RADIONEWS DEC 2003/ JAN 2004

RADIONEWS DEC 2003/ JAN 2004 BACK TO ARCHIVE

31/01/04 - SEN have continued with Andrew Parkinson and Daniel Kowalski in the mid dawn time slot. It appears Gary Turner who covered last weekend is on the interchange bench?

31/01/04 - Radio station 1593 in Melbourne continues to frustrate the narrowcasters with its poor transmission quality and over modulation on 1593 AM. Rete Italia in Melbourne causes interference to everything +/- 27 kHz away, in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, with casualties including 3XX (1611), Radio 2 (1629) and more. There have been formal complaints registered with the ACA however all seems to get worse. The 1593 technical transmission standard is so bad that it is almost impossible to hear it on its own frequency. A spokesman for Rete was not willing to comment and believed the issue was an over reaction. More to follow soon.

31/01/04 - Apparently network consultants and American breakfast coaches have been working with a struggling breakfast crew. Rumour has it they are losing patience!

31/01/04 - Wade Kingsley is the new PD of Sunshine Coast Hot91- Hub PD still to be announced.

30/01/04 - Popular radio poet 'Barry From the bush passed away earlier this week.

30/01/04 - It looks like 3AW's resting one their sports shows for another 4 weeks despite new found competition from SEN! Glossing over the Saturday morning program with Trevor Marmalade, Dr Turf and Tony Leonard won't return for another 4 weeks.

30/01/04 - The 3AK URL is now pointing towards SEN's.

29/01/04 - Sport927 are said to be giving a wider sport coverage on weeknights with Andrew Kuuse starting 2 hours earlier at 9.00pm.

29/01/04 - Surprised to hear Richard Stubbs on Gold this morning 29/1/04....maybe a sign of things to come?

29/01/04 - Mick Malloy must be proving popular now he is back at MMM! Take a certain station of whose employees were told not to tune into MMM on the radio by their PD. It seems too many employees were gathering around the radio to listen and were "wasting time" and that if they are to listen to any station it must be their own.

27/01/04 - Brian Bickmore is now an independent director at RG Capital. Bickmore was a founding executive at Austereo 24 years ago also the longest serving director. Could there be more to this or is it just a change of scenery for Brian?

27/01/04 - The season of the breakfast radio television commercial is well and truly upon us. Latest offering is Mix101.1 showing us Michele, Des and Loz's varying abilities with the outcome telling all to 'wake up to yourself!'

27/01/04 - John Blackman can now be heard every Tuesday at 3.10pm on ABC 774AM with Lynne Haultain.

27/01/04 - Paul Makin will be in the chair at Fiveaa in place of Leon Byner who has been suspended pending an investigation into allegations against him. Makin was also the summer fill in for Byner.

26/01/04 - A subject we will visit regularly this year will be the Melbourne and Sydney FM breakfast radio teams. Nova 100 have their new breakfast promo on high rotation across the television networks currently. more

25/01/04 - A Melbourne suburban community radio station has taken out a prestigious Internet website award. 3WBC, which broadcasts to the inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne from its studios in Burwood East, has been awarded the prize as part of the “2003-2004 Golden Web Awards”. more

24/01/04 - Could we all learn by this? This is from today's news page on the US industry web site, Radio and Record. more www.randr.com Clear Channel is being challenged on its own turf on an issue fundamental to radio. Australian regulators, please take note.24/01/04 - Back in the days of 3KZ remember Harley Davidson? Radionews caught up with Harley alias Pete Brown recently. Pete runs MAGIC FM in Perth nowadays... Licensed to Universal Sounds and programmed by Pete Brown, Magic 87.8 FM is Perth's only 24 hour continuous music radio station appealing to sophisticated and upscale listeners with its special blend of Timeless Classics. more

24/01/04 - Former 3AK late evening presenter Brett de Hoedt is looking for some assistance in relation to a proposed radio syndication. follows

Greetings,
I'm hunting down the right company - or individual - to assist me in
syndicating several talk radio ideas.
Experience in radio - preferably talk - obviously a must. So too the
right contacts in the marketplace. In an ideal world the company or
individual will have sound experience in securing and structuring
sponsorship.Any hands up out there? Any recommendations?
Brett de Hoedt.www.hootville.com

24/01/04 - Great to hear radio legend John Peters covering Saturday afternoon on GOLD 104.3.

