Jonesy and Amanda could replace dumped Marty Sheargold

14 March 2025
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The departure of poster-blokes Marty Sheargold and Mark Geyer from the Triple M airwaves has presented radio bosses with a war chest with which to rebuild the station’s fading fortunes.

Sheargold’s contract alone should save Triple M $2-million-a-year while Geyer’s was said to be worth $1 million.

Sheargold and Triple M “mutually agreed to part ways” in late February after enormous backlash to his comments about the Matildas and women’s sport.

Add to these the savings accrued with the departures of Gus Worland, Leisel Jones, Liam Flanagan and Ben Dobbin from Brisbane’s The Rush Hour, Luke Bona and the production team behind The Night Shift and, as of last week, Natarsha Belling, who departed Triple M’s new Sydney breakfast show and radio bosses should have the coin to recruit not one but two of the most valuable, if not most underrated, legacy stars of Australian radio, Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones.

Braedan Jason’s sounds of success – from the global stage to local radio

14 March 2025 Those early mornings, on his way to swim training at daybreak, the familiar sounds of local radio underscoring those journeys – that is what Braedan Jason remembers.
These memories seem to have settled in Braedan’s subconscious in a way that has guided him towards a career path he’s now excelling in – radio journalism.

But it almost didn’t turn out that way.

Disrupt Radio case dismissed while former workers await unpaid wages

13 March 2025 Disrupt Radio will not be liquidated, after the Supreme Court of Victoria dismissed the application to wind up the company today.

The case was brought by Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) over unpaid debts as its former studio provider. It was dismissed by consent during a hearing before Judicial Registrar Kim Woronczak. No orders were made for costs.

SEN declined to comment on the dismissal.

The digital radio station, which launched in 2023 with ambitions to reshape broadcasting for Australia’s startup community, has faced months of financial instability.

BBC News to create AI department to offer more personalised content

12 March 2025 BBC News is to create a new department that will use AI to give the public more personalised content, as its leader said the corporation had been “defying gravity” in reaching audiences amid seismic changes in the way news is consumed.

In a note to staff seen by the Guardian, Deborah Turness, the chief executive of BBC News, announced an overhaul of the organisation’s structure, including the creation of a new department, BBC News growth, innovation and AI. It will have a particular focus on under-25s, amid a huge shift to news consumption on smartphones and on platforms such as TikTok.

Turness said the corporation had to act fast to counter a series of headwinds including “the growing trend of news avoidance, the growth of news consumption on social platforms, increased digital competition and inevitable broadcast decline”.

Sky News Signs New Multi-Year Deal with IRN Boosting Long-Term Collaboration with Commercial Radio Stations Across the UK

12 March 2025 Sky News has agreed a deal with IRN (Independent Radio News) to continue providing national and international news, sport, business and showbusiness content to commercial radio stations across the UK.

Effective from today (10th March), the renewal features an expanded agreement allowing IRN radio stations – including LBC, Absolute Radio, talkSPORT, Smooth Radio, Heart, Magic and Times Radio – to use Sky News video content on their digital platforms. This move aligns with the evolving nature of radio brands and Sky News’ heritage for high-quality video-first journalism and storytelling.

Video content includes access to Sky News’ award-winning breaking & live television news channel for social clips, as well as the use of judges’ sentencing remarks from the ‘cameras in courts’ feed which Sky News campaigned for.

Resthaven and Vision Australia Radio: A 27-year partnership in community engagement

12 March 2025 Since 1997, Resthaven employees have been regular guests on Peter Greco’s Leisure Link program on Vision Australia Community Radio (1197AM). This ongoing collaboration provides a platform for Resthaven to share insights on aged care services, fostering community engagement and awareness.

With a cumulative monthly audience of 379,000, Vision Australia Radio (VA Radio) supports people with print disabilities (who find it difficult to read printed material) while also attracting a diverse general audience. Resthaven’s guest appearances strengthen community ties, provide professional development opportunities for employees, and help challenge negative perceptions of aged care.

