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If the technology existed years back it would've been cool to see it all go on as you'd be seeing records, carts, open reel tapes etc all being cued up and so on..but now you're just seeing touchscreens being hit and a fader/switch or two being thrown.
Half the time, 2UE have their 2UE Southern Cross logo up anyway on the video stream..and for some reason my podcatcher only catches 1kb of stuff they put up as podcasts like Mike Carlton's Friday News Review..it worked fine before they launced MyTalk. I even checked and re-checked the feeds but still no go. Nuts...
Don't they know that 'Video Killed The Radio Star!'???
Wasn't it the Buggles who told us that when MTV sprang to life? - besides, we'd have to change that wonderful saying "he's got a great head for radio".
Personally I think people are more than over seeing 'behind the scenes'. While it captivated me as a kid and got me hooked on this business, I soon learnt that magicians should never reveal 'their magic'.
Aussie radio (and TV) are not good keepers of our collective 'secrets' and a lot of the magic has gone, especially when anyone with a broadband connection and some free/cheap software can pretty well do much the same as 'the big boys' (except for making a million bucks perhaps!!).
I think a better use of radio station/network video streams would be to 'enhance' their offerings - More artists clips - especially local) and more one on one interviews - so easy to run a 'handycam' at the same time a jock or jockette does a red carpet chat - the content is original, it's fresh and unique.
Maybe the internet will create 'multimedia stars' in the not too distant future - but it won't happen while we are watching a poorly lit bland radio studio shot of some unshaven, barefooted dude yawning his head off on a Sunday morning shift he'd rather not be doing.
Radio Station Video? - sure, but give me something interesting to watch.
The Edge 96.1 continues to propogate the myth that they are a regional station broadcasting on the fringe of the Sydney market. The truth is that, while their licence vests in Katoomba, they broadcast from North Ryde, can be heard all over Sydney, and have a format that is hardly appropriate for a regional station.
When is the ACMA going to act on the fact that this is ARN operating a de facto third licence in the Sydney market, rather than us having to listen to some plea that this station should be allowed to participate in the metropolitan digital rollout because it will otherwise be disadvantaged. Please.
The Edge 96.1 continues to propogate the myth that they are a regional station broadcasting on the fringe of the Sydney market. The truth is that, while their licence vests in Katoomba, they broadcast from North Ryde, can be heard all over Sydney, and have a format that is hardly appropriate for a regional station. When is the ACMA going to act on the fact that this is ARN operating a de facto third licence in the Sydney market, rather than us having to listen to some plea that this station should be allowed to participate in the metropolitan digital rollout because it will otherwise be disadvantaged. Please.
Brian, you make some very valid points re Edge and it's certainly smart for ARN to programme it the way they do (Disclaimer : I work for an ARN radio station).
In mentioning "traditional 'local' station" programming, what has always struck me as being dumb over the years is the mindset of copying the innovator. Sadly, this has happened many times worldwide in both regional & metropolitan markets.
It may flatter the ego & creativity of the leader, however all it does for the industry, its advertisers & listeners is create an impression of same old, same old and radio suffers en masse ! More than ever, terrestrial radio with the assistance of the Internet needs fresh thinkers who are allowed to plan, programme & execute outside the accepted norm. The challenge therefore is to STAND OUT and deliver WITHOUT resorting to crassness.
Regards, IAN
Cruise1323 Adelaide.
Brian asks "Who wants a local radio station?".
Ask the tens of thousands of people who listened to 2KA (the forerunner to The Edge via ONE-FM after it was first converted).
Did they like having a station that had dedicated Blue Mountains/Penrith local news bulletins? Did they like having all Penrith Panthers games (home and away) broadcast? Did they like knowing what was going on in their local community, and having a sense of being part of that community through their local commercial radio station?
Penrith and the Blue Mountains lost a lot when Mike Walsh sold them out to ARN.
Now, ask people in Campbelltown how they feel about having a dedicated local commercial station (C91.3).
It's not about regional stations on the outskirts of metropolitan cities being clones of capital city stations. It's about these major communities having access to GENUINE local commercial radio.
Now, about this hip hop station with the Katoomba licence .....
As a former Manager of 2KA (when Mike Walsh owned it) I can tell you that it IS possible to build a local station in a place like Western Sydney AND make it reasonably successful. I established a local newsroom manned by Shon Walker, who built it from nothing to quite a force in the local media. I used the principles employed by 2GO -LOCAL FIRST and everything else follows. AND we had 2WS still concentrating FULLY on Western Sydney.
Now to digital -The Edge is regarded as a "regional licence" which allowed 2KA to convert to FM and allows ARN to own it.
In the first round of digital for COMMUNITY STATIONS only City-wide stationa will have priority initially-smaller suburbans will have to wait like regional commercials. ACMA can't give The Edge "Sydney Wide" status, or ARN would have to sell the licence. They are disadvantaged in one way, but they still have a tremendous advantage of overspill across Sydney from a regional location. I'd say the scales are balanced pretty evenly.
David Bunt
Could this be Eddy McGuire's favourite San Francisco radio station ? They play lots of heavy metal, stream on line, have a line-up and features which would appeal to Eddy and many Collingwood supporters, feature a studio web cam and they're called 107.7 The Bone !
Regards & Bone Appetit, IAN. Cruise1323 Adelaide.
I very was saddened to read of Pat Barton's passing: I worked with Pat at 'KO as a junior panel op on his brekky show during '67-70.
Pat was such a great influence on me and my life generally let alone my work in radio & TV.
It is hard to imagine one of my earliest mentors has gone.
He really was the epitome of an old fashioned 'gentleman' and always had time for we 'new kids' (I was just 15 years old at the time!)
Pat ALWAYS wore a suit to work and said if you feel good and look good you'll sound good!
He said he loved new technology but really I think he just said that to try and 'keep up. He never berated us if we made a mistake.. just asked if everything was OK - did we need to get any help from the 'techos'...
I always thought Pat was the WORST joke teller of all time (well at 15 years of age you do) - but funnily enough telling corny jokes was his brekky forte and one which held him in such hi esteem for so long in Newcastle where he has always been an institution
See ya Pat... and thanks for the great memories. :-)
Brian Pickering - former Panel Op, Pat Barton - 2KO Newcastle
I would offer to buy back a parcel of shares in the Macquarie radio network, something in the vicinity of about 23million shares.
I first heard Pat Barton heard while holidaying in Newcastle in 1975. It was my first time away with - shock, horror, a girl! Like most teenage ‘radio tragics’ one always had to check out the stations when travelling away from the home just to see how they compared. I recall 2NX as Newcastle's 2SM and 2KO as per 2UE. Instead of having Gary O'Callaghan on breakfast, KO had this curious old-sounding guy who appeared to breeze through a busy show playing what I remember were edited versions of hit songs. I would have thought of something smug at the time like: shouldn't this guy be on 2GB or something? David Jones over on NX was much more my style so I soon gave the uncool KO the flick. Fortunately the girlfriend agreed.
The benefit of life experience allows me to admit to being a callow youth. I couldn't appreciate the likes of a bloke who’s been riding the airwaves since before I was born. During my years in radio I sometimes heard guys muttering on about 'the old bloke on KO'. One former NX staffer who lobbed in the Steel City to begin work there in 1978 heard Pat and assumed he was the cleaner deputising for a regular KO jock. Obviously none of us had a bloody clue as to why Pat was a success. The arrogance of youth most likely closed our minds to the notion that anyone over 35 could, or should, be on air playing hit songs. And Pat was WAY over 35!
