2020 has been a year that most people around the world would rather forget.
For the most part, the top radio stories of the year reflect that.
Just as news/talk stations dominated the ratings, they dominate our top 20 list.
While the bushfires and coronavirus drew our attention so did the mid-year colapse of advertising revenue and the slew of job cuts that came that followed.
Here are, in ascending order, the most read stories on radioinfo this year.
Here’s hoping that the world produces better news in 2021.
20. You are not your job
Do you have the right mindset to survive job volatility?
Steve Ahern shares his advice about resilience in media industry employment.
I mentor and train radio industry people all around the world and sooner or later the conversation turns to getting a job, career advancement and losing a job.
Part of my advice is always to separate your professional and personal self enough to insulate you from the inevitable ups and downs of this business.
You are not your job.
19. After 27 years at SCA, I’m out, now what? How Craig Bruce found the answer
CB unburdens to Peter Saxon.
We all know that after he left SCA as Head of Content, overseeing both the Today and the Triple M Networks, Craig Bruce rebuilt his career through the Radio Game Changers podcast series which became an overnight success. Of course, it wasn’t near as easy as that.
Success didn’t come without a lot of soul searching, some self-doubt followed by a skills audit and ultimately a willingness to “back himself in” to a new reality.
With so many people losing their jobs, not just in radio, but all kinds of industries, CB’s latest podcast series, I’m out, now what? provides advice from a number of people who have been through that daunting experience and have come out the other side the better for it.
18. New advertisers coming to radio as others pause their campaigns
Coronavirus restrictions are hitting most industry sectors hard, but there are other segments of the economy that are well placed to deliver their goods and services during this time of shutdown.
Some radio networks have successfully pivoted to target these new advertisers, helping to replace those that have cancelled or delayed their campaigns during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Other networks have followed advice from our earlier articles and helped their clients rethink their messages for the new norm of COVID-19 lockdowns.
Exclusive research, compiled for radioinfo by Aircheck, shows about 170 new advertisers using commercial radio across Australia in the past two weeks.
16. EXCLUSIVE: Kyle Kwits KIIS…
Stays in L.A. for Trial By Kyle U.S. debut
According to ARN insiders who spoke exclusively to radioinfo on condition of anonymity, Kyle Sandilands has told management he’ll be finishing up at the end of the year to pursue a television career in the U.S.
Management first became concerned that Kyle had been made a better offer after he’d missed three charter flights back to Australia before travel bans to contain the coronavirus came into effect. “It now seems clear that Kyle missed those flights deliberately,” our anonymous source told us.
Management had tried to keep the news from leaking, telling his Breakfast co-host Jackie O and station staff that Kyle was broadcasting from his Mosman mansion to observe “social distancing” measures. Meanwhile, he’d been online from a studio in Los Angeles all along.
IT’S AFTER MIDDAY NOW… SO WE CAN REVEAL…
IT’S APRIL FOOLS DAY! DID WE CATCH YOU?
15. We’re back…Nine resurrects 2UE, Magic and 4BH
Nine has announced a move to a music format playing the best of the 70s, 80s and 90s across its stations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, along with digital radio in Perth, killing off the Macquarie Sports Radio brand.
The change will see the return to the airwaves of heritage radio brands 2UE 954AM, Magic 1278AM and 4BH 882AM, with each station also featuring live local news, sport, weather and still, for now, broadcasting live feeds of the sports it has committed to.
In Perth the station will be branded Magic DAB+ Perth.
14. Radio Survey 1 2020: stations buck expected trends
Results for the first metro market radio ratings survey of 2020 have just been released.
Nova gains ground in every market, except Adelaide, where it remains steady.
97.3 loses top position in Brisbane and Mix 94.5 falls from the top in Perth.
Macquarie Sports Radio is out of this survey due to the change of format mid survey from sport to music. “They will be there from Survey 2,” according to Nine Entertainment.
The survey was conducted for CRA between Sun Jan 19 to Sat Feb 29, 2020 in a period of unprecendent bushfire effects in most cities, plus the usual features of the first survey, cricket and triple j’s Hottest 100.
13. Friendly Jordies: friend or foe to media journalism?
Jordan Shanks, better known as FriendlyJordies, is a satirist, a self taught cross media reporter and a heavy hitting political influencer.
On his Youtube account (470k subscribers), he has a bigger audience than former 2GB breakfast presenter Alan Jones (430k cume) or 3AW morning host Neil Mitchell (380k cume). His influence, particularly on young voters, is thought to be significant. He also presents regular podcasts and has a website to promote his views and merchandise.
He came to mainstream prominence for his #KoalaKiller campaign against John Barilaro, but he has been around for much longer than that and has been slowly gathering audience and influence.
KIIS 101’s ‘Jason ‘Jase’ Hawkins and Polly ‘PJ’ Harding have had their contracts renewed until the end of 2022.
Jase and PJ in the Morning adds to the resigning of four more of ARN’s top rating breakfast shows – The Kyle and Jackie O Show, Jonesy and Amanda, The Christian O’Connell Breakfast Show and Robin, Terry and Bob in Brisbane.