24/01/04 Fiveaa have suspended Leon Byner from his on air role until further notice more

23/01/04 - Something is happening at Bill Caralis' Super Network. For starters 2SM is no longer used as the head station. Word has Caralis is in 2 minds about the station. A lot of the networking is coming from the Gold Coast, Newcastle and Tamworth. Time will tell if it is time to off load 2SM. The license would be more valuable than the current revenue its advertising could possibly generate.

23/01/04 -According to the Adelaide Advertiser HIGH-PROFILE 5AA radio talkback host Leon Byner offered to use his show to "road test" and provide "positive coverage" for Lord Mayor Michael Harbison in return for thousands of dollars in payment, it has been revealed. more

22/01/04 - Further to SEN airing BBC radio in its overnight shift. BBC won't allow re-broadcast of its programs if commercial breaks are intended and the BBC moved some years ago to phase out re-broadcast agreement except in the most 'community' minded relationships.......... such as Radio for Print Handicapped. Gary Turner will host from 10pm Friday night - till dawn Saturday.

22/01/04 - Coincidence or something a little more eerie! Whilst looking for an audio grab on tape today, the first two tapes I checked played ads voiced by David Hookes upon pressing play.The third gave me what I was after. The tapes are unmarked and and had not been played since at least 1998.

22/01/04 - Further to our piece on Glenn Knight on the 19th of Jan. When he starts on SEN this Saturday it will be the third station his fishing show has been broadcast on. It initially started on 3UZ transferring across to 3AK in the mid nineties.

22/01/04 - Network APD Ross Turner from Sea FM Gold Coast has resigned "effective immediately". Who said he was frog marched?

21/01/04 - Triple M have thinned out The Cage- funny man Matt Parkinson will not return to the fold.

21/01/04 - Cheeky little boys real do grow up to talk back! Watch the 2UE television commercial live. here

21/01/04 - Jennifer Stackhouse and Dugald Saunders have replaced Gary O'Callaghan on 2UE weekend breakfast with an extended gardening format every Saturday and Sunday.

20/01/04 - Gerard Healy opened Sports Today with an honest and open tribute to his co-host the late David Hookes. Undeniably emotional Gerard relived the passion of David's life and how he would be deeply missed by not just the 3AW family but all of Australia. More than a heart felt tribute it was totally moving. Healy went on to say Hookes was the key to the success of the show and also that last night was the ninth anniversary of the pairing of the duo.

20/01/04 - Although SEN 1116 were meant to run a live feed of BBC 5 overnight they surprised listeners this morning with Daniel Kowalski and basketball star Andrew Parkinson. Whether this is a permanent overnight show has yet to be confirmed.

20/01/04 - Once something strictly for the weekend radio shows, The Travel Auction advertorial is being pumped out currently on 3MP weekdays.

20/01/04 - Mark Hales is new PD of Nova Perth and another PD within the DMG group Anna Willems will be his new MD. Anna has an impressive track record and is currently PD at Hot FM on the Sunshine coast.

19/01/04 - Glenn Knight will continue his fishing show on SEN from 5.00am to 8.OOam Saturday . Glenn, who is a genuine good bloke is, the only CURRENT on air ex 3AK presenter to join SEN.

19/01/04 - Most presenters were back from holidays today as the ratings banner has been unveiled for survey 1 and it all starts again. Judging day 1 of SEN you can expect some turmoil in the survey results making 2004 an exciting year in radio..... Roll on ratings survey 1

19/01/04 - Vale David Hookes.

19/01/04 - Stereo 974 is going country overnight from the 1st of February 7 days a week. more

19/01/04 - Mick Molloy returned to the airwaves today on Triple M in a networked morning show. Mick was a little nervous to begin with but clearly had jumped back on his bike by mid way through. Back after a five year absence, besides a 3 month fill in with Andrew Denton in 2002, Molloy will be heard in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

19/01/04 - 3AW sports team member David Hookes has passed away. David was king hit outside a St Kilda hotel late last night and died in hospital early this evening. He was 48 years old.