A reliable source told me that is was a matter of age that finally bought Pat’s time at KO to an end in 1982. Apparently it was company policy (the Lambs owned 2KO and 2UE at the time) that staff members retire by 65. The policy knew no bounds as Alan Faulkner, the former great and respected Poo Bah of 2UE found out. But in any case Pat was in no mood for retirement so when 2HD approached him to join them in 1983 it was a done deal.
Fast fwd to 2005. I was in the closing stages of penning "DTTD" and received an unexpected email from Pat's son-in-law offering me some photos and other family memorabilia that could be of use. He and his wife also generously lined up a phone interview with Pat which I was thrilled to do. The fact that I spoke with Pat at the 11th hour made a huge difference to the depth of information in the early chapters of "DTTD". Here I was talking to a guy who trod the boards when radio was finding its way in the wake of that new media monster; television. Pat's insight and good humour (always the joker) helped me understand the environment of change that was going in radio of the late '50s. Hopefully that is adequately conveyed in the book.
It was a bonus when Pat casually revealed that he compiled Australia's very first Top 40 chart in 1958. This was but one aspect of his long and successful career. In the context of DTTD - which is mostly about the Top 40 revolution - having Pat speak about it and get a few words on the permanent record was fortuitous to say the least.
We quite rightly acknowledge the contemporaries of radio with each survey win that comes down the pipe. Indeed it’s healthy to celebrate achievement. However, I think it’s also respectful that we remember 'old guys' like Pat Barton who made HUGE contributions to the strengths of the business. Pat, and others who are on the roster of that big studio in the sky, forged strong and lasting connections with their audiences and advertisers. They'll be remembered for a long time...even if they played edited songs so as to fit more ads in. All is forgiven. RIP Mr Barton.
Speaking of floods. I remember it was late 1992 and I had been with East Coast Radio 2EC (formerly 2BE) for nearly 12 years, 11 as GM/PD/Dogs Body.
There I was on-air "LIVE" on my regular Sunday 6 to Midday shift and it was absolutely bucketing down. The Moruya River, the Bega River and other waterways were taking a hammering. For the early part of the morning at the station I WAS IT ! The 'phone was going non-stop from concerned listeners checking on road conditions/closures, SES and Police were in constant contact, the 'lost dog' notices were coming in thick & fast, we were running a heavy pre-Christmas ad load and my 4 cart machines were running hot, even the local Funeral Directors were busy keeping me busy (some didn't have fax machines in the bush back then) with Funeral Notices (remember them on the radio ?) and of course apart from the heavy ad content, around 90% of the music was still being played off vinyl. So in between all this mental & physical studio action, needless to say I was absolutely rung out at the end of the shift, a situation mirrored many times, by many announcers, over many years, on many stations.
Not just myself, but the station (as usual) covered adversity with community grace & style. A week later on the eve of Christmas, I compered the annual Bega "Carols By Candlelight" celebration, after having being terminated earlier that day, by the relatively new station owners. Ah, yes, the memories come flooding back !
Regards,
IAN, Cruise1323 Adelaide.
Why do the official radio ratings always fail to give any credit to the excellent work of community stations?
According to the latest Sydney figures the listenership for all commercial stations and the ABC only comes to around 87%.
This leaves a massive 13% of radio listeners unaccounted for.
Could they be listening to some of the metro-wide community stations like 2SER, FBi or the MBS?
It's about time Nielsen gave us more accurate information. I can understand their reluctance to give info for individual stations but why not release an overall figure for community radio?
If as they claim, community radio audiences are so small, why not release the figures and prove it?
Mark Robinson
2SER
Could it be that the "radio nuts" are dying out and the Accountants rule?
On another topic ACMA are giving Community Radio a "going over" sometimes about the smallest technical breach.
Why haven't they acted on the 2GB & Alan Jones findings?!!!
DAVID BUNT
Regarding non-subscriber comment about 2GB - I'm not a grandma and yet, I listen to both 2GB and 2UE as well as Triple M, 2WS and Mix on occasion. I'd love to work at 2GB someday but still that goal of mine remains unfulfilled...*sighs*...
The departure of John Laws brings up some questions for the radio industry.
Will 2UE still be in the business of networking a morning show to regional Australia?
This could be the Godsend that UE was looking for. Finally they can focus on Sydney.
Whilst the Laws morning show and the Laws brand is both an institution and a very profitable brand, the fact is that it’s expensive financially and costly due to a lack of localism in Sydney.
These days if you want talkback in Sydney you choose 2GB or the ABC 702.
In Laws heyday this was not an issue as he was quite simply the man to listen to, things change and the Laws program simply could not please two masters….Sydney and the bush.
2UE can now change this and possibly increase their ratings in the process.
But what about the bush you ask, well this will bring numerous problems and I can imagine network owners are pulling their hair out wondering what to do.
For heritage stations Laws has kept them relevant in a market place that has often moved to the younger stations in droves. Laws has kept the advertising dollars flowing in with many stations having a waiting list of clients wanting to get on board the Laws bandwagon. There are four choices for Heritage stations. Firstly create your own networked morning show ala the Charles Wooley show by Macquarie Bank.
Secondly, go local with your own guy, playing a mix of music and local interviews.
Thirdly, take Charles Wooley show, it’s ready made for the country and Mac Bank is very keen to sell it to you.
Finally, take whatever is on offer from 2UE, that is, if they offer it, I suspect they won’t.
The bottom line is that 2UE has a chance to change their position in the market place and regional networks have quite a few headaches to deal with through loss of advertising dollars and most certainly listeners.
Dear "anonymous user"
If Sydney's missing 13% is made up of stations that are, technically not in the Sydney market why doesn't Nielsen tell us that. They could just say "Non Sydney stations: 5%" or whatever. If the mystery 13% is no mystery why all the secrecy? And they could tell us an overall figure for community stations. If all community stations only add up to, say, 1%, why not tell us? Seems to me they are hiding something.
Ray Kington has made quite a good point! What do local owners do now Laws has gone ? Unfortunately due to the industry relying on talent making a name for themselves outside of radio, there are no "up and coming stars" who can do the type of "talk" that relates to "the bush"! Charles Wooley is really the only choice left and even he made his name through 60 Minutes. It comes back to owners allowing talent to develop in the local markets but that takes time and (as you know) time is money ! A friend of mine who i haven't spoken to for ages (g'day Rob Colligan ex Bega sports dude) suggested the radio game needs to develop an apprenticeship of sorts that allows talent to be nurtured in an encouraging environment. He made a good point but i'll let better minds than mine decide how and when to implement such an outrageous idea!
The CRA's Joan Warner claims that the current ratings system is the best in the world.
But isn't it true that the diary system uses a faulty method that only lists certain stations?
Stations in the Commercial radio/ABC consortium are listed on the survey form and listeners tick a box next to the name of the station, in 15 minute blocks.
But if a listener happens to be tuned to a non-consortium station they must fill in the station name in a blank space labeled "other".
This is what polling experts call "non-listing bias" and leads to distorted results, including the almost total exclusion of community stations (even the big metros).
Will this problem be addressed during the ratings tender process?
Mark appears to be under the impression that the Nielsen Radio Surveys are conducted as some kind of free community service. They are in fact paid for by Commercial Radio Australia - at considerable expense - to help advertisers buy airtime. Why should the commercial radio industry provide free survey information for community stations? If 2SER or any other community station is interested in being included in the survey booklet, I would suggest they contact Joan Warner. Have your cheque book ready.
