Southern Cross Media has strategically avoided potential ‘control issues’ with the ACMA in its appointment of Guy Dobson as Head Metropolitan Radio in the newly merged Austereo/SCM company. In 2008 Dobson, and business partner Rex Morris, bought three little regional radio stations from the then Macquarie Southern Cross group. Those stations fall within the licence areas of other Southern Cross stations, and if Dobson were given a position which had overall control of regional stations he may have attracted the attention of ACMA. Since he is running the Austereo metro stations this issue does not occur.
Dobson has told radioinfo: “I’m a worker at Austereo on payroll. I don’t own the [Austereo] licences and therefore there’s no control issue.”
An ACMA spokesperson has told radioinfo Guy Dobson is on its database as “a controller of 3 regional radio licences as part of the Resonate Broadcasting network. Licences 10325 and 4172 in Charters Towers RA1 and 4158 in Warragul RA1.”
The ACMA’s media control database lists the following ownership and control details for these markets markets:
In Charters Towers RA1 there is:
2x Resonate Broadcasting radio licences (with Guy Dobson as controller)
1x Southern Cross television licence
1x Seven Network television licence
1x WIN Media television licence
In Warragul RA1 there is:
1x Southern Cross television licence
1x Southern Cross radio licence
1x Prime television licence
1x WIN Media television licence
1x Resonate Broadcasting radio licence (with Guy Dobson as controller)
In 2008, when Dobo bought 3GG, Warragul and 4GC and HOT FM in Charters Towers he told radioinfo: “It’s an investment in the future. From little acorns big things grow. Who knows, Resonate may just be the next big independent network in a few years time. Once it was known that we had bought the stations, you’d be amazed at how many people came out of nowhere prepared to back us.”
How the wheels of media turn. Who could have guessed that he would eventually be working for the group which owns other stations in those markets.
As Southern Cross Media has grown is has become used to dealing with tricky compliance issues to the satisfaction of all concerned, and this latest decision about how to integrate previous management into new business is another example of its approach.
Dobson is not the only former Austereo senior executive to be retained by Southern Cross Media after the $770 million deal. Head of Content Craig Bruce also stays with the company and Chairman Peter Harvie will be part of a special committee which will manage the merger process.