19/01/04 - 3AK finished at midnight last night going out with absolutely no farewell or packaged tribute show. One would think that after 72 years of broadcasting a retrospective of the old girl's life could of been put together. The last six hours were packed with callers and around 11.52 I thought just for a moment there was going to be an influx of old presenters when Ray Lawrence rang in......Alas it was just Ray bidding 3AK goodbye and it was then back to the listeners calling in some clearly in tears others holding back the emotion. Around 11.57pm station director Ron Hall who had been sitting in on Roland's program began the wind up paying tribute to Roland's ability and the faithfulness of the listeners. The last voice heard on air at 3AK should of been Roland but if you listening closely you hear Ron echoing Roland.

18/01/04 - Check out the SEN website launched this afternoon. here

14/01/04 - Radio Sport 927 general manager Noel Crowe today announced the station’s new breakfast program and its presenters will debut on January 28.The 5.30 – 9.00am weekday time slot will be bannered Prime Time Sports, with hosts Simon O’Donnell, Michael Christian and Anthony Mithen together behind the microphones. more

13/01/04 - A very clever new 2UE TV commercial featuring the big names as naughty kids is brilliant. The slogan is "Still talking back" has set the tongues wagging and we await 2GB's follow up!

13/01/04 -It looks like 3XX 1611 has been entrenched with the 80's & 90's music format. Is it true some of the 'other stations' are now taking note of how the station has evolved.

13/01/04 - The FM breakfast teams are hardly out of the blocks but if you could believe the punters they already have Nova 100 out in front.

13/01/04 - What is this we hear, Ray Peters putting together the syndicated show ...Nova Out Of Order ? We hear the PD's are very happy with the show. very happy indeed.

13/01/04 - Kevin Bartlett will do mornings on SEN expect an official announcement soon and we also believe a bidding war erupted for funny man Matt Hardy to co- host drive.

12/01/04 - The new GOLD FM television commercial featuring Russell Morris's The Real Thing is currently on high rotation across prime time.

12/01/04 - Steve Fittion has replaced Gavin Miller as breakfast co-host at 96FM Perth.

12/01/04 - Expect an announcement soon of SEN's trump card and their surprise get!

11/01/04 - One has to ask themselves what is the real reason for Prue MacSween's sudden departure from 2UE late last week? On one hand we are told it was for Prue's use of the words scum and bastard while others say it is more of an attitude problem? Prue co-hosted afternoons with John Mangos for the summer fill in.

11/01/04 - Looks like Lee O'Keefe just might of burnt more than just the bridge by defecting from 3AW to the new SEN. In a brazen attempt to bring along the odd file to his new gig he was apparently caught red handed downloading Footy stats from the 3AW computer whilst handing in his keys. Lee quickly left the building soon after.

11/01/04 - Many of the FM breakfast shows make their return this Monday (tomorrow) and overall it will be a new ball game for all. There have been changes in every state some big, some small and the Sydney market should prove the most interesting - but watch Melbourne with the departure of Tracy Bartram late last year at FOX it is sure to have an impact by end of survey 1.

11/01/04 - Simon O'Donnell will host breakfast on Sport 927 this year. O'Donnell has previously been a co-host of the show with Kevin Bartlett and was last heard on radio contributing sport reports to Jeff Kennett's program. Interesting Simon has varying interests (financial and knowledge) in race horses so was this a key factor in him obtaining the gig?

10/01/04 - Top marks to Gary Mac currently doing the 3 - 6pm weekend shift at 3AK and totally entertaining. One has to ask is it choice that keeps Gary away from the mic on a fulltime basis?

10/01/04 - As we go to press today word is SEN1116 will launch next Monday. Expect a surprise addition to the proposed line-up that has previous been mentioned. Their URL is currently diverting to the D C L home page.

08/01/04 - Huge rumour Mix in Sydney and Melbourne are on the hunt for new breakfast crews with a speedy resolve wanted!