Nice try Peter, but you're missing the point.
What I am suggesting is that the existing system creates false and inaccurate results.
You can't pretend that the survey is an accurate reflection of all radio listening in a particular market if some stations are systematically excluded.
"Non-listing bias" is artificially inflating the listenership figures for commercials and the ABC.
Everyone is getting dudded, advertisers included.
And by the way, you're wrong to say that the surveys are paid for by the CRA. The ABC also picks up a large part of the tab.
No Mark, you are missing the point. This whole "non-listing bias" is a furfy typical of the freeloader mentality of the community radio brigade. Community stations are not excluded from the survey, any survey respondent who does listen to community radio is free to tick the "other AM" or "other FM" box. Listenership figures for these categories are readily available to subscribers to the Nielsen survey. Any advertiser who wanted to know these figures could easily obtain them.
And can you imagine what the survey booklet would look like if every community station WAS listed? More like a phone book than a survey booklet.
I should point out that I am no stooge for the commercial radio industry. In fact I don't work for any radio station. It's just a bit of a pet peeve of mine. People pay millions of dollars for commercial broadcasting licences - and as I said before a bucketload for the services of Nielsen - to try and make a buck. If we're looking for "false and innaccurate" practices, what about community stations that get their licences handed to them on a platter then run advertising under the guise of "sponsorship".
Before all the community radio folk out there start calling for my head, I should also mention that I spend about half my listening time with community radio. No hard feelings guys, just trying to inject a bit of oomph into this forum.
Hey Peter ...Mark...
What's all this squabbling about??
The community sector has had at least 2 'national' surveys to try and get a feel for how many people listen to the CRS. On the surface it's not bad either but save that discussion for another thread :-)
Just as any commercial station that was #1 then drops to #2 after a survey 'questions' the results, so too does the commercial sector start questioning (and rightly so) the coimmunity sector when analysing (say) the recent Communtiy Radio Survey. (see RadioInfo archives!! :-))
At the end of the day both sectors provide 'choice' - personally I think there is less choice on commercial radio (although I am a born and bred commercial guy personally and professionally) - but as most ad agencies and local advertisers NEED to know they ACTUALLY have a particular demographic for their commercial messages then commercial radio is the way to go - (of course!)
But if we (community) broadcasters eg; Pet Talk Radio for instance) can 'sweet talk' sponsors into being 'good corporate citizens' then we can also share in some of their advertising/sponsorship dollars.
We did - and we will continue to do so.... as Dr Harry say's "A little bit of pie is better than no pie at all"
Brian Pickering
Producer/Co-host Pet Talk Radio!
Also
with my commercial hat on....
Producer/Post-Prod Supvr. Police Files:UNLOCKED
for Network Seven... now how commercial do you want to get folks!!!
What is a little known and publicised fact re Glenn Wheatley is his once ownership in 1987 of East Coast Radio 2EC (formerly 2BE) Bega-Batemans Bay. This was after Glenn's EON-FM start up and prior to him joining forces with Hoyts Media, which 2EC became part of.
In my then 2EC position as GM/PD I found Glenn to be a genuinely friendly, decent human being who had a very good feel for the radio business. Like most people who know him, I class him as a damn good guy and friend.
I feel for Glenn, Gaynor & their family with Glenn's current situation. He is paying the price of being human, he made some bad calls and now has a criminal conviction against him.
In my 36 years in commercial radio, I can think of a number of people who SHOULD be locked up for their lack of ethics, meanness and general skating on thin ice within the broadcasting business. They are in a class of their own !
I wish the Wheatley family strength and better times ahead. I KNOW Glenn will come through this as a wiser human being and businessman.
Regards,
IAN, Cruise1323 Adelaide.
I know this is completely off the topic but I'm wondering if I'm the only one who thinks this way. Does anyone else believe that the category of 'Most Popular General Manager' in the ACRA awads is a bit silly? The reason I bring this up is because one of the nominees has been known to print the forms out and 'encourage' his staff to all sign it just to get himself in the mix. When this was asked of me and several of my co-workers at the time we all disposed of the nomination form believing it was a false representation of a person I would not have nominated on my own. How is this process vetted to ensure some bosses aren't bullying their staff to nominate them?
Don't get me wrong. Overall, I like the ABC (Radio, TV & On Line) and I like the concept of "Media Watch". I am a tax payer, so it's good to feel good about my shared investment!
I also work in commercial radio (no luck in 36 years with the odd ABC application...must be that damn Selection Committee process !) and I know who puts food on the table and pays the mortgage...yes Monica, it's those pesky commercial advertisers. So like John Laws, on a much, much smaller scale when I get to do LIVE SELL commercials (they should NEVER be called Live READS !) I give the client the maximum bang for his/her buck, why wouldn't I ? As for "cash for commercials = editorial leniency", my view is...easy to say, harder to prove!
In any case via the ears of your audience, through electronic monitoring plus the anti-commercial lobby ready to pounce including a "Media Watch" tip off, you'd be a fool to put your position and your station's licence on the line. As for "Media Watch" also being the watch dog for ABC programming, one could quite easily infer a conflict of interest, but like I said earlier "easy to say, harder to prove."
Regards,
IAN, Cruise1323 Adelaide.
Seriously Ian, you wrote three paragraphs about Media Watch. The program is a joke. You need only disregard it.
I'm just wondering what happened to Filomena Leone - she was doing 2WS's Love Song Dedications in the early 90's. Also wouldn't mind finding out what happened to Kathryn Hines from 2SM traffic around the same time, and Trudy Theile, once 2GB traffic.
Paul "Campo" Campion says
" Kyle couldn't fight his way out of a wet paper bag, and threatening to punch Hughesy in the throat is like picking on the weak kid at School.
I've known Kyle a long time and luv the guy - he'd do anything for you - so it really is bizarre he'd threaten Hughesy like that, and no matter what!
I have to stick up for the weak and defenceless like Hughesy, so if Kyle wants to go a few rounds, I'll take him on in the ring, that way he won't have to go to jail and have to pick up the soap all the time, and Hughesy the poor little fella will be still be able to breathe.
Campo is the brother of Rugby League Hardman Kevin Campion - it runs in the family.
Frank, do you pronounce Trudy Theile's surname as "Tealy"? If so, there's a lady by that name doing a weekly spot on the 2CC brekky show in Canberra.
Hope that helps!
Hi Richard, yep that's it, that's the one - many thanks for the info! I worked with her briefly along with Trevor Farrugia in the late 90's at 2RDJ and I was wondering where some of the crew had got to these days - Trudy was Trevor's movie reviewer on his sunday night program at the time. Trevor closed his show to concentrate on other stuff (he was at 2UE then) and Trudy took over his old slot, until she also had to move on not long afterwards. (Trev's at Universal Music these days I understand). I was going through some old masters recently and found some of the themes and ID's I produced for her show and thought where's she got to. Thanks heaps again!
A day of sad - but not entirely unexpected news - re Frank Hyde's passing.
We hear the word 'legend' dished up so often in association with great(and not so great)characters in the public eye, but in my opinion 'legendary' is appropriate when describing Frank Hyde's pioneering - and lasting contribution - to sports broadcasting.
I'm one of thousands who never had the honour of meeting the man, though I did catch a glimpse of him at 2SM in Clarence St circa 1970. I was mucking about getting an autograph or some such from DJs John Torv and Graham Roberts and missed seeing Frank after that. But even without having known him personally I'll always feel a deep connection by virtue of his voice being one of the first that I can ever remember hearing on radio when I was just a nipper.