How satellite radio predicted the cultural, musical and technological shifts that now define our times

12 March 2025 From music to film, subscriptions have become essential. The average number of subscriptions an American consumer maintains is four and a half, spending nearly US$1,000 a year. The average Canadian household pays for two and a half streaming TV platforms.

As I explore in my new book, Music in Orbit: Satellite Radio in the Streaming Space Age, well before subscriptions became the norm for streaming media, satellite radio companies Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Radio convinced radio listeners to become radio subscribers at the turn of the new millennium.

The companies were marketed as radio beyond radio, expanding the range of channels available to listeners and using celebrities to convince subscribers of the value of these new services.

Taxi driver sacked after Aussie radio star Ali Clarke called him out for ‘vile’ comment during cab ride

9 March 2025 The taxi driver who uttered a “vile” remark at an Aussie radio star has been sacked.

Ali Clarke, a former breakfast radio show host from Adelaide, got emotional in a video posted to Instagram as she recounted the “horrible” comments a taxi driver made about her as she attempted to get a cab ride home on Friday night.

“He said, ‘You need to get out, your p***y smells’,” she cried in the clip as she shared her ordeal with her Instagram followers.

Clarke, who stepped down as host of Adelaide’s Mix 102.3 breakfast show last year after three years, called 13cabs to report the man after the incident and the company acted swiftly, saying in a statement that they “do not tolerate any driver behaviour” that “doesn’t meet our strict standard of conduct”.

Three years after failed buyout bid, Hutchison closes in on RSN takeover (subscription required)

8 March 2025 SEN chief Craig Hutchison is on the verge of taking control of the Victorian racing industry’s beleaguered radio station Racing & Sport Network.

The deal would give Hutchison’s business access to live coverage of the state’s three racing codes – thoroughbreds, harness and greyhounds – just three years after his failed bid to buy the station, according to two sources not able to speak publicly about negotiations.

The sources said it was unlikely that money would change hands because it was not a buyout but an agreement for Hutchison to run the station, including staffing, programming and content.

How are public broadcasters working with Content Creators

7 March 2025 Content creators are only becoming increasingly influential, and are able to access young audiences – an audience which public media traditionally finds very difficult to reach. So is there an opportunity for public media to work with content creators in mutually beneficial exchanges?

In this episode, we look at two programmes being run by broadcasters where they are collaborating with content creators: the ABC and the BBC. And we look from both sides – the side of the public broadcaster, and the side of the content creator, to understand the benefits that such programmes could provide.
Presenter: Harry Lock. Producer: Jamie Tahana.
Guests: Adeline Hulin (UNESCO), Adwoa and Solomon (Adeche), Daniel Ahern (ABC), Dr Kelly Fincham (University of Galway).

Additional charge laid against former broadcaster Alan Jones over eleventh alleged victim

7 March 2025 NSW Police has charged former broadcaster Alan Jones with an additional offence relating to an 11th alleged victim.

Jones had previously appeared in court in December last year, charged with 34 offences against 10 people.

Police said this afternoon that Child Abuse Squad detectives had charged Jones with an additional offence relating to an eleventh victim.

Jones is facing charges over a number of alleged indecent assaults and sexual touching incidents between 2001 and 2019.

Sharp shooting: Probe into Kyle and Jackie O, Hadley’s solution to ebike scourge and the ABC spinner set to leave

7 March 2025 Seven weeks into the new radio season and Kyle and Jackie 0 were already off air. But could the duo again find themselves with the communications regulator?

Seven weeks into the survey year and Kyle Sandilands and Jackie “O” Henderson were on leave this week as their KIISFM audience was treated to another week of highlights shows.

The $20-million-a-year duo took the opportunity to escape Sydney – Sandilands to the Central Coast where he recently bought a beach shack and Henderson to Berlin – as the first official survey period of the year wrapped on March 1.