ARN CEO Ciaran Davis says, ‘Jase & PJ create excellent, engaging content and they consistently execute innovative client campaigns that resonate with audiences across on-air, digital, and on-demand.’
11. Efficiency, change and pain as ABC staff prepare to walk out the door
The ABC has been moving ahead with its redundancy process, with the final change proposals sent to staff on 21 July.
With the expressions of interest in redundancy process now complete, and positions identified for redundancy, the national broadcaster is currently consulting on the proposals with employees and their representatives.
People are expected to be walking out the door in the next couple of months, although some may go sooner by mutual agreement. Some targeted for redundancy have already effectively left the building by taking leave as they wait for the final axe to fall.
Grant Goldman has passed away just shy of his 70th birthday.
The Australian radio and TV personality has had a long battle with cancer, being finally diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2017.
Perhaps one of the most recognised voices in Australia it is hard to find somewhere Grant hasn’t been involved. Hundreds of thousands of Sydney-siders would know his voice as their train arrived to take them to work or home, or to hear all too often a service disruption message on the Sydney trains network.
Grant began his radio career at 14, and over the years has worked at 2TM, 2WG, 4NA, 4BC, 4IP, 5AD, 3UZ, 2UE, 2DayFM, 2WS, 2SM and the Super Radio Network.
- FORDHAM nails it with a 17.3 in Breakfast – 2GB scores 14.3 overall.
- HOWCROFT‘s big increase on 3AW, up to 26.1 in breakfast, 16.9 overall.
- ABC Sydney and Melbourne up.
- Big drops at 2Day and Fox.
- Not unexpectedly, a volatile survey in most markets
This is the first regular ratings measurement after surveys 3, 4 and 5 were cancelled due to the pandemic, although GfK did release other information during the survey pause (see previous report).
8. Why Ray Hadley won’t be doing Breakfast on 2GB
Tom Malone tells Peter Saxon
Just after 8:00 am yesterday, Alan Jones finally dropped the bombshell that many in radio had been expecting for some time. After 35 years on air, 18 of them at 2GB, but less than a year since NINE bought the station and its network from Macquarie, he was leaving radio for good.
Citing Doctors’ Orders, he told listeners his final show will be on May 29.
7. Radio Sales in the Time of Coronavirus
If you haven’t already heard this from a client, you probably will soon: “I want to cancel my advertising because of coronavirus”
Any time a large outside influence threatens to affect business, many clients have a knee-jerk reaction to pull in their marketing efforts. They are anticipating a decline in business. Some of their fears may be real: some are purely emotion talking. In every crisis, some businesses actually do better. Some feel very little if any effect. Some do see declines.
6. 2CH goes to DAB+ only as AM1170 moves to sport in Sydney
2CH will ditch it’s AM music feed and become a DAB+ only station, as SEN launches 1170 SEN in Sydney later this year.
Pacific Star bought 2CH from EON in June, acquiring both the AM and DAB+ frequencies.
The station has now begun running messages telling listeners of the impending change and urging them to buy a digital radio from Harvey Norman.
5. Fires hit ABC Radio’s Batemans Bay transmitter
In an example of radio industry cooperation during adversity, commercial network Grant Broadcasters is working with the ABC on the South Coast of NSW to keep transmissions on air during the fires in that area.
As fires raged through the area last week, the ABC’s Mt Wandera transmission site at Bateman’s Bay was disabled by flames (see pictures below) and is expected to take some time to repair.
4. Jodie Oddy resigns from Mix 102.3
Jodie Oddy has resigned from her on-air role at Mix102.3 Adelaide.
Jodie has been on air at ARN’s Mix102.3 for 13 years as part of the breakfast teams which collectively claimed the #1FM breakfast show position 81 times in radio survey results.
3. Vale Bob Hughes
His partner Emily posted this message on her facebook page:
My heart aches but I am so glad for the gift of 12 years with this marvellous man. Kind and curious, thoughtful and enthusiastic. He was my Dalai Farmer.
The most romantic man I ever knew. He never stopped courting me.
Those who knew him are invited to raise a glass in his honour at the Friend in Hand (58 Cowper St, Glebe) at 3pm, Sunday 19th January.
Monday 07 December, 2020
Just before 11.30 Ray told his audience he had spoken to his specialist during the newbreak and, “…I told you last week I had a procedure done last Tuesday and I’ve been struggling ever since.”
1. ACMA finds Hadley in breach for being a grandpa while on air
Monday 22 June, 2020
Comment from Peter Saxon
In truth, it was not Ray Hadley that last week was found to be in breach of article 2.2 of the Commercial Radio Code of Practice which deals with decency. The actually villain was deemed to be Radio 2GZ Pty Ltd [Triple M 105.1 Central West].
In the arcane legal framework by which the regulator must operate, it is the radio station licensee that is responsible for their talents’ behaviour. Like a manager in a supermarket, the ACMA has no authority to directly discipline the unruly toddler throwing a tantrum in aisle five. They can only put pressure on the kid’s parent to do something about it.
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