Oddly enough football didn't grab me to the extent it did others in my circle, i.e. I never played it as a kid. Music was more my 'thing' and I guess that's why I became a drummer and later a jock. However, I loved the excitement of the game and was drawn to it when broadcast by Frank. There was a charge of electricity in the air as that unique voice crackled on the radio waves. Fantastic!!
I have wonderful memories as a teenager in the '70s strolling down to our nearby shops of a Sunday afternoon hearing Frank and the roar of the crowd blaring from a transistor perched on a shelf at the local milkbar. It cut through the air like a knife. What a sound! And the tightness of it all back at the 2SM studio with Frank giving his regular score out-cues, one commercial in the break, a rapid-fire ID jingle and he was off again. Quite simple, no fuss presentation, but oh SO effective.
Even though commentators of today do a fine job with energetic descriptions that evoke the full extent of 'theatre' that is the modern game, I must admit to missing the great man's SM calls ever since he folded up the card table one last time after the 1983 Grand Final.
But one has to move on and now he's gone. No doubt Frank Hyde entered heaven earlier today by travelling 'straight between the pearly gates'. How fortunate we were to hear him on the radio for all those years. 2GB and 2UE have appropriate mentions of his passing and tributes on their websites and on air, but how utterly galling it is to note what is seen on 2SM's website about their once-most enduring star... Bugger all.
RIP Frank.
Frank Hyde one of the good guys, without actually being a 2SM 'Good Guy' as such.
Like for so many people back then, Frank Hyde calling the rugby league on 2SM was just magic to this young bloke living in Cabramatta and later Port Macquarie. In the 60's it always struck me as being really weird when the music stopped, as 2SM was such a strong "more music" outfit. However, when Frank came on, the magnetism of the tight personality-music format was ably replaced for a couple of hours, by a man who shared incredible passion for 2SM, its audience, its advertisers AND the game of Rugby League. Frank Hyde combined the best of the 'show' & the 'business'.
Thanks Frank for the truly great radio memories and condolences to the Hyde family.
Regards,
IAN, Cruise1323 Adelaide.
Heavy handed? No way rules are rules and commercial radio has to play by the rules or pay the penalty so too should community radio. It seems to me that more and more community stations are going away from the true concept of community radio and heading more and more towards commercial radio. In Darwin the so called leading community station is now as commercial as the two commercial stations even to the point of securing the services of 2 commercial radio announcers for the breakfast show. How does a community station firstly afford that sort of expense but also how is this offering an alternative to the community.
Have a look and a listen to them at www.territoryfm.com and you will wonder how they have kept their licence this long.
Hardly a volunteer to be found and the ethnic broadcasters have been chucked off the station.
Lets see if ACMA do something about the conversion from community based volunteer driven radio to the now commercial driven in-house driven radio that is 8TOP FM now.
The "conspiracy" theory has been put about a lot, but ACMA seemingly "bends over backwards" to encourage Licencees to comply. If you read the replies that 2ARM gave to ACMA's questions, you will see that, even after the Licence Application, and a number of other letters, the information supplied, revealed that the station either didn't understand the issues involved, or was unwilling to move on a number of issues. In the case of the Bankstown cancellation, there was a lot more information that wasn't made public.
I have just successfully guided 2CCR FM in Sydney through to its licence renewal, and, if you look at the website on Community Station renewals, you will see I had to answer a lot of questions.
Throughout the process, ACMA maintained a "tough, but fair" approach and I believe if stations want to successfully renew their licences, they need to learn to understand what ACMA want.
Any Community Station wanting advice, email me [email protected]
DAVID BUNT
Well i look at things this way the law is the law, you break it you suffer the consequences. Maybe the ACMA needs to look at more Community stations especially a certain Darwin station. Trevor Scott you nailed it on the head.
i second Wayne & Trevors comments, yes ACMA, come hang out in Darwin for while and see it for yourselves...you can stay at my place I have a spare room.
Wow looks like Myf is jumping the public servo ship and going to the deep dark world of commercial radio!! Amazing. But can I have her old job at Triple J. ;-)
This is an interesting topic of the radio being on at work and an APRA licence needed to do so. However, this is still under the realms of analogue radio. So, here's a completely silly solution but one which may give a laugh to anyone affected - grab a digital radio receiver, place it in the worst possible reception area in your office, and just leave it switched on as the signal starts cutting in and out every so often as the reception makes its way over the digital cliff. The workplace wouldn't have to pay the fees then as the 'goods' being received are 'not of merchantable quality'. Ta-daaaaah ;-) (couldn't resist!!)
I'm sure that if APRA decided to do that and take each employer to task on the lack of radios in the workplace, then i'm sure that my employer (i have a day job away from the radio industry that pays the mortgage) would be forking out the big ones - with a workforce of about 2500, and offices/workshops, depots all over the state, that would be one big bill!
If APRA decided to go down that path, I can see a lot of businesses (and most probably the one i'm in) banning the use of ANY radio in the workplace. I think it will make the job of selling advertising to any business all the more difficult in this situation.
What would APRA do if businesses dumped their radios for CDs? If the CD is purchased, you have already paid for the copyright of the music - would they enforce a licence on the business? How would that work?
It will be very intersting to hear how that one pans out...
i think should APRA do something like this sometime in the future it would be a silly move to take. many big businesses do pay these royalties thru various music subscriptions they have with different providers. banning radios in each workplace though i think would hinder the sales of music cd's in general though. i for one will generally listen to talk radio in the car, watch tv at home and only here the music wondering around different shops...
Simple take music off the so called free to air radio and television and see how APRA look after their clients then. No air play limited exposure so limited sales of music and concert tickets.
Let's concentrate on getting the word out about all Australian music and make our artists known and more respected than their American counterparts. Let's not limit who can hear our awesome music talents.
Wow, it's one thing to crack down on illegal downloading of music, another to crack down on "illegal playing of music" in a workplace.
I don't think APRA or CRA are stupid enough to pursue this kind of approach...
People listen to the radio coz it's free and easy to listen to at work.
People, whether employers, employees or customers in the shop hear the song and want to buy the album if they like it.
Surely that's a good thing?
I personally think that downloading music "illegaly" has probably been very good for some artists. I know that as a teen I used to download a lot of music and discovered a LOT of artists I never would have discovered otherwise. I then went on to buy their albums, go to their concerts, buy their merchandise... so surely that's a good thing too?
I read with interest comments from the CRA conference saying that digital radio should have the right to broadcast moving pictures. See "Much yet to do on digital" Oct 18th. Someone should pull them to one side and slowly explain that sound with moving pictures is called television!
To Chris Smith (24 Oct).
As I noted on page 267 of "Don't Touch That Dial" the idea of 'Where Are They Now' is a whole other book. However, as for some of those you mentioned: I saw Garry Suprain only last year in Sydney working in radio production; Wacker is in Melbourne with a family business; Cameron I saw I Sydney in the late '90s - haven't been in touch since; Someone told me in recent years that Chris Hulme was in a sales gig on the Gold Coast. As for Dal Myles, he died (I think) in 2002. A heart attack I believe. He was only in his early 60s and at the time was Managing Director of Dal Myles Tours, a company still in operation. Google Dal Myles Tours to see the website. Those of us old enough will remember Dal for his extensive v/o and on-screen work at Sydney's Channel Ten, also his various DJ stints on 4BH, 2SM and 2CH in the sixties.