A one-week industry-wide hiatus followed, though Sandilands managed to extend this by calling in sick on February 28. He was also absent three days earlier on February 25.

Did video steal the radio sign?: Community radio station left scratching head after new sign vanishes

6 March 2025 Did video steal the radio sign?

Harvey Community Radio presenters have been been left scratching their heads after their new sign was pinched off South Western Highway, only a month after going on display.

Radio presenter Duncan Booth said he became aware of the theft at the end of February and initially thinking the easterly wind was the culprit.

“I re-drilled all the holes, and I had nine of the biggest rivets I could find holding it up — and I put it up perfectly,” he said.

“Then I saw the drill holes.”

Gilmour Space Technologies announces launch window for Australia’s first orbital rocket

6 March 2025 The Queensland company planning to send satellites to space from Australia will launch its first test rocket after March 15.

Gilmour Space Technologies' launch window announcement marks a major development for the Gold Coast company, which has been working towards a test launch for a decade. "The launch of Eris will demonstrate a sovereign space capability that has never been seen before in Australia," Company co-founder James Gilmour said.

But he said the launch could be delayed due to technical or environmental reasons such as the strengthening Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

State of the Media: Pacific

5 March 2025 The State of the Media research project provides an up-to-date snapshot of the media environment across the Pacific Islands region.

It was conducted in partnership with the Stretton Institute at the University of Adelaide, with oversight from ABC International Development (ABCID). Fieldwork and data analysis approaches were designed and conducted by Pacific researchers, with the research funded under the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS), an Australian Aid initiative implemented by ABCID on behalf of the Australian Government.

This regional report, along with the accompanying 12 country reports, will serve as an accessible resource for media, civil society, and governments. The 12 Pacific Island countries studied are: Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

The study builds on findings published in the 2013 State of the Media and Communication Report, capturing shifts in the media landscape (including changes to media access and coverage across print, broadcast, and digital), current media policy and legislation, media infrastructure, the footprint of media organisations, and top-level audience consumption patterns.

Listen In: How Radio Changed the Home review – the wonder of the wireless revolution

5 March 2025 One hundred years ago this summer, from high above Daventry in Northamptonshire, voices began to beam into the homes of 20 million people. They came from the 500ft tall Borough Hill transmitter – truly revolutionary technology in 1925 – which opened with a new work, Daventry Calling, by the poet Alfred Noyes.

“Sitting around your hearth/Ye are at one with all on earth,” the poem concluded, giving a utopian flavour that recurs often through Beaty Rubens’s meticulously detailed, engaging book. Exploring how radio transformed the lives of Britons between the two world wars, it’s a striking read in our smartphone-dominated world, as we witness another radical invention quickly becoming part of everyday life. A portal into other places from your own house was also an easy concept to sell. Take the cover of the first Christmas issue of Radio Times from 1923, one of many fascinating images in the book, showing a rapt family gathering around their small set.

Three local radio presenters taken off air until further notice

5 March 2025 KUALA LUMPUR - Three radio presenters at an Astro-owned station have been taken off air until further notice pending the company's internal investigation into an incident that appeared to mock a religious ceremony.

Astro Audio in a statement today said it was taking the matter seriously and expressed regret over a video recording incident involving presenters, Nabil Ahmad, Azad Jasmin, and Radin, which was shared on the social media platform.

"We are working closely with the authorities to ensure full compliance with all guidelines and requirements," the statement said.

Astro Audio said it was committed to the trust of listeners and ensuring a respectful and inclusive media environment.

US Senators Act to Shield AM/FM from New Performance Royalties

5 March 2025 As local broadcasters advocate for radio on Capitol Hill this week, they can celebrate another hopeful step toward protecting AM/FM from new performance fees. The Local Radio Freedom Act has been reintroduced to the US Senate after returning to the House in February.

Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) have introduced the bipartisan resolution, co-sponsored by 18 additional senators. 114 US House members, led by Reps. Steve Womack (R-AR) and Kathy Castor (D-FL) introduced matching legislation last month. The previous version of the act had support from over 250 members of Congress.

