After 17 years at the helm of the George and Paul Show, 15 of them with 2UE and the ill-fated Talking Lifestyle project, and now with 2GB, George Moore told listeners, he’ll see the year out but won’t be returning in 2020.
He addressed his audience this morning to tell them that he was unable to sign off on a new agreement with management going forward. The money they offered was good but the terms, he explained, weren’t acceptable.
What exactly was in the fine print that was not to Moore’s liking is unclear at this stage.
A replacement for Moore will be hard to find.
The George and Paul show, with its unique blend of conservative politics and quiz shows, has been a bankable ratings success on the weekends for 2UE and 2GB for most of its life.
Tuning every weekend to 2GB, I heard the announcement live on the "George and Paul Show" at 1023, 20-10-2019 from George Moore that he will no longer continue with 2GB beyond 2020.
I've been listening to the "George and Paul" show from 2002 when it was on weekend afternoons from 1200 to 1800. I used to listen to the show with my father till he passed away in 2005. It was really, and please excuse this hackneyed expression, it was a mix of "...entertainment, information, and commentary..." with diverse topics such as nostalgia, science, nature, politics, current affairs and the entertainment scene. The show changed times to 0600 to 1200 then in its final timeslot from 0900-1300 during the NRL season and 0900-1400 during the non-NRL season.
Talk shows such as the "George and Paul Show" were welcome on commercial radio because the "things" that people talk about during the week don't stop starting Saturday morning.
In addition to the topics discussed, The "George and Paul Show" was very well planned (well it did sound that way) and structured. You knew the regular politics segments were covered between 0900-1000, more political and/or economic and/or marketing discussion between 1000-1100. Let's not forget the nostalgia segment with Australian history raconteur Jim Haynes and the entertainment segments with Craig Bennett on Saturday and Roland Rocchiccioli on Sunday. Throughout the program there were single-question quizzes and the big quiz in the last half hour. The theatre of the mind plays on you with character "Dolly" the co-host of the the grand quiz.
Overall the show was slick and tight. If a guest speaker was unavailable, that guest speaker's segment was 'abandoned'. With a apologies to Booker T and the MGs, time is tight.
In regards to George Moore's departure from 2020, while "...the money they offered was good but the terms, he explained, weren't acceptable...." I won't speculate the actual reasons for George's departure. The problem with speculation is that while it is an intellectual exercise it may be wrong.
My only comment is based on the last remark that the terms of the contract were not favourable. Yes, I said before on this site that it's management's decision and they live or die on that decision. I discuss briefly a contract and the ability to leverage. I will not speculate on what happened between management and George Moore.
A contract is an agreement and the terms of a contract are agreed or disagreed. Obvious, disagree with terms and there is no contract. This is apart from the meeting of the minds and consideration (what the contracting parties exchange for the product and/or service). Forget about the standard boilerplate terms when purchasing goods and/or services. Practically, such terms are "usually" not negotiable or difficult to negotiate. It's a "...take it or leave it..." arrangement. It happens in employment contracts where the roles are of the "sausage machine" type.
However, when it comes to goods and/or services which are unique and indispensable particularly where the goods and/or services are unique and cannot be obtained or difficult to obtain elsewhere, there may be the chance that the provider of goods and/or services to have some leverage and negotiate terms in favour of the provider of goods and/or services. This is unless a 'subsitute' for the provider of goods and/or services can provide the same or greater returns.
In this case, the "George and Paul Show" produced the highest ratings whether the show was in the afternoon or morning. High ratings correspond to higher revenues to the radio station. A George Moore and Paul B Kidd team are hard to come by. It means that George Moore should have had some leverage over the unfavourable terms.
I will not speculate on whether those terms were able to be negotiated or whether there was some internal management issues in regards to the terms. That's between George Moore and management.
Thank you,
Anthony of exciting Belfield
Silly 2gb, lost Brian Wilshire, then Chris Smith, nearly lost Alan Jones, and now George Moore
Must be having a death wish
It's extremely sad that as mentioned in a previous comment that the new owners of Macquarie Media seem to have a death wish which will destroy a great program and will lead to loss of important ratings. My guess is that Management are trying to control the content of the already successful program.
I and most of my friends have followed George and Paul from 2UE to 2GB and we will all move to another station if an when they are snapped up.
I am sure the Macquarie board will regret this move in the future.
What is 2GB up to? I can't understand why the executives of 2GB are trying to destroy the station. First it was the long drawn out new contract negotiations with Alan Jones which was only resolved by Chairman Russel Tate stepping in to overrule Adam Lang. Then Alan Lang gets rid of the Number 1 broadcaster for the afternoon shift Chris Smith to be replaced by the unlikeable Steve Price who cuts every talkback contributor off prematurely. Now he gets rid of George Moore from the George and Paul show on the weekends. This is the best show on Radio. I have been listening to George and Paul for 17 years and look forward to there show every weekend. Unfortunately they wrecked 2UE and now there is no alternative to listen to. I don't like the biased and politically correct ABC. If it ain't broke don't fix it.
I'm in Melbourne and have been streaming George and Paul for about four or five years now. Weekend morning radio in Melbourne is a cultural wasteland. I've bought stuff from 2GB's advertisers (message!). I think this is a very bad sign of the new owners' directions. It will be impossible to replace George unless it's a bland no-opinion wannabe star. A silly, silly decision may I say. And I look forward to hearing the new conditions if George does leave. I suggest 2GB will lose a lot of listeners. Maybe G&P can move to a more appreciative network. Opportunity for internet radio?
2SM - should grab them; they'd bring audience and credibility to weekends and compliment 2SM weekdays with Laws.
I was an avid 2UE fan and was saddened to see it's slow demise many years ago. Now with the management team decisions are we starting to see the beginning of 2GB's end?
It is tragic that George and Paul may be breaking up. I hope Paul goes with George and they get a start elsewhere accessible to regular listeners. We will go with them. Thanks George for having the courage to not compromise your principles.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the format barely changing for years, George and Paul host the most entertaining program on Australian radio … and I struggle to think why.
Regular guests, who essentially say the same thing each week, are interspersed with guests who support George and Paul’s Bob-Menzies-era political views. The show finishes with a quiz on topics pre-2000 where one of them pretends to be a woman.
Doesn’t sound like a formula for success but I’ve listened for many years and, damn, I’ll miss it when the show’s gone.
I can’t begin to imagine what dreadful contract condition George is walking out over. I’ll have to meet a radio programming executive one day to see if they are as dumb as they appear.
Surprise, surprise! Channel 9 take over with their Labor leaning stance (Chris Uhlman, Sydney Morning Herald) and the lesser lights at the station who were more conservative are gone.
George Moore just spoke plain old common sense.
They can't get rid of everybody but watch out to see if Alan Jones and Ray Hadley don't tone down their opinions.
What made this station great was that they cut thru' the b.s. and political correctness crap which is foisted upon the populace by lefties and un-elected beaurocrats who continually try to 'legitimise' their jobs.
Good luck!