Anyway Chris, lying in bed thinking of 'whatever happened to' can lead to all sorts of creative adventures. It was a combination of that and a long shower one day that got me thinking of doing a book on radio. Following the success of "DTTD" we now see that the Foxtel people have made a TV doco on radio. And I read with interest here on Radioinfo just other day about some guy researching a TV special on 2SM.
So you never know, maybe someday there'll be a 'whatever happened to radio people' book. If you've got a few years of spare time I can recommend such a task to you. (grin)
Regards, MAC.
Kevin Rudd had one foot in the lodge the minute he became opposition leader. It makes no difference whatsoever if Johnny boy goes on FM or not, because there are 4 certain things in life.....Death, taxes, Don Bradman's batting average will never be beaten and Johnny boy will suffer the greatest flogging in political history. If he wins the election....I will walk down Cavill Avenue Surfers Paradise at lunchtime in a pink tutu carrying a sign saying....."I'm a bigger fairy than Warwick Capper in a meter maid outfit." Don't get too excited folks...because it just aint gonna happen.
My deepest sympathy to Ang and family, and everyone at the Albury Hub.
Barnsey was a ferocious tech and an absolute sweetheart.
Lisa McKoy
I've spent many many hours in the company of Adam Barnes. We worked together for years... as he used to say to me in many sessions in a studio "you talky talky, I pushy buttons". I also shared a house with him in Albury and there I found a really close friend. Adam was just one of those amazing people, just good at heart, loving, and a true gentlemen.
My thoughts and energy are with his family.
I will miss you deeply.
Ty Frost
The world lost a great man yesterday with the death of Adam Barnes.
Before we were both in engineering we were doing audio production - Adam at Star FM Albury and myself at Sun FM Shepparton. We didn't care that we worked for competing companies at the time, I think we were both excited to have struck up a friendly one-upmanship type of rivalry. To us it was just a huge amount of fun.
Over the years, despite me being responsible for him being let go from the Albury Hub we remained close friends. Imagine my surprise then when we were talking late into the night, arguing over some silly technical point as the battle of who-was-more-right continued, that he expressed his immense respect for me - this coming from a man who I probably respected more than anyone else I know.
I miss you mate - it's a shame that you won't be around when I'm old. We could have argued over silly crap for ages.
What an awful shock to hear of the loss of Adam Barnes this morning.
Adam was a great bloke, talented Producer and Tech. I can honestly thank him for where I am today... his ever helpful feedback on my production pieces back when I was in Emerald and he was in Townsville, helping me get the job in Townsville Production, and taking me under his wing when I rocked up into a town where I knew nobody.
You will be sorely missed, Adam
Matt
Terrible news. Barnesy was a terrific guy. He was a gun young producer with dmg in townsville and cairns for a number of years, and deserved a lot of credit for how good the Hot Fm stations sounded in those years. Very sad news for a guy who had his life in a great space. Vale. Dan.
Radio has lost a fantastic tech and a great guy. Sadly his family has lost a wonderful father and husband. I worked with Adam in Albury and was always impressed that he would take the time help you, would stop by later to see that it was all still working and have a bit of a chat. A great mate who will be missed by all.
Ray Kington
Heart 1032
My deepest sympathy for Adam's partner, children and extended family. Adam was a great guy, excellent tech and a talented producer. He will be sadly missed.
Devastating news. Adam was always there for me, no matter the time of day or night, public holidays, weekdays or weekends... If I had a technical problem, Adam was always available on the other end of the line, talking one very technically challenged person through whatever problem had arisen. His skill, his knowledge and expertise in so many areas will be sadly missed.
Hard to imagine the Albury hub without Barnesy. My thoughts are with his family and my extended hub family.
I can honestly say I was shocked and deeply saddened when I heard the news about Adam. Barnesy was a gregarious energetic guy who made all he worked with somehow better for it...He was a great engineer and while I know he did great things in production I do believe that at the hub he finally found his true calling as the chief engineer. He seemed to be in a good head space and looked like he could have really settled in.
I only spoke to Adam about 5 weeks ago and as is the case I said I'll talk to you soon - never imagining that I wouldn't. He worked for me at Gold/Mix and at the time I really wanted to give him a job to hold onto him. He wasn't that interested and I believe that he really wanted to go to Albury - I truly believe that it was destiny for Adam to go to Albury.
I shall miss his wicked sense of humour and his true friendship. Vale Adam barnes...you will be seriously missed. Scott.
I can only echo the other comments about Adam Barnes, an absolutely great radio guy. I remember first meeting him as a super keen 17 year old junior tech at the Fox in Melbourne in 1994 who could also produce, mix records and jock as well. I kept in touch with him for 13 years through instant messaging and this website - he was so proud of his kids too, and rightly so. Incredibly sad. Deepest sympathies to his family. AndyG
Barnesy: Always a helpful, generous and positive guy, you'll be missed by myself and the many at Fox and 3MMM who knew you. Cheers and rest in peace mate. Blacko.
What a terrible shock for the radio world - and absolute tragedy for all who knew Barnesy.
My thoughts are with his family and all my ex-workmates at Star FM/2AY/The River.
Wish I said something more memorable than "Cya" when I saw you in Sydney last.
Although I didn't know Adam personally - hearing and seeing the impact he had on the lives of those he did - is very moving.
Having worked in Albury (at a different time to Adam) I'm not lying when I say that I used to hear "Barnsey's an awesome guy" so many times - I felt like I DID know him.
It's really nice to see that a lot of his 'radio family' are offering condolences to Adam's own family... but can I add a note of condolence to ALL of you who knew and loved him, and are grieving at the news.
Always sad to lose a true radio guy.
I never knew Adam Barnes but judging by all the tributes written about him...as the song goes...."The good die young". Such an awful tragedy, and I really feel for his young family. Being a dad, I just hope his wife and kids will be ok....I don't know them but I just feel terrible about all this, life can be so unfair sometimes.
I like so many I have talked to since Adams death, was shocked to hear the news.
I first met Adam back in 1994 when he started in Production at Fox. He was bubbly and confident and filled with a good dose of youthful exhuberance.All the stuff you need to be a good producer in the highly competitive world of Commercial radio. In 1997 Adam moved to Brisbane and worked for us at B105 for a time.
I lost track of Adam as he moved on for some years, eventually re-appearing at SAFM Adelaide in 2000 as a polished and accomplished producer who showed an engineering flair.
It was no surprise that he turned up later in an engineering capacity at the Albury Wodonga Hub of MRR.
Only several weeks ago I spoke to Adam at the ACRA's in Melbourne where he had been nominated as a finalist for the Engineering Excellence award for some software he had written. He proudly introduced me to his wife, and told me that he had really gotten his life together and had found his utopian career. I congratulated him on the way he had grown and developed. He was a self made man of the highest quality who was so very proud of his wife, family and his career.
It is so sad to see wonderful people like Adam taken from us so early in his life. On behalf of all at Austereo who have worked with or known Adam, our deepest sympathy goes to Adams wife and family
Des DeCean
Director- technology
Austereo
Adam worked here at Gold 104 briefly, but could do it all. Production, engineering... and jock'ing at a pinch. I worked with him at a production house too. A great bloke with a happy face, a terrific helper, a wealth of information, and one of those few people who 'still did it, even if it wasn't his job'. Adam and I spoke often about his family who he adored. I'm shocked and saddenend by him signing off the air.
Huggy.
