Bruno Bouchet ghost writing Kyle’s biography

Sacked 2Day producer Bruno Bouchet has been ghost writing Kyle Sandilands’ biography for three months in a deal with publisher Pan McMillan.

Bouchet has told radioinfo he regrets the insensitive tweets about the Denver massacre that led to his sacking, but that he does not want to be portrayed as a victim or for people to think that he got the job writing the biography out of sympathy. The book writing deal is with the publisher, not Sandilands.

Bouchet speaks to Steve Ahern about social media, why he closed his twitter account and his love of radio.

 

 

 

Ahern: Are you ok? Are you working? 

Bouchet: I’m ok, I’m doing Kyle’s biography, but it’s shit that people think I just got the book writing deal out of sympathy. I have been writing it for three months. The deal is with the publisher, not with Kyle.

 

Ahern: How are you enjoying writing?

Bouchet: It’s good fun, I love the process, writing for a proper publisher is a great process, it disciplines you.

 

Ahern: Would you like to go back to radio when you finish the book?

Bouchet: Yes, I’d like to get back to radio. It’s still my passion. It has been ever since I did a youth talkback show for the local community station in high school.

 

Ahern: can you see yourself on air or in a producer role again?

Bouchet: I love being on air, but there’s not too many paid openings for that, so I guess it will be producing. I don’t see myself doing unpaid shifts on community radio again.

 

Ahern: So let’s talk about social media. What are your thoughts about Twitter and Facebook?

Bouchet: Because it’s so easy for people to use them, its easy to underestimate their power. You can send anything that’s on your mind and it could have a big impact. In my case I just didn’t think before I sent my comments.

 

Ahern: You’re reported to have been drinking.

Bouchet: I had a few drinks, but I don’t blame that, it’s not a cop out and I don’t have a drinking problem. I wasn’t drunk. I knew what I was doing. I just made a stupid mistake and I feel like shit about it.

 

Ahern: So you’ve now shut down your Twitter and Facebook pages. Will you reinstate them soon?

Bouchet: I don’t see any good that will come of that now. Maybe in time I will go back to Facebook to keep in contact with my family, but I’m not so sure about Twitter. Facebook kind of gets out of hand, you start with people you know, but after a while other people friend you and suddenly there’s lots of people you don’t know there, it changes it. This time I would only keep it to close friends and family.

 

Ahern: I often describe Facebook as being like talkback radio and Twitter like a news flash. How do you see it?

Bouchet: You’ve obviously thought about it more than me, but I agree with that. Like a news flash, there’s no room on Twitter for personality, you have to be really careful, I know that now. On Facebook you can have a dialog, but I will keep it to close friends if I go back there.

 

Ahern: So to the tricky subject of your termination from Austereo. What section of the social media policy did you breach and how was it handled?

Bouchet: It was the part about bringing the company into disrepute. I feel like shit about the whole thing, but I’m not a victim. I did it and I have to cop it on the chin. I don’t blame the company. I regret what I did and I’ve learnt from it.

 

Ahern: Do you miss working with Kyle and Jackie?

Bouchet: Yes, for sure. I really enjoyed working with them. To be working on breakfast at 2Day FM is the epitome of radio. I am still waking up at 3am with a head full of story ideas, but nowhere to use them now.

 

The 26 year old Bouchet has not been without controversy in his career, mostly for the sake of the program. One of his regular tasks was to walk in nude on celebrities for the 2Day breakfast show, and last year 2Day sacked (then reinstated him) for inappropriate comments about organ donations. Even in his early days as a talkback presenter on community station Switch 1197, Bouchet got into hot water when he accused Federal Opposition Leader Mark Latham of plagiarising a ‘learn or earn’ policy idea that Bouchet claimed he had developed.

 

Wiser for his most recent experience, Bouchet does not plan to roll over and play dead. He appears to have learnt a lesson and is looking forward to the next phase in his career, whatever that may be.