This is a big call I know, but I think the biggest media news story of the past week — certainly as far as this newsletter is concerned — is the fact that Bill McDonald is returning to the Brisbane airwaves.
McDonald, a youthful veteran of Brisbane radio and television, is one of our very best communicators and a good bloke.
And I’m not just saying that because I used to produce his Weekend Breakfast show on 4BC (which was successfully handed over to Olympia Kwitowski, before, apparently, somebody decided the ratings were too high and removed the host, the format and the audience.)
Here’s what Bill had to say when he appeared on 612 ABC Brisbane with one of his future co-hosts, Kat Feeney, on Thursday afternoon:
I’m optimistic that McDonald and Feeney, and McDonald and Mel Bampton, will sound great on Brisbane’s highest-rating news-talk radio station filling in for Craig Zonca and Loretta Ryan over the school holidays.
It’s also been a good week for Brisbane’s own Henry Bretz — who I named among my media people to watch list back in January (and I’m claiming as a protégé) — whose impressions of Karl Stefanovic are gaining online and mainstream attention.
Bretz (channelled above via the magic of AI media manipulation) is currently heard on MixFM on the Sunshine Coast and performing standup gigs, but it surely can’t be long before he’s headlining in the big smoke. (Maybe on the Today show?)
Speaking of Stefanovic, I’m still not entering too deeply into the politics of it all, but I will say that it’s been a hard landing for him this week, albeit mostly of his own making.
He should have been able to predict the outcome of his actions, and perhaps he did. It sometimes doesn’t hurt to be seen as a victim.
Stefanovic now declares himself “free”, but after years of being a very highly paid employee is he really ready to run his own show?
A lot of people are competing for dollars online, and it’s possible that too many of them — including Kyle Sandilands — are competing in the same space, chasing the same sponsors and subscribers.
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P.S.
The ABC in Melbourne celebrated Beatles Day this week with a flashmob singalong of All You Need is Love. I’d love to see something similar here in Brisbane.
©2026 Brett Debritz. If I’ve inadvertently used copyrighted material, failed to give credit where it’s due, written or said something you disagree with, or otherwise upset or unexpectedly delighted you, please leave a comment, email me or connect with me at @debritz on X and Mastodon, @brettdebritz on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and BlueSky, and @radiobert on YouTube. Links provided as a courtesy; I take no responsibility for their contents or give any warranty of their veracity. Image created with AI.
Disclaimer: Brett Debritz is thinking of starting a podcast but, like Karl, he needs sponsors with deep pockets.