The LRFA counters the American Music Fairness Act, which would require over-the-air broadcasters to pay royalties similar to streaming services. The Congressional Budget Office previously warned that such royalties could impose substantial costs on broadcasters.

TikTok, Meta and Snapchat slam YouTube’s proposed exemption from social media ban

5 March 2025 The federal government has been accused of making a "sweetheart deal" to exempt YouTube from the teen social media ban, as YouTube's competitors kick off a co-ordinated public campaign against the move.

In November last year, federal parliament passed legislation to ban children younger than 16 from using major social media platforms, citing widespread safety concerns from Australian parents.

Initially, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said YouTube would be among those banned, but several weeks later she indicated the video platform may be given a carve-out because of its educational uses.

While the legislation has already passed, it isn't due to take effect until December, and the specific rules for applying the ban are still being decided.

Lattouf v ABC: how a five-day contract sparked a costly 14-month legal saga

5 March 2025 The case of Antoinette Lattouf v the ABC is finally done. What began as a casual fill-in gig for Lattouf – hired to be a presenter for five days in the downward run into the Christmas period in 2023 – has turned into a sprawling, million-dollar unlawful termination case splashed across every news outlet for weeks.

The agreed facts are these: Lattouf was hired as a fill-in presenter on ABC Radio Sydney’s Mornings program in December 2023. Three days in to a five-day contract, after ABC management had received multiple coordinated complaints about Lattouf’s presence on air, the ABC was alerted to a post of Lattouf’s on Instagram about the war in Gaza. Lattouf was asked by management to pack her things and leave and informed that her services would not be required for the rest of the week.

The case concluded before the federal court in Sydney on Friday.

Is this the KIIS of death for Brisbane radio threesome? (subscription required)

3 March 2025 KIIS 97.3’s Brisbane breakfast crew, Robin, Kip & Corey, are reportedly fighting to keep their jobs as insider sources reveal that their days may be numbered if they fail to deliver top-tier ratings in the coming months.

Industry insiders have told Scoop that staff at the station are deeply concerned after whispers within the KIIS parent company ARN suggested that if the show does not achieve consistently high results in the next three Radio Audience Measurement surveys, it could be axed in favour of a syndicated Kyle and Jackie O broadcast.

“The pressure is enormous. The team knows they need to dominate the next few ratings or they’ll be gone,” one insider said.

The high-stakes situation follows KIIS 97.3’s recent shake-up, which saw former Brisbane Broncos star Corey Oates join the show in a bid to reinvigorate the program and capture a larger audience share.

However, it appears ARN is not content with steady growth — only exceptional numbers will secure the trio’s future.

Marty Sheargold’s Triple M exit: is this a turning point for commercial radio?

2 March 2025 The quick exit of comedian Marty Sheargold from his Triple M slot in the wake of the outcry over his offensive comments about the Matildas seems like a turning point in Australian commercial radio standards. Then again, maybe it's just business.

Former SCA content director Craig Bruce gives some insight into how networks manage their big stars and how Sheargold's exit signals a dying era.

Jacqueline Wilson guest edits BBC radio show

2 March 2025 Author Dame Jacqueline Wilson became the latest guest editor for BBC Radio Sussex and BBC Radio Surrey.

Wilson, who has written more than 100 books, was born in Bath, Somerset, but now resides near Alfriston in East Sussex.

The 79-year-old was recently made a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire last year for her services to literature.

She took control of an edition of the BBC Radio Sussex and BBC Radio Surrey mid-morning show on Friday.

Em Rusciano on the brutality of breakfast radio (subscription required)

2 March 2025 Em Rusciano will appear at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday, March 9, as part of their International Women’s Day event, All About Women.

Featuring in the Feeling the Heat panel, her award-winning Emsolation podcast is also keeping her busy and a book announcement is coming soon – but secrets were never her thing.

