Nikki Clarkson, the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer with Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) is departing the company after 4 and half years in the role and 16 with SCA. She was a fundamental part of the launch, and growth, of LiSTNR which is becoming SCA’s most valuable asset.

It feels like the decision must be something of a surprise as Clarkson was and is still to be part of Commercial Radio and Audio’s Audio Edge event in Melbourne mid July, about the effectiveness of audio in the current media landscape.

The past seven days have seen an extraordinary amount of movement within SCA. On Thursday June 27 Southern Cross Media Group Limited decided that an offer from Australian Community Media (ACM) for them to acquire certain of ACM’s assets to bolster their strategy and position was not in the best interests of their shareholders. The same day they announced three new recruits at Melbourne’s The Fox FM while letting go of production and copywriting staff on the Central Coast, as well as selling the building.

An SCA source told Radioinfo that unlike the redundancies at Nine, there wasn’t any offer of redeployment of staff who were let go on the Central Coast. Some had been with SCA for over 20 years and won ACRAs and other international awards for their work. Staff were blindsided and crushed.

ARN have not made any further comment or announcements on their ‘alternative proposal options’ to take over SCA since May 20.

Jen Seyderhelm is a writer, editor and podcaster for Radioinfo