We were privileged to work with Adam in Albury, a genuine all round good guy never short of a smile or a helping hand. We spoke to him just a few months ago, he sounded busy as always but excited and happy too, and that is how we'll remember him. Our thoughts go to his wife and children, for a life taken too soon.
Caroline Hillman & Richard Winter
Interestingly many years ago, I worked in a regional radio market where a very enlightened general manager listened to his staff. The staff most were under 25 and wondered why we had to read funeral announcements at 7:30am and 8:30am. His answer was that funeral directors paid well for the commercials.
We put our case to him that if he were told by his radio twice a morning before he went to work that he was going to die and that people were dying all around him, would he keep listening. Funeral announcements were dropped the next week.
The funeral directors also stopped advertising and we had two listener complaints (possibly by families of the funeral directors).
I know the question is about 40+. I am 40+ and I don't want to be asked by a 25-year-old female voice over if I can get my end up or if I have a funeral plan. I also don't want to hear commercials asking "what starts off soft then gets hard: Concrete" in the same commercial break. It is in the delivery.
40+ is not old, it aint young either, it’s just plain 40+. Life has been part lived and there is a hell of a lot more to come. Let's not blame the product. Old age & death are events most of us live with and of course, they have advertising opportunities, but if these ads weren't on air, would we get complaints? If they are so prolific in the 55+ market, surely we should have writers 55+ writing these ads. I am sure radio needs the money, but we also need the listeners.
Richard, as an aside, your comment reminds me of my early years at the then 2BE Bega, before we revamped the call sign, format and coverage area to East Coast Radio 2EC.
When I arrived in 1981 we ran Funeral Announcements at 7.45 each morning, subject to the daily demand ! I didn't mind reading them so much, it was the fact the then company policy dictated each one had to be slowly repeated. The owner's thought was, people could come in half way through the read and miss half the information ! My argument against that was WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE on somebody coming in through a read ? Logic would dictate, with listeners coming ang going all the time, we'd still be repeating those same funeral announcements today !!!
My record was 15 one morning, ALL repeated S-L-O-W-L-Y. The last one for a cremation came in at the "death knock" and cued up on the turntable was "Fire" by The Pointer Sisters.
And yes, they were a solid rate card earner and yes the more mature (in age) locals tended to listen out for them. We later streamlined their format, with one reading only. Certainly brings back the memories.
Regards,
IAN, Cruise1323 Adelaide.
Regarding Kyle and Jackie O pulling up Nova, while that's true to an extent, I hate to say that the same thing was pinched from us at 2RDJ Sydney.
In the early 90's I produced a promo for a guy called Tony G who fronted a program called Tuesday Night Rage - the promo finished with the slogan "Sydney's fastest growing radio show". Well, 3 weeks later, I see 2DAY-FM in the daily telegraph, claiming one of their shows was also "Sydney's fastest growing radio show". Not sure if it was Kyle and Jackie O though but I do know it was definitely 2DAY. I still have the master of the Tuesday Night Rage promo too.
Seeing the Get This crew are getting the chop (grrrrrrr...), I wonder how they would go on AM brekky? C'mon..there's gotta be another opening for these guys somewhere.
What will happen at 2GB should Alan Jones be appointed Wallabies coach? Interesing speculation but I doubt he'll get the job anyway.
Whilst I do believe he'd be the ideal candidate and would certainly get Australian Rugby back near the top, there are factions for and against him within the rugby fraternity which ultimately will put him in the 'too risky' basket. Rugby these days goes in 4 year cycles, each country centre their whole program towards the next world cup and it would be unrealistic to think he could or would commit for the next 4 years. A year or two won't cut it with the ARU...they want a coach who'll take us to the next world cup in 2011. For that reason, I believe either David Nucifora or Ewan McKenzie will get the job, although like many....I believe Jones would then be an ideal 'consultant' and motivational speaker for the Wallabies. So, rest easy 2GB.....he won't be going anywhere.
On the subject of possible replacements for Laws and remotely...Jones, I think the likes of Tim Webster, Andrew Denton, Jason Morrison and Mike Hammond would do well. For a left field choice, they could do alot worse than punt on someone like Phil O'Neil....I reckon someone like him would be a breath of a 'fresh new era' for talkback radio....he'd be a sensation.
On a lighter note, if Jones miraculously did get the Wallabies gig, we have a funny guy at Hot Tomato.....Sean Flanagan (he used to be Andrew Dentons writer)....who does the best Alan Jones impersonation I've ever heard. They could replace Alan with Sean.....nobody would know the difference.
It's a few weeks ago now that the "where are they now" topic was raised, with Cameron Syrett's name rating a mention.
I can reliably tell you that Cameron was at McDonald's at Penrith Panthers last Saturday as part of McHappy Day, flipping a mean Big Mac.
Cameron is currently doing some on air work for Cool Country in Sydney's west.
Tim Williams
No It's not the end of an era for talk radio it is the beginning of an era that may see some new voices and some opportunities for people who have been in the outer for so long awaiting the retirement of many old hands in the talk game. There are still a few to move on so those doors can open but at least with Laws finally taking his well deserved retirement and Jones perhaps on the move also it might give US as chance to be heard and to cement a talk career that many of us have worked towards for many years without the aide of reality tv or sport fame.
Their are good people on the game ready willing and able to take on the talk radio game seriously and I would suspect at substantial savings in salaries.
To anonymous,
Well if you're anywhere near right then I can just put it down to coincidence. But it remains that people like you who want to have a go at me always do it behind anonymity. Funny isn't it?!
2ue needs a major overhaul, Lawsie leaving with be the best thing that has happened to that staion in years!
Yes, i think it's a bit unfair radio and TV are blacked out considering newspapers can continue to run ads right up until polling day....I'd like to know the reason for that. I'm just a jock but I can understand owners and managers would not be happy losing revenue. Sure most ads are annoying, but surely radio and TV deserve the same chance to earn revenue out of it like newspapers do.Maybe the reasons are 'political'.
hello radio lovers! Just trying to find out how many female APD's there are in Australia at the moment?
And how many female APD's are there just in the metro market in Australia? thankyou :-)
And It’s goodnight From Him
In a week of watershed moments, with a new government elected, and a new leadership team for the opposition, another great turning point has occurred. The nation’s most iconic broadcaster, John Laws, has switched off his golden microphone. This is not just the end of a career, or the end of an era in the media, but the end of an era in the lives of millions of ordinary Australians who have listened to Laws over his 55 years on air.
In a way that no other broadcaster has been able to match, John Laws has been embraced as a part of people’s existence. There are those who love him, those who loathe him, those who are envious, and those who have done their best to belittle him. But it has been impossible to ignore him. Such words as “icon” and legend” are frequently thrown about with sufficient casual disregard as to devalue their meaning. But John Laws has earned those accolades.
At every point in his career, John Laws has led the pack. It was John Laws who pioneered top 40 radio in the fifties. It was Laws who pioneered talk radio in the sixties. It was Laws who pioneered networked programming in the eighties and nvarchar(15)ies. That’s not to say that he invented those formats or concepts, but he was the one who showed Australia how they could be done successfully. Even in the nineties, other attempts at networked programs failed because of a failure to understand the needs of audiences. And John Laws has always been the master of knowing who is his audience and giving them what they want.
Of course there was the controversy of his commercial arrangements, but speaking as one from inside the commercial radio industry I have to say that the whole thing was twisted out of proper perspective. From the day I began in radio at the age of 18, management has drummed into me and my colleagues the importance of looking after the sponsors. It is commercial radio, and the revenue comes from advertising. Only a fool doesn’t give his customers the best possible service. As radio announcers we have always been encouraged to go the extra mile to keep the advertisers happy. It protects and promotes the business base of the station, boosting the income of the management and the sales representatives.
