2UE’s General Manager, Bob Miller, was in a buoyant mood last Friday having just returned to the office from a heavily promoted outside broadcast at the new Domayne complex in Alexandria, an inner southern suburb of Sydney.
The upmarket “hypercomplex” of electricals and homewares is the brainchild of Katie Page, wife of Miller’s long time friend, Gerry Harvey. Things are going well. The 2UE personalities, Carlton, Laws and Price et al, have attracted a big crowd.
“We had people travel two hours to get there”, enthuses Miller, “Some John Kerr (2UE mid-dawns) fans got there at 6 just to meet him which means they left home at four in the morning”.
As Bob Miller notches up his first six months in radio, he admits that some things are done very differently to the motor industry from whence he came.
For example, in-house staff movements tended to stay in-house until such time as a media release was sent out by management. In radio management, says Miller, “It’s a bit like being a husband, you’re always the last to know. You read in the paper and discover that Stan’s (Zamanek) not going to be here next year”.
Stan Zamanek reportedly told Sue Javes in the Sydney Morning Herald recently that he would only stay with 2UE next year if he were offered the Breakfast or Drive shift. Having read the article, breakfast incumbent, Mike Carlton, told his audience, “Putting Stan on breakfast would be like putting Homer Simpson in charge of the U.S. nuclear program”.
Miller says, “Mike read about it, as we all read about it, in the paper on Monday. It’s certainly been mentioned internally before, but I didn’t realise we were going public with it. You wait with baited breath to see what else is happening. He’s told all and sundry now.
“He’s gone pretty public about not doing nights. I can’t blame him for not wanting to do nights with his seniority. He probably gets pretty sick of going to bed at one o’clock in the morning. But that’s his job and he’s got a contract till the end of the year that says he’s doing nights. After that its up to him”, said Miller.
But Zemanek wasn’t the only one talking out of school. Miller and his staff also first read of Malcolm Elliott’s plans in the Sunday papers. Elliott who returned to work following quadruple by-pass surgery after just three weeks (six weeks is considered by doctors to be the minimum) simply wanted a more casual and lighter workload from next year.
“Who can blame him”, said Miller who read out a note form Elliott which said, “I’m not resigning or retiring and if things change further down the track regarding weekends I’ll always be prepared to listen. I hope we’ll be able to continue on a more casual working relationship in 2005 if at all possible”.
radioinfo: What would you have done in the car industry if a senior executive went public about negotiations or disagreements with management?
Miller: “At Toyota, if it happened we’d have a long conversation about it (with the individual). In here (2UE) we have a long conversation too. But there’s not much you can do when its staring back from the page at you. Its done then”.
radioinfo: What do you actually say in this situation?
Miller: “They’re far too senior, too mature and been around the block a lot longer than I have as radio guys. It’s hard to be critical, but they’re a public face. (At Toyota, people were staff), Here they’re also the product. A bit hard to put a product recall on without some serious dramas occurring”.
radioinfo: How do you feel about that?
Miller: “My take on the whole thing after 6 months is that it’s theatre. Its showbiz and in showbiz, Dame Nellie Melba retired how many times? Tell me this is new. It’s just that with the wonders of the internet and telephone, everything just happens faster. But its no different to the days of Melba as an opera singer or back to the French court with Louis something or other. Rumours and circulations of so and so’s moving on. Oh no she’s not, yes she is”.
radioinfo: Is this good or bad for radio and, in particular, your station?
Miller: “I don’t think it has any adverse affect at all. It’s just another talking point on a talk station. We’re not about music we’re about talk and that makes us more newsworthy. Nobody writes a story about what they’re doing at so and so FM because I don’t think anyone gives a bugger because all they’re doing is playing records. Whereas here, everybody’s a personality. And when one goes off, a new one turns up”.
radioinfo: Don’t you ever get the feeling that the tail’s wagging the dog?
Miller:” It may appear that way from time to time. But in the end I have a plan and they don’t. So I win. I’m a car guy, I’m a long term guy. I plan things eight years out. These guys are planning for Friday”.