When I went to bed on Sunday night December 14, incredibly upset at the news still breaking of the Bondi shootings in Sydney, I knew that I would hear Ben Fordham on 2GB the following morning. As a person, not a radio industry writer, this awareness that Ben would leave wherever he had commenced his Christmas holiday break to return to work, speaks to a trust I have in him, having heard his similar actions in other critical situations.
Talk radio comes with significant responsibility and on Monday there were several example of talk, public, music and community broadcasters who used their platform to aid us to process the events of the night before.
During Ben’s program a man rang in who pretty much said the ‘long time listener, first time caller’ line that is so famous in our industry. He lived on the Bonnyrigg street that was allegedly connected to one of the gunmen. Guided by the show producer beforehand and Ben live, he described the raid by police of the property in the wee hours of the night before. Afterwards I realised how this man had demonstrated his listening to 2GB by knowing exactly what is expected of their callers. He got straight to the point with vivid detail. He knew not to mention names or actual addresses. When he was done, he reflected on some of the then unknown additional details he’d heard, that one of the people in the house was to fly to Canada on Monday.
When had that been organised?
Across Monday morning Ben, and Mark Levy who followed him, recapped what was known roughly every 15 minutes and also shared information that had been texted or emailed. That caller however, and how he spoke with Ben, lingers on my mind.
Today is my last day at Radioinfo for 2025, one where I usually touch on key moments or stories from the last year. This year, what I have learned the most from, is a selection of great calls, like the one above.
With radio and podcasting increasing trying to utilise video alongside the audio, and programs and personalities content only to interact with listeners and fans through socials, phone calls have become the audio equivalent of a work Zoom meeting that could have been an email.
But for radio, a phone call, and some of the privacy it gives to facial expressions, emotions and appearance, is due to for a revival.
In August, I was given the opportunity to talk with Christian O’Connell who will replace Jonesy and Amanda on Gold 101.7 breakfast in 2026, as well as still being heard in Melbourne on Gold 104.3 and DAB Gold stations across Australia. Every single one of my chats this year, up until this point, had been on Zoom and honestly I thought that was the best alternative, as we were at least face to face.
Christian however rang me.
Initially we were a little stilted as we got to know each other, and relax.
Ninety minutes later I unstuck the phone from my ear and sat a while in what was one of the most profound and personal conversations I’ve had since I was a teenager.
Finding Fire, On Fire and Sharing the Flame – The Warm and Wonderful Christian O’Connell
Fans of Christian might say here that this was due to the skill of this incredible communicator, of which I agree. But he also knows the value of the phone as an audio tool, and building a network of devoted listeners who become great callers.
By the way, one of Christian’s guiding principles is to assume that someone is always listening for the first time to the show. That is why every time he speaks about someone most of his audience will know, he will say, “Sarah, my wife.” An excellent tip.
When John Laws died on November 9 the concept of a great caller was shared again through his regulars like Norman and Dale. One of the first thoughts I had on hearing the news was how it would affect Dale. John was different to Christian in that he allowed a type of caller that no one else ever had. Norman would lambast Lawsie up to and including his retirement day. Somewhere behind the scenes Lawsie will have told Norman that he was enjoying these interactions and Norman could continue, so Norman did. By Lawsie designating Norman as his heckler, no one else could do it.
I spoke to John on his retirement day too, much more kindly that Norman did.
A phone call, of course.
In thinking on that interaction later I realised that I didn’t ‘perform’ and I wish that I had. When a caller went to air on the John Laws show they had to bring something to the table that John could use too.
The two other conversations that particularly resonated with me this year were with Kymba Cahill at Mix94.5 in Perth and Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) CEO Craig Hutchison.
Before talking with Kymba who had recently returned from a break to tend to her mental health, I’d listened to her breakfast show with Pete Curulli and Ben Cousins. I’d come in half way through a fascinating interview and was already in my mind thinking I’d never learn the name of the guest. But I had underestimated Kymba. She reintroduced the CEO of zero2hero, Ashlee Harrison, midway through, and again at the end with Ashlee providing links to support what she does further.
It was evident that Kymba ‘sees’ people and puts a value of their names and stories. As a former school teacher she told me she’d worked with kids from a troubled background and she’d found that remembering and using the kids names in a positive way was really important, because some of those kids might never hear their name said in such a way that day, that week or ever.
The wedding, community and sense of self that Kymba Cahill built
I spoke to Craig Hutchison just days before Margaret from Sunbury‘s 95th birthday. That was the first question I asked him, what was his plans to surprise Margaret this year? Craig lit up like a candle and wouldn’t tell me, other than it was going to be bigger than any before.
Margaret was originally just a great caller into Craig’s and Liam ‘Pickers’ Pickering’s long running SEN radio program and podcast Off The Bench. That he owned the company and had a fair bit of experience and knowledge of sport didn’t deter Margaret’s spicy tongue and wicked insight. Hutchy was charmed by her, and her calls became a regular segment.
Outside of work, Margaret became part of Hutchy’s life. He’d take her to the footy, cricket and family dinners. About five years ago, Hutchy and some of his high profile mates went a step further, pooling together to buy a racehorse in her honour they called Margaret’s Banter.
All because Margaret phoned into the show in the first place.
I’ve been ringing lots of people this year as a result of the above, some I know and love, some for the first time. That’s been my biggest radio takeaway in 2025 – the power of a phone call and I’m looking forward to making some more next year. This festive season I highly recommend it in lieu of, or as well as, that text message or social media post.
The power of audio to connect us remains undiminished.
Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor, podcaster and phone caller for Radioinfo. Email: [email protected]. Image is Jen with her favourite phone.