Senior executives at the ABC are rumoured to be in secret discussions to consider whether to merge some existing radio stations and axing another.

It is said to be part of an effort to find savings in response to a further $84 million in funding cuts to be imposed by the Turnbull government. 

Following speculation that first surfaced in Crikey last month, several ABC sources who spoke to radioinfo on condition of anonymity confirmed that their understanding was that management is considering a merger between Radio National and News Radio. 

Speaking exclusively to radioinfo, ABC Director Regional & Local, Michael Mason strongly denies any such developments.

Read more HERE
 

Radio Tomorrow with James Cridland

Ben Hammersley is a very clever man. He’s a “futurist”, and sports a very fine Victorian bushy moustache and some fancy arm tattoos. He writes for Wired magazine and The Guardian. The word “hipster” might have been coined for him; but then, he coined the word “podcast”, which is quite a claim to fame.

He spoke at Radiodays Europe this year in Vienna. Radiodays is a great event, if a chilly one for someone flying direct from the end of Australian summer into sub-zero temperatures. I didn’t pack a coat. Perhaps I should have done, it was bloody freezing.

It was a good day, indeed, for Macquarie Media’s talk network with its Sydney flagship 2GB up 1.3 from the previous book to reach a 14.0 share overall – its best result in five years. 
 
But while champagne corks were popping at their stations from the east coast to the west, over at MacRadio’s second brand, Macquarie Sport Radio 954, there was little joy for the hard-working staff. Despite their high hopes, Macquarie Sport Radio which replaced the ill-fated Talking Lifestyle (itself posting a measly 3.4 in its “farewell survey” a few months ago) has now plummeted to a disastrous 0.8.
 
It is the lowest ratings ever recorded for the venerable 954 frequency that, until very recently, has been broadcasting as 2UE – a station that, in its prime, promoted itself as “Always at or near the top.” 

Read more HERE

In effort to fill the gap left by triple j’s Hottest 100 when it abandoned January 26 for its annual countdown, Triple M  broadcast the most popular Australian song as voted by its club members. Unsurprisingly it was Jimmy Barnes heading up Cold Chisel with the Vietnam War anthem, Khe Sanh.

Barnsey also had the #3 pick, Working Class Man while Farnsey John Farnham came in at #6 with You’re The Voice.

The #5 spot belonged to AC/DC with It’s a Long Way to the Top (if you want to Rock and Roll)

#4 was Icehouse, Great Southern Land and #2 was Men at Work’s  Down Under.

Go here for the full list 100 down to 1.

Read more HERE

In a wide ranging 90 minute chat with friend and Triple M Melbourne’s Breakfast co-host Will Anderson on his excellent podcast series Wilosophy, the 2Day FM Breakfast co-host gives a disarmingly candid account of herself – her loves, her hates, her fears, triumphs and failures – sometimes with perhaps too much candor… like how she could incorporate dead baby lines in a stand-up routine after she lost her own child in a miscarriage. Don’t knock it till you’ve heard it.

About two thirds the way into the podcast, with the discussion focused on her radio show, she drops a bombshell, the impact of which, at first, seems to miss Anderson. Rusciano says,“I think I’m hurtling towards implosion in the next six months.” Although that doesn’t sound quite a rolled gold guarantee that she’ll quit at the end of the year, except that she follows up her statement with, “you heard it here first.”

Long time 2WS announcer Rob Neil has passed away after a long illness.
 
He turned 56 last month and is survived by his wife Sue and five children ranging in age from 12 years to 19.
 
Former 2UE Breakfast presenter Jason Morrison and now 7 News Director, worked with Rob at 2WS and 2GB/2CH and had this to say:

“Rob Neil was one of the loveliest blokes I’ve met anywhere in life… let alone in the radio business.

“Total class as a person and a performer. 

“Around the radio station, he was always encouraging and engaging.

“He made a point of making everyone feel that they were part of the magic of what went to air.

“He had a knack of not sounding like a radio announcer while being a bloody good one.

“The on-air Rob was as real as the bloke you’d bump into at the shops.

“We used to joke that he was too normal and decent to be a success in this sometimes twisted business. 

“Somehow he defied gravity,” said Mr Morrison.

Radio Tomorrow with James Cridland

Young people are falling out of love with radio.

How do you know? You just have to ask a random guy you meet at the pub. He’ll tell you that his friend’s son doesn’t listen to the radio, and, by extrapolation, no young people in the entire world listen to the radio. You can take this knowledge back to your workplace and comfortably tell other people that young people don’t listen to the radio.

(Never mind that advertising agencies already aren’t interested in the 50+ population. Who wants people who are settled, comparatively rich now that their kids have left home, and for whom a low price is less important than a quality product? No ad agency finds those people attractive, so the oldies stations are reduced to running ads for pain relief, retirement homes and funeral plans.)

He tells Steve Ahern what he has learnt about smart speakers.

Read more HERE

“Are you a homosexual?” asked caller Robin.

Jones deflected the question, saying: “That’s irrelevant to the issue. The issue is marriage definitionally, of course, is a union between man and a woman. It’s not what I think, you think, Bill Shorten thinks, it’s what the community thinks, and the Parliament thinks, and let those people express their view.”

After careful consideration, Shane has made the decision to leave the show and return to Perth to spend more time with family and friends.
 
Shane got his start in radio in 2006 on Nova’s national drive show before relocating to Adelaide to co-host nights.

There’s nothing more enjoyable than doing live radio.

There’s the adrenaline of knowing that what you’re saying is going straight into your listeners’ ears: no filter, no second-chances. Fluff a little, and you’ve got to just plough on regardless.

There’s a thrill – if you can do it – of off-air monitoring in your headphones: the effect of the Optimod on your voice, particularly the crackle and distortion of AM. After the microphone processor and the transmission chain, you sound awesome.

Read more HERE

The survey was conducted for CRA between Sun Jan 21 to Sat Mar 3.

This is the first time that digital listening survey results have been released on the same day as the analog listening results. The digital results (see related report) are shown after the usual charts.

Note: Survey stories are aleays among our most popular. This one for Survey 1, 2018, was the most read of all of them.

 Read more HERE

They told their loyal listeners this morning of the move and judging by the email response it is likely that most will move with them. In the most recent GfK survey, George and Paul helped boost 2UE’s weekend ratings to a 7.2 share, more than twice the station average of 3.5.

Read more HERE

He wrote: “The “Talking Lifestyle” format which has run on our 954 AM Sydney station since September 2016, and on our 1278 AM Melbourne and 882 AM Brisbane stations since late February 2017, will be broadcast for the last time on Friday March 30th.’