For many announcers however there is no additional bonus other than the occasional free CD or concert ticket. John Laws’ only “crime” in that respect was to be astute enough to cut a deal where he too shared a “slice of the action”. I repeat, it is commercial radio, and where John Laws prospered from his sponsorships, so did the stations that broadcast his program. Others may see it differently, but John Laws never pretended to be anything other than a commercial presenter, although in truth he also delivered so much more in entertainment value, with a quick wit, a talent for incisive observation, and the ability to cut down anyone foolish enough to try to give him a tonguelashing.
Without exaggeration, it is the end of an era. And by inference it must also be the beginning of a new era… although just what that era will bring remains to be seen. But that’s a discussion for another day. Today belongs to John Laws, who I am sure would like us to remember his time on air by adhering to his daily advice to “be kind to each other”.
It’s the least we can do.
Lawsie will be missed there is no doubt about it, and I think we would all agree that he earned the "king of radio" titile, but seriously Leon Delaney I think your comment about Laws just looking after his sponsors and that his only crime was to cut himself "a slice of the action" is a bit rich. Perhaps you should read the report that the ABA prepared and you will see it was a bit more than just looking after his sponsors.
It wasn't labeled cash for comment for no reason Leon, and to suggest it was anything innocent is preposterous and ignorant
Steven Pritchard of Queensland contacted me recently seeking help on a private research project. Perhaps Radioinfo forum readers can provide more help than I can. Steven wants to locate the following radio people: Reg Mowat [former 100.3 FM HOTFM Mackay Breakfast Announcer], John Henry [former 1026AM/101.9FM 4MK Mackay Talkback Host], former male and female breakfast announcers [98.7 SEA FM Mackay from 1999 – 2004], and the radio announcer or announcers [Announcer or announcers Names Unknown] who presented Breakfast on 1026AM 4MK Mackay either finishing in late 1996 or early 1997. If you are any of these people or can help locate them, please email Steven Pritchard on [email protected]
Thanks Ray. Perhaps you haven’t been in the business long enough to remember the “live commercials” we all had to perform in the good old days, under the encouragement of managers and sales reps who stood to gain financially, sometimes on the quiet.
And perhaps you’ve never seen anyone “disciplined” by management for reporting a legitimate (but adverse) news story about a business that just happened to be an advertiser. And as for Lawsie’s segments for the Bankers’ Association… did you hear them go to air? It was painfully clear that they were paid for.
Of course, many things have changed and it’s a different world now, but don’t call people ignorant until you have been around for a while.
Cheers.
Leon all I can say is that you must be right and the ABA got it wrong and on mamouth proportions. I won't bring up morality today, we'll save that one for another day and put a lid on this one shall we?
Well, nice little verbal war between Ray and Leon. I tend to lean towards Leon, I can understand what Ray is trying to say, however he seems to think the Laws 'cash for comment' controversy is a question of 'personal' morality and should've been hung out to dry for misleading his listeners.
The thing is, whilst Laws was king of the radio etc and paid alot of money...he would've had to toe the station line like anybody else, especially if you sign a contract. I'm certain whatever alleged cash for comment that went to air would've been the work of sales and management...nothing wrong with that, one of the first things I learnt was to never upset a 'client'....afterall, they literally pay our wages whether you're John Laws or Joe Bloggs.
I learnt this because I did a comedy skit on what I thought was a crap product (it was but that's beside the point, they were a client). Interesting too Leon's comment about people being 'disciplined' for legitimate but adverse stories about a client. I remember some poor newsreader chap who was sacked because he broadcast comments from somebody opposing an approved council development in a certain area. Why, perhaps because the station manager was also the towns deputy mayor!!!
I believe Ray you tend to think because he's John Laws, then he had the power to tell management where to go in regards to on air material. Besides, the whole thing was probably brought up as a result of some person or persons having an axe to grind against Laws...and Ray, I'm sure you'd realise 'backstabbing' is part of radio 'culture'.
Thanks for the memories Jason, I had almost forgot about him;). I know (and I am sure Ray will remember) of occasions where things that were of public interest were not allowed to air, because "there is no money in it for us".
As for Lawsie, I respect his place in history, but times have changed, and a show like his just doesn't cut it anymore. Why would a personm in Queensland or Victoria want to know what the premier of New South Wales is up to? Why do you think people like Neil Mitchell & Ray Hadley are where they are? Because The shows are mostly state focused. Sure they might be city centric, but they deal with issues that are universal across the state.
You are what you drink, Laws.
You are what you drink, Lawsy.
I think Bridget Duclos on the Cage did a reasonable good job at keeping the boys in to line when she had the chance. I think that was one of the funny things I liked about that show. Farewell to The Cage!
I read reports Lawsy was drinking 'Wild Turkey'.Seems unfortunately it turned him into one.
Am i missing somthing or is the ACMA still not doing anything about community radio stations (Territory FM) attempting to be commercial with a community licence. Mind you the station is full of ex Commercial Station DJ's, who by the way couldnt cut it in the real world hey guys, you know who we are talking about.... Im suprised they havnt been put off considering as they dont sound professional.
I wanna put a tribute out to Josh Mair... I Worked with him in Townsville Last year... In the time i worked with him, I learnt a great deal about him and he showed me a thing or two. And all I can say how much of a great producer he was. This industry is going to sorely miss a man with some great talent... Josh 'The 80's Guy' Mair. I'll Miss ya Buddy...
Josh Mair was truly one of the most laid-back, easy going, friendly guys who I have ever had the pleasure to work with. He could knock a bottle of Passion Pop back with the best of us and inspired us all with his "throwing cornflour and chicken necks at the crocodile" techniques.
A life taken way too soon - once again, the world doesn't make sense.
Josh "The 80's Guy". Mate, Your legend lives on in NexGen, and in the hearts of those who had the honour to know you.
Cassie - I sooo remember that nite on Australia Day, where we played that drinking game... that 10 year or so bottle of passion pop went down a treat! ;)
Ahh, a time effective method of Seasons Greetings...
To all those who have it in their veins, and love working in Radio.
Merry Christmas, and may your on-air light shine brightly in 2008!
Warm regards
Ryno
92.7 MIX FM, Sunshine Coast
Yes i guess you are right Ryno - No time like the present Merry Christmas to all from Wayne and 923Top Country Darwin..
Wherever you are, whoever you are, friend or stranger, have a safe and enjoyable Christmas. May the New Year see you healthy, contented and perhaps a little wiser, whether in radio or not. One way or another, may it be great in '08 !
Regards,
IAN. Cruise1323 Adelaide.
Wayne Cottle that is a bit cutting both of them are good announcers and can cut it in commercial radio. As for 8TOP working as a commercial radio station yup someone has to make sure they are filling a needed gap and not pure competion both in programming and commercial/sponsorship generation. For them to be on air in Alice Springs and attacking the truely local community station by marketing strongly though a Adelaide based agency is morally wrong regardless of the law.
Regarding the Christmas story about the Orthodox Christian's claiming commercialiam has hijacked their holiday, I don't see them saying sorry to the pagans and other religious people who's holiday the Christian's stole.
Many educated theologians will tell you that Christmas did not start off as a festival for Christ, and is not actually Jesus's Birthday, but simply a seemingly ambigous date the church chose to celebrate it on, some 1000 years AFTER Jesus's death.
