2GB’s popular overnight host Jim Ball, due back on air earlier this morning at midnight has resigned from the  station, effective immediately.  

Ball who makes no secret of his disappointment at being passed over for the Drive shift made vacant by Jason Morrison’s defection to 2UE, has been off on holiday after filling in for Ray Hadley over the summer break and was due back on air this morning. He says he was trying to catch a few hours sleep on Sunday afternoon after prepping his program for Monday and just couldn’t nod off.

“It was then at that moment, after 11 years on overnight radio including 2 years at 2UE that I just decided that I didn’t have another overnight program left in me. I rang the program director, Ian Holland and delivered the bad news,” says Ball.

The mid-dawn shift is generally acknowledged as the toughest on a talk station apart from breakfast. Ball says, “I suppose working Ray’s shift over summer spoilt me a bit. Not only were the hours civilised but also I had a great team of people helping put the program together. On overnights, I do all my own research, writing and prep, panel and presentation and eventually after 11 years you just hit the wall, and think what the hell am I doing this for.”

Although only surveyed once per year and not widely publicized, Ball has consistently produced high ratings for the station in the mid to high twenties and low thirties.

But Ball admits that a key factor that pushed him to make the decision was the appointment of Ben Fordham to the Drive program several weeks ago. “Appointing someone to a prime shift with little to no experience in talk radio, except on a fill in basis or someone without any demonstrated or proven ability, or ratings success in talk radio does seems rather odd to say the least. 

“It seems that years of delivering results counts for nothing, and the Fordham decision crystallised my thinking that I’m wasting my time and the hours the slog and sacrifice have been for nothing,” says Ball.