08/01/04 - 2SM and its Super Network have launched a Saturday and Sunday night country music show. Hosted by Nick Erby ( Who has been seen in the company of Bill numerous times of late!) could it be part of a bold move to once again re-position 2SM?

08/01/04 - Could SEN have plains later on to broadcast on narrowcast frequencies as a National Sports Network. For the moment they will have to settle for the Melbourne metro area.

07/01/04 - Following on from our piece on Kevin Bartlett from Monday, we can now confirm KB and Sport 927 have parted company. Front runners to replace him include Glenn Manton and Simon O'Donnell.

06/01/04- Word has Corey Layton about to jump ship after being moved to Nova 100 late nights and possible talks this week with a high profile PD.

06/01/04- Brian Carlton AKA The Spoonman is currently in the chair for Brian Wilshire . Catch him 9 - 12 midnight on 2GB. Carlton is no stranger to 2GB having formerly been there in the role of mid-dawns.

06/01/04- Murray Olds who is currently covering drive over summer for Steve Price at 2UE also replaced Jon Harker in the 8 - 9.00pm slot. Rather ironic he is now in competition to his former co-host at 2GB Murray Wilton.

05/01/04- Has Kevin Bartlett done his last breakfast gig at Sport 927? A strong rumour tonight that he has gone but not confirmed!

05/01/04- Get set for some surprise moves with the start of this new radio year. Radio News hears one big radio name is holding firm and refusing to agree to a 2004 return. Will his station wipe their hands of him.

05/01/04 - Since the piece on Gold FM's John Peters we hear many are applauding his New Years Eve shift to be 'classic Peters'. We note their web page shows no mention of John being at the station .

02/01/04 - Poor Steve Murphy over at 3AW. The subject of a mini listener backlash of whom would rather hear a summer afternoon program that sounded a little less like drive and a little more entertainment based. (source THE EYE) Murphy a talk radio veteran is delivering a refreshing change to 3AW afternoons.

02/01/04 - Gary Mac is back on air in his old stomping ground at 3AK for the next few weeksdoing various fill ins .

02/01/04- Over at GOLD FM you can catch John Peters currently doing late evenings Peters returned to the station last year to cover mid-dawns, a shift that he is clearly wasted in.

01/01/04- III6 SEN was set to launch today but will now launch sometime after the 15th of January. Ron Hall speaking on 3AK on New Years Eve also mentioned he hoped the new station could include some of the existing on air personnel, including Brett de Hoedt.

30/12/03- CANWEST and TRN (ARN) have won the two major FM licenses in the Auckland auction .

30/12/03- Across the Tasman where the sheep are like family there is a dedicated Sport station. The Radio Network in NZ has a 24/7 Sportstalk radio station heard in 20 markets and it does not carry any racing. One has to ask if SEN has looked at this model during their research?

30/12/03- Recent reports would assume Sport 927 are looking for a new breakfast show host even though talks with Dermie failed are they looking to replace Kevin Bartlett?

26/12/03- Radio all (round)er, pardon the pun, who is very fond of imbibing we hear, was recently overheard at his local watering hole boasting at the ease of his fill-in role and how he really doesn't have to contribute much at all. Doesn't he realize that loose lips sink ships.........or maybe even trains!!!!!!!!!!

25/12/03- What a fantastic Christmas present 3AK have delivered its listeners this morning with the velvet voiced doyen of broadcasting, the one and only Gary Mac presenting from 12am and beyond. Fantastic to hear the original GoodGuy back home one more time.

24/12/03- According to the Herald-Sun Charles 'Bud' Tingwell will co-host drive on 3AK this coming Tuesday. It would be great if as many names from the past of this station could at least be heard on air during the next week or so. Maybe a little pride could be swallowed in this the season of good will. It is an exciting time with the forthcoming launch of 1116SEN and it would be good to leave the old behind on a high.

24/12/03- Mix 101.1 Melbourne has really got the Christmas spirit. Full marks for their dedicated Christmas songs all day long today.

22/12/03- Steve Murphy the man who narrowly missed out on the 3AW drive gig at the start of the year is currently filling in for Ernie Sigley.