This date (The 25th) and time of year has been a special day to many different groups for many different reasons, and the powers of the time could not stop the masses from celebrating their biggest festivals.. hence the reason they chose to celebrate Jesus's Birth on this day.
I personally don't care much for the Jesus story and don't hold it as a part of my Christmas.
I believe Christmas is a universal holiday, one that nearly everyone in the world has come to enjoy and celebrate, for one cultural reason or another, whether it be old world pagan beliefs, Christian beliefs, or commercial beliefs... or a mix of it all in the form of the Santa mythology along with other Christmas mythologies.
So, Merry Xmas to all! There is no "true reason for the season", but many to celebrate if you so choose!!!
United we celebrate this day!
I hope you all have a very Merry day with however you choose to celebrate it! I think everyones reasons eventually come down to unity though.. happiness and joy with your friends and family, and thinking of those less fortunate!
From the team at Turbo Productions, aka... me - Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to the radio info team. This site is a wonderful resource for the oz radio industry! Keep it up!
Turbo - TurboProductions.com.au
My thoughts and sympathies to the Angel family.
Jim was one of the greats I've had the pleasure of working with over the years. A true professional, a distincitive and authoratitive voice, and a lovely man who always had a kind and encouraging word for the 'kids' around the station - including me.
Jim Angel will not be forgotten by those whose live's he'd touched, both within the industry and among his many listening fans.
Vale Jim - you were one of a kind.
Brian Carlton - Spoonman, Triple M
So sad to hear about Jim's passing. One of the institutions of Sydney Radio. Our best wishes to his family at this time. Alan & Sandie Baskin.
Well, he was always destined for Heaven with a name like 'Angel', but to lose Jim at 67 is just plain painful for his family & friends, particularly on Christmas Eve.
I met him once at 2UE, after taking many Jim Angel 'feeds' at my first station 2KM Kempsey in 1971 and later in the 80's at 2BE/2EC Bega-Batemans Bay, and the guy was a true gem. Humble, likeable, genuinely interested in what you were up to and oh so good at his craft.
I know it's life and life isn't always fair, but to to lose Jim Angel & Frank Hyde within 3 months of each other is a real jaw opener, for someone like myself who grew up with them on 2SM and later 2UE & 2GB. Those guys made radio listening magic & magnetic.
Regards,
IAN. Cruise1323 Adelaide.
Very sad to hear of the death of radio newsman Jim Angel.
I worked with Jim back in the glory days of 2SM.
Jim would always be up for involvement in any outrageous stunt that was going on. It was always funny to see people’s reactions when they first met him. He had this big, booming voice yet he was...shall we say...quite height challenged.
I always thought Jim was seriously a bit weird. I discussed this theory with him once and he agreed he was.
Every radio presenter I’ve heard talking about Jim the past couple of days has mentioned the 1966 hit song “Winchester Cathedral.” That became Jim’s signature tune because it was the song Jim would get up on a table if one was handy and sing it with his hand clasping his nose to get the megaphone effect the vocalist had on the record. This happened wherever there was some drinking going, notably in the pub or at some station functions such as Christmas parties. There was one memorable occasion in the pub when we pulled his trousers down around his ankles and, being the pro he was, he just kept singing.
Go well, Jim.
Growing up in the seventies, my transistor radio was permanently tuned to 2SM and to miss even a second of the madcap hilarity of Ian MacRae and "the Hon" Nick Jones was not an option. How old do I sound by saying they don't make radio like that anymore?
Of course there was more to 2SM back then than just Macca ..... the blacklisting of songs because of their content, (although I do recall "Peaches" by The Stranglers on high rotation there for a while. There's one that slipped through the Catholic Church's net!), Ron E Sparx, George Moore and Mike Gibson, and of course, Jim Angel.
So it was with a great deal of delight that I worked briefly with Jimmy at 2ST in Bowral, shortly after his move to the Southern Highlands. I quickly learned two things about Jim. He was one of the most genial and co-operative work colleagues you could ever have, and he could talk the leg off an iron pot, (and then go back for the other three!).
But more importantly, I got to know the other side of Jim Angel. The man who lived a life outside the radio industry. The man who was a devoted husband and an incredibly proud and supportive father. The man who loved being involved. A bloke who became a part of this community through participation. Not because he sought recognition, not because of self-importance. Simply because he cared.
Some months ago, my wife and I visited Winchester Cathedral on a family vist to the UK. She was excited to be there because it was where Jane Austen was buried. All I could think about was Jimmy with a couple of beers under the belt at some radio party! I bought him a keyring while I was there, and despite promising to, every time I saw him, I never got around to giving it to him. Now I wish I had.
I, like Peter Saxon, was out on the famed 2SM network at 2KM on the mid north coast of N.S.W. when I was first touched by that booming and much mimicked news intro “I’m Jim Angel”.
A dash of “reverb” being used at the time made sure when Jimmy came on air after the top of hour pips, which were also on steroids, you listened!
Some years later I joined the newsroom at 2SM and was privileged to have worked along side one of the truly great characters of Australian Radio.
Friday nights at the Blues Point Tavern were legendary, due in no small part to his good nature and astonishing, sometimes partly naked version of Winchester Cathedral.
On air he was NEVER ever distracted from the job at hand - except once.
In the “good old days” one would scoop up the rundown from a make-up desk and charge into the news-booth to deliver the bulletin.
The one time Jimmy was late and didn’t have time to grab the news, he simply sat down at the mic and gave us this:
It’s one o’clock I’m Jim Angel....We’ll have more news in a moment!
True to his word he stepped outside – picked up the news and within a “moment or two” was ploughing ahead as though nothing had happened.
Jimmy “cut through” on air and in life and whenever I think of him I can’t help but smile.
Greg Henricks
Gold Coast Radio Centre
I never worked with Jim Angel but was glad to meet him and many other Sydney radio greats when they attended a student OB training day at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School back in 1993. We were all warned NOT to impersonate Jim or anyone else who happened to be attending. It was great fun as Jim and Steve Blanda and others all
took turns at reading the news at AFTRS.
Fast forward to my first job in country radio at 2WEB in Bourke. I thought I had timed out perfectly. I played the news theme, opened the fader for the 2UE news but there was nothing to be heard. I opened my mic and asked "where's Jim Angelllll?" while at the same time realising I had timed out to 9.59am! I had to sheepishly fill for the next 50 seconds before saying: "now here comes Jim!"
Jim's distinctive voice really added a sense of gravitas to the news.
R.I.P Jim.
I find it quite amazing Macquarie Regional Radioworks would have the gall to dispute a christian community radio station in western sydney using the name 'heart'. I can see where they're coming from but to do that to a small community station is nothing short of 'heartless'. Afterall, their 'Heart' stations are in Tasmania so where is the conflict of interest?
Then again, this same group have in the past gone out of their way to ensure a community station in any of their markets can't play top 40 music. Let's not forget also, when the new commercial licenses were up for grabs in Gosford and the Gold Coast a few years ago, they went to court arguing that those markets 'couldn't sustain more than 2 stations in the area'. Amazing arrogance, considering they owned the only 2 stations in those areas at the time.
It seems rather obvious MRR can't handle competition, and will do anything in their power to prevent it!
My suggestion to the former 'Heart 103.2'.....just add an 's' and make it "Hearts 103.2"...try it, legally MRR wouldn't be able to do anything about that. Afterall, there's John Singleton's 'Macquarie radio network'.....sure MRR's company title is slightly different but to me, 'Macquarie' is the operative word in this case.