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Rough rider

The former king of morning radio contemplates his falling ratings and says he's "open to suggestions".

It used to be dangerous to write off John Laws after a bad survey. He always had an uncanny ability to bounce back. But after the latest ratings result, even the maestro himself is prepared to contemplate that those days are over. After 30 years as undisputed king of Sydney morning radio, Laws , 68, is starting to think of himself in terms of the veterans' circuit.

He questions the idea that people should quit while they're on top. "Greg Norman hasn't been No. 1 for a very long time but he still plays golf. And I just want to keep playing radio," Laws says.

His Sydney audience has dropped over the past three surveys but the decline started more than two years ago when Alan Jones took a third of 2UE's breakfast audience with him to 2GB. In 2001, when Jones still preceded Laws in the breakfast slot, the morning broadcaster averaged a 13.7 per cent audience share. Jones switched to 2GB in 2002 and Laws's share fell to 11.7 per cent. Last year he averaged 10.6 per cent and this year he's averaging 8.2 per cent.

Executives at 2UE never doubted the damage Jones could do as a rival in the breakfast slot but they underestimated 2GB's new morning presenter, Ray Hadley. In Jones's early days at 2GB, most of his listeners would switch back to 2UE at 9am to listen to Laws. Then they started flicking between Laws and Hadley, listening to parts of both morning shows, but, at some point, many of them have decided to stay with Hadley.

Laws says it was too big an ask to expect listeners to keep turning the dial back and forth, combined with 2GB's car giveaways and other promotional incentives. He also acknowledges he was damaged by his latest drubbing at the hands of the Australian Broadcasting Authority, and it's true that his figures have gone into freefall since December, when the ABA found he had not disclosed his sponsors in the correct manner on 19 occasions.

"Most of the breaches were because I said, 'They are sponsors of ours,' instead of, 'They are sponsors of mine.' They were oversights in many hours of live broadcasting. That kind of constant carping can't do anyone any good. Physically and mentally.

I don't think people understand the tension. You have got someone looking over your shoulder all the time."

Hadley believes one reason he has been able to make inroads into Laws's audience is his ability to focus on Sydney issues while Laws has to cater to a national audience. Management at 2UE seemed to concur last week, saying that Laws would be focusing more on the Sydney market in future. But Laws himself considers the localism issue "a myth".

"The network is an advantage. It's why we have so many national sponsors and are able to attract big names. We cover a lot of Sydney stories but you can't be too parish pump. A severe road hump in Earlwood isn't a great deal of interest. However, severe road humps all over the country are."

Another criticism of Laws's show is that it is bogged down by too many "live reads" - those commercials he voices for an extra fee. Whatever the ethics, it's boring radio. Would he consider reducing the number of live reads, even if it cost him money? "Yeah, I'd think about that. I'm open to suggestions."

Laws is signed to 2UE until 2007. A new unsigned contract is sitting in his desk drawer, which would take him to 2010. He says he can retire any time by giving three months' notice but, at this stage, he has no intention of leaving.

During the football season, 2GB, and Ray Hadley in particular, can expect even stronger ratings. Is Laws daunted by the prospect of more headlines like last week's? "I think some of the headlines are drastically unfair. You should earn a bit of respect after 50 years. But if I have to sit back for a year, that's fine. It annoys me that I may be doing something wrong and I can't quite put my finger on it, but it doesn't depress me. I'm not going to jump out the window or anything."