21/12/03- With the launch of 1116SEN around a month away it is interesting to reflect on an attempt by 2SM back in 1992. John Brown and David Lord (now at News Radio) put a consortium together to buy 2SM from Catholic Church to launch a 24/7 sports radio station .By end of year they had pulled out it was then sold to Wesgo. If a Sport station is ever going to succeed it will be in Melbourne long before any other state.

21/12/03- As published here last Wed, Mick Molloy is returning to radio in 2004 doing mornings between 10 am and noon. The program will be networked via three states, Vic, NSW and Qld. Does this mean Triple M will almost be networked entirely in the eastern states?

21/12/03- Annette Allison bid a farewell to her 3AK listeners on Thursday the 18TH of December 2003 acknowledging it could well have been her last time on air at 3AK. Annette, one of a handful of long time 3AK presenters started with 3AK in May 1997 presenting mornings with Rob Hicks in a program called Melbourne Magazine. Way things are going with the launch we will more than likely hear her again before SEN is birthed.

17/12/03- Digital Radio trials started in Sydney tonight. An exciting time in the history of radio.

17/12/03-How long will Corey Layton Stay buried in NOVA 100 late nights? Could he jump across to the FOX and play a role in the revamped Hot30 in 2004

17/12/03- Now that Phil O'Neil has surrendered late nights at Triple M could he be set to join the new Adelaide Nova doing breakfast!

17/12/03-Mick Molloy will join Triple M next year, expect an announcement by Thursday. No sign of Tony Martin teaming up with him. Possible mornings and lock in network between Melbourne and Sydney.

17/12/03- James Anderson aka Turbo is said to be firming as host of Planet Rock in the new year.

16/12/03-John Hood host of mornings at Pulse FM 94.7 Geelong continues to build his local news magazine style format with a twist of music offering a true alternative. John covers many local issues that would otherwise be missed on Geelong radio.

16/12/03-2DAY/FOXFM have announced that Jackie '0'(H!!!) and Kyle Sandilands will host a networked drive program in 2004. Both Jackie and Kyle are excited about the move to drive and promise to deliver a show that is 'new' in every aspect. Get set for a revamped evening program to replace their hugely successful 'Hot30'

16/12/03-1116 SEN, will definitely not go to air until after 18 January 2004. Has their agreement with DCL been signed yet? Rumour has it that it hasn't, and what does the ABA have to say about the leasing of the license for 1116? Bert Newton and Tony Aloi couldn't pull it off years ago, so what has changed to allow it to happen now.

15/12/03- Who is the weekend radio presenter about to launch part of his successful format into a 1 hour TV lifestyle show?

15/12/03- Although she broke the story herself on Ernie Sigley's 3AW program weeks ago, Anne Wills will co-host 5DN breakfast in 2004. Earlier this year we questioned what direction 5DN wanted to go in and although it is part of the ARN classic hits format this must signal yet another move away from that programming.

15/12/03-Just what are Channel 9 grooming Nova100 breakfast regular Gary Lyon for? Part of a triple header hosting The Today show while Steve and Tracey are on holidays he looked very uncomfortable talking about the breaking news about all the events happening in Iraq this morning.

15/12/03- 2DAYFM/FOX Hot 30 co-host Jackie 'O' tied the knot on Saturday, marrying photographer Lee Henderson. Does that mean we will now know her as Jackie 'H'.

15/12/03- Great to hear 3MP's Steve Curtis back on breakfast, filling in for Shawn Cosgrove.

15/12/03-Magic 693 drive host Ric Ditchburn is currently holidaying in Tahiti. In the chair is Peter Van.

11/12/03- The management team at 1116SEN has been released and the first thing you say to yourself when you read it is these people are fairdinkum! It is posted to the right of this column.

10/12/03 Although it is a couple of weeks old KROCK football caller Peter Le Grand will not be part of the team in 2004.

10/12/03- Talking of breakfast will an open cheque book change the fortunes of MIX 101.1?

10/12/03- It will be very interesting to see how both FOX and Triple M will go in their respective breakfast programs in 2004. Will the departure of Tracy Bartram cause a shift from FOX and will the fact that The CAGE on Triple M is networked be what brings it down by mid 2004?

