him. Yet, while it’s true that more people loathe him than love him, more importantly everybody knows of him and those that love him number more than enough to make him number one by a long chalk. And in the world of commercial radio that’s all that counts. For the talent that can deliver the audience and the advertisers that follow, the rewards are immense, ask Kyle Sandilands. But few have the overarching influence, the political clout of an Alan Jones. Of the current crop, Melbourne’s Neil Mitchell is the only one who comes close. Maybe not even close. In the entire history of Australian Radio, has there ever been anyone better?
If so, only one name comes into any serious contention. John Laws. Despite his absence from the microphone for nearly three years, he still wears the mantle, “King of Radio” with a career spanning an incredible 55 years. And although he retired with his 2UE morning show languishing on around 7 per cent, he was heard by close to 2 million people a week on a national network of stations – the kind of network Jones has never been able to achieve.
So who is the greatest of all time, Jones or Laws? Laws or Jones? Or is it someone else entirely that you would choose as the greatest of all time?
Greatest of all time? Are we just talking A.M? Just talkback? Or all radio. It all depends on the criteria set for GREATEST. Seems to me that there is too much differeing criteria. Most influential? Jones. Most controversial? Sandilands. Logevity? Laws. Most cutting edge? Mulray. But you also can't ignore the pioneers and what they brought to radio that is now standard fare. Kennedy, Newton, Davey. Then there was Club Veg. Even 2SM's Good Guys. All brought something to the medium for which todays stars owe a debt. The greatest? We shouldn't try to compare. Rather we should acknowledge each for their contibution, and as a whole be graeful for their legacy that makes Australian radio as diverse and as entertaining as it is.
Yes agreed.... and who could forget Wayneee Poo on Breakfast or the great days of Malcolm T. Elliot and Peter Shannahan ... great days of radio. Hang on I forget Ian MacRae and lets also pay homage to Ron E Sparx. Theres one of the great voices of Radio still going and sounding great.
Richard