Salute to Norman Gunston
I'm on the move, again. Plus: radio and television news.
Look what I found. This is one of a handful of Norman Gunston badges I acquired a long time ago from the ABC stand at the Ekka. I’m guessing it was the early- to mid-1970s when Norman, the creation of comedic genius Garry McDonald, first branched out on his own from the Aunty Jack Show.
As I explain in this video, it’s not the kind of thing they’d be handing out to children these days.
The reason I rediscovered this item — and many other mementos of my past life — is that I am getting all my belongings together in preparation for a move across town.
I’ve hinted about this on various platforms over the past few weeks and months, so I guess nobody’s especially surprised.
The secret, known to just a few, is where I’m going and why. That, I’m sorry to say, can’t be revealed just yet (not because I’m teasing you, which I am, but because it’s not entirely nailed down).
P.S. I Googled Garry McDonald (who also appeared in the long-running original Mother and Son) and the most recent report I can find has him leading a “reclusive” life on the NSW South Coast. I wish him well.
RADIO STATIC
I’ve heard that the latest fear among beleaguered staff at 4BC is that the Nine Radio bosses in Sydney are thinking of axing the local weekend shows in Brisbane in favour of networked programs.
If that happens, it’d be hard to see it as anything other than the beginning of the end (again) of the “live and local” radio station. For all the reasons I’ve made in previous Mister Brisbane posts, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Optimists are, of course, hoping for a ray of hope to emerge from the Survey 6 ratings results, which will be released on Tuesday, October 1.
Over at KIIS 97.3, I expect they’ll be simultaneously hoping their local Breakfast show with Kip Wightman and Robin Bailey continues to perform well and that the Sydney-based Kyle and Jackie O Show continues to rate poorly in Melbourne — in the hope that this will stop it from being networked to Brisbane, too. (Although the big bosses at station owner ARN seem determined to do so.)
They’ll also be trying to read the tea leaves at ABC Brisbane in an attempt to guess what changes will be made to the line-up there next year. It seems almost certain that room will be made for Ellen Fanning if she wants a full-time gig.
Rumours are also starting to swirl about Aunty’s renewed love affair with Spencer Howson, who has been filling in on air on both ABC Brisbane and ABC Gold Coast in recent weeks. (I have no inside information about this.)
[Disclosure: Brett Debritz used to work at 4BC and, for a half a day, at ABC Radio.]
Meanwhile, in televisionland, I reckon there’ll be some interesting stories to come out of Channel Seven Brisbane once the dust settles there after the departure of news director Michael Coombes.
His move, and the mystery surrounding it, comes after a big round of redundancies at Seven and claims of a rush of southern talent into Brisbane for some reason or other.
Nine is also bracing itself for the results of an external probe into off-camera occurrences there.
Time for new brooms to sweep through the legacy broadcast business?