09/12/03- Here in Melbourne 3AW retained its crown, but keep an eye on their weekend programming. Overall in 4th place Gold FM must be over the moon. With the most consistent line-up on the FM band it must be a sweet victory.

09/12/03- Ratings day and the big shock was Alan Jones being knocked off his perch by ABC 702AM breakfast host Angela Catterns, all the while Mike Carlton is making ground at 2UE in breakfast. Next year it will be interesting to see just who jumps out of the blocks first, my money is on Carlton to narrow the gap.

09/12/03- Nova 100 are set to have a new evening program in 2004. Former Canberra FM104.7 jock Mark Arnold will co-host with comedian Michele Anderson. Corey Layton is staying with the station and moving to a later time-slot.

08/12/03- 1116 SEN (www.sen.com.au) will not launch on January 1 2004, expect to hear existing 3AK presenters well into the start of the the new year.

08/12/03- Who was the jock that failed to turn up for their shift on the weekend at MIX 101.1? It seems the fill in for them was automation, while listeners were none the wiser.

07/12/03- Rumour doing the rounds that DCL shareholder Southern Cross Broadcasting is supplying their news service free of charge to 3AK & 3MP and further to this rumour it has some struggling community stations annoyed that they are paying for the service.

07/12/03- Sport 927 has been running a promo suggesting listeners ' lock it on for their sizzling summer of sport, with all the sports results.'

07/12/03- Strong Rumour for 1116SEN breakfast is Gary Lyon along with UP COUNTRY PUNT'S Tim Watson and Billy Brownless being mentioned in the yet to be confirmed line-up. Other names being thrown around are Channel 10's Anthony Hudson, Andrew Bensley, Caroline Wilson and Kevin Bartlett.

06/12/03- With the summer fill- ins coming on board more and more it is interesting to see 3AW's Mansfield & Brady once again not opting to actually both take holidays at the same time. This is something they have continued from the beginning of their tenure at 3AW.

O6/12/03-3MP's breakfast man Shawn Cosgrove seems to be doing a lot more of Channel 9's booth announcing, could it be more regular in 2004?

05/12/03-How do you explain a listening audience? Take 3AK, five years ago when the station was rating 2.2 or so it battled to get more any talkback callers to a segment (I should know my daughter once won a regular competition 4 days in a row because there were no other callers). Here as the station is being lowered into the ground there are talk callers coming out of the wood work left, right and centre. Most pleading that the current format stays in place, but where were these listeners when 3AK called for talkback yet more often than not went straight to the music or another interview. 3AK currently has a lot more listeners than the ratings lead us to believe.

O5/12/03- Still with Triple M, Phil O'Neils evening talk fest has been axed, whilst in ADELAIDE John Cahill will not be calling Footy for them in 2004 citing business commitments. James Brayshaw who will be host of THE CAGE in 2004 also playing a pivotal role in their Footy coverage.

04/12/03- Whether Peter is the replacement for Mikey Robbins remains to be confirmed.

04/12/03- Regular Friday Shout co-host Peter Rowsthorn will become a part of Triple M drive in 2004, on 'The Whole Shebang'.

04/12/03- MixFM 101.1 Breakfast team haven't been told to return in 2004, and haven't been told not to. With contracts up in March it's anyones guess as to whether the threesome will remain.

03/12/03- Strange rumour doing the rounds yesterday was 1116 SEN will take KRock football coverage via relay in 2004. No response was available from KRock.

02/12/03- Interesting to hear Damien Sleep, former panel operator at 3AK is now panelling at FOX FM. He was one of the victims of the Chatfield / Lovelady massacre back in January.

02/12/03- Who is the long serving radio veteran that might be set to broadcast his last program and be replaced by the competition?

02/12/03- Yet to be confirmed but there is every chance Kyle and Jackie O will host a networked drive program across 2DAY FM - FOX FM in 2004

02/12/03-Interesting to hear 3AW's Ernie Sigley broadcasting live from the new Central West Shopping in Braybrook (today) , a hop skip and a jump from where he crew up in Stanehope St.

02/12/03-

02/12/03-Back from an extended 5 week holiday is 3MP's Peter Blight.