After 24 years, Derek Guille, presenter of the Evening program on 774 ABC Melbourne and ABC Local Radio Victoria has announced his departure from the ABC. For over two decades he has been “a constant and important part of the lives of the Victorian community, a loyal and longstanding audience.” This week he speaks to radioinfo about the power of conversations on radio.
After an introductory stint in Newcastle, Guille’s ABC career began in 1987 in Horsham where he hosted a statewide Current Affairs Morning Program. Since then he has presented most shifts in radio to local, state wide and national audiences. He spent twelve years in regional Local Radio as both a broadcaster and station manager before coming to Melbourne in 1999 to present the (then) Statewide Afternoon program. Although his departure has been announced today, he will continue on air until September.
Victoria’s Local Radio Manager Cath Hurley acknowledged the huge contribution Guille has made, noting “Derek is the voice of Local Radio the community will remember, for his great broadcasts in times of crisis providing comfort when the audience needed it most.”
Derek Guille thinks radio is “the most personal form of mass media. At its best, it is a conversation about the things that matter to us, that move us, that make us laugh or cry. It offers an opportunity to test ideas and share experiences.”
radioinfo: What are your thoughts on radio and its connection to the audience?
The nature of conversations on radio allows listeners to participate actively and passively. This offers the audience the chance to consider new ideas or reflect on change in the same way as they do around the dinner table or in the coffee shop. The role of a good radio presenter is to offer an inclusive environment for an audience that looks forward to whatever subjects will be discussed on any show. No other medium allows for the sort of mass consideration of issues as radio does.
radioinfo: How has social media changed radio and radio program making?
New technologies can provide access points for a wider audience to the content made primarily for radio. Radio stations need to understand how the next generations communicate and use those platforms to ensure as many people as possible remain aware of our product and the benefits it has. Instant audience responses by SMS, Twitter et al help to ensure we spread our message to as many potential listeners as possible.
radioinfo: How is what ABC Radio does different from other styles of radio in regional areas and capital cities?
Commercial media outlets need to make money and as such too often rely on pandering to the perceived prejudices of their audiences when programming talk elements. The ABCs role includes the concept of presenters offering a platform for the contest of ideas rather than of ridiculing that which a broadcaster disagrees with. (I have not listened to commercial radio for many years. I have a natural aversion to bombastic braggarts.)
Supporting live music has been a hallmark of Guille’s ABC radio career, earning him a reputation for being the musical heartbeat of Victorian Radio. Though he can’t recall all the thousands of interviews he has done over the years, Guille says in recent times he has had the pleasure of interviewing a number of personal idols from the world of music, including Sonny Rollins, Elvis Costello, Wayne Shorter, Van Dyke Parks and Mose Allison.
An empathetic listener and gifted story teller, Guille has had numerous highlights, accolades and many hundreds of deep and meaningful connections with his listeners. Most memorable is the series of outside broadcasts during the Victorian bushfires in 2009. “It was a privilege to spend time with people whose lives had been turned upside down and to hear their stories and to help them share their pain and sorrow. This will always resonate with me as a time when we showed radio at its best.”
Guille says he is going to “miss the audience and my colleagues but I’m looking forward to new opportunities, and life outside the ABC including spending more time with family, friends, in music and other community interests.”
As the September deadline for his departure approaches, the ABC plans some special celebrations to send him off. No replacement for Guille has yet been decided.