“I don’t know if I’m meant to tell anyone that, but Beyonce announces her announcements, so why not?” she quips.

New York Public Radio to Cut 21 Full-Time Roles

2 March 2025 New York Public Radio recently announced that it would eliminate the equivalent of 21 full-time jobs — or 7% of its workforce — as a response to various financial pressures.

In addition to the job cuts, the organisation will also close down two of its longstanding programs. New Sounds, which has been running since 1982, will close unless NYPR can locate philanthropic support for it between now and May. New Standards will be shut down entirely.

NYPR's President and CEO, LaFontaine Oliver, said that the cuts have come about following a reduction of $1.5 million in the organisation's operating costs. The present cuts follow two other recent sets of layoffs, with 14 employees losing their jobs in September 2024 and a 12% workforce reduction the year before that.

Guide to Listening: Festival of Female Composers and Women of Jazz Fest

27 February 2025 Surrounding International Women's Day, ABC Classic and ABC Jazz are celebrating women in classical music and jazz with the Festival of Female Composers and Women of Jazz Fest.

Jump to our listening guides: Festival of Female Composers on ABC Classic | Women of Jazz Fest on ABC Jazz

Across March 3–7, ABC Classic is playing music exclusively by female composers, from historical trailblazers like Hildegard von Bingen to the women creating music in Australia today.

Harvey community radio offers curious community a direct line to the shire

26 February 2025 Harvey community radio is offering the community a line directly to the shire, with the local authority’s president on hand to answer community questions as part of a newly-revised radio show called Shire Chat - Your Questions Answered.

The community is invited to send in shire-related questions about local projects, community initiatives and council decisions to be answered live on air with shire president Michelle Campbell.

Every Thursday at 11am, Cr Campbell will join radio host David Marshall on Harvey Community Radio 96.5fm to answer some of the community’s burning questions.

Radio stations suspended following audit

26 February 2025 The Ghanian authorities' suspension of radio stations for non-compliance with registration regulations undermines freedom of expression and access to information, as it potentially silences diverse viewpoints and limits the public's ability to stay informed.

This statement was originally published on mfwa.org on 19 February 2025.

The suspension of seven private radio stations by Ghana’s Minister for Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovations raises once more the thorny issue of possible compromise of fairness and transparency and the danger this poses to press freedom and access to information.

“Today, in two separate cases, I have directed the @NCAGhana to suspend and enforce a prohibition of broadcast on seven (7) radio stations in total,” the sector minister, Sam Nartey George, announced on his X account.

Molan’s ‘comeback’ with huge call on political career

25 February 2025 Erin Molan will “absolutely” run for office in Australia.

The former Sky News host, radio host and sports presenter has confirmed a shift into politics is on the table, but wouldn’t start until her six-year-old daughter had grown up.

“I think the older I get, the more it kind of is attractive to me,” Molan told 2SM’s Chris Smith in an interview on Tuesday.

“When Eliza’s a little bit older and I can manage time a little bit better – absolutely. Absolutely.”

ABC acting managing director Melanie Kleyn confirms $1.1m taxpayer spend on Antoinette Lattouf dismissal case

25 February 2025 The ABC has spent $1.1m of taxpayer funds on defending a racial discrimination lawsuit brought by ousted radio presenter Antoinette Lattouf.

Fronting senate estimates on Tuesday, acting managing director Melanie Kleyn confirmed the eye-watering figure, which covers external legal counsel.

Asked by Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi whether the broadcaster “regretted” not complying with Lattouf’s initial ask of $85,000 in compensation, a public apology and reinstatement prior to launching legal action, Ms Kleyn said the broadcaster, which maintains it did not act unlawfully in dismissing Ms Lattouf, would have rather have settled the case outside of court.

“If you’re asking me, would the ABC have preferred not to spend $1.1m (on the case), the answer to that is yes,” she told the committee.

“That’s why we have attempted to settle the matter on a number of occasions.”

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