There’s no place like home
Plus: the difference between “local” and “localised” radio, and a “defunct” publication
I’ve just returned from a too-short, two-week excursion into South East Asia, funded by frequent flyer points.
But as much as I love travel — and will continue to do it for as long as I can — visiting other countries remains a good way to make me appreciate being at home.
And now that I am home, I’ll be going full steam ahead on a new venture that I’ve been teasing for the past few months.
Part one has already been achieved: I’ve moved into a new residence that I expect to be my “forever home”.
Part two, which will see the light of day in coming weeks and months, is to build a new (additional) email and website, followed (probably) by a podcast and video channel.
If that sounds like it’s all about me, well it isn’t entirely because I’ve done something a lot of people in my circumstance have already done or are considering doing. And I’ll be fearlessly covering the pros and the cons of this big change.
My apologies if this still seems obtuse, but it will all make sense soon. I hope.
Summer segue?
Radio 4BC has announced its summer line-up, with Dean Miller — a former Triple M presenter who gave Greg “Marto” Martin a leg-up in radio and once hosted TV’s Creek to Coast — filling in on Breakfast, and Shane Doherty in Drive.
Doherty is a former Channel 9 news political editor and, more recently, senior media advisor to Labor premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (or “former Stacia spinner” as The Courier-Mail calls him).
He certainly strikes a contrast to Drive incumbent, former Liberal MP Gary Hardgrave, and his predecessor Peter Gleeson, who once told Labor supporters they should not listen to the station (and if you look at the way the ratings have declined since then, you’ll notice that it worked a treat).
Tellingly, 4BC will be networking 2GB content into the Morning and Afternoon shifts from December 23 to January 17. That may save Nine Radio some money, but is it the beginning of the end for all-local weekday content? There’s more on networking and “localisation” below …
(By the way, I know Nine Radio doesn’t want to hear my advice and this goes against the grain, but I reckon having announcers who aren’t always on the same page politically is quite a good idea. It seems to work for LBC in the UK).
What’s Hot and what’s not
One day after the metropolitan radio ratings survey results come the latest statistics from the Gold Coast.
The big winner is Hot Tomato, which is part of the Australian Radio Network (ARN) and its Breakfast team of Paul “Galey” Gale and Emily Jade O’Keeffe, who are way ahead of Triple M Gold and Sea FM.
I was interested in this comment from ARN’s chief commercial officer, Peter Whitehead, because I think it has resonance for non-Sydney markets around the country, including Brisbane:
“Hot Tomato continues to set the standard for success on the Gold Coast, as we strive to consistently deliver an engaging, relevant experience for listeners. These loyal audiences provide our commercial partners with unique opportunities to connect with Gold Coasters in meaningful and memorable ways, demonstrating ARN’s commitment to high-quality, localised [my emphasis — BD] content that resonates with audiences and advertisers alike, driving real impact and value.”
It’s an interesting choice of words: was “localised” deliberately used instead of “local” to reflect what ARN is doing around the country?
I take “local” to mean content genuinely produced on the spot, while “localised” could be imported content that has some local elements.
Networked content can be “localised” by adding windows of news, weather and traffic reports, but it’s not the same as having announcers who are genuinely on the spot talking about what’s happening around them.
It’s a big issue for radio — no more so than in Melbourne, where ARN’s KIIS station axed a genuinely local team (which went on to bigger things elsewhere) for the networked Kyle and Jackie O Show, which has fallen very flat with Victorian listeners.
I understand the thinking behind networking: that it’s more cost-efficient to spend big on big talent in the biggest city and feed a signal to the outposts than to hire people to create frsh content in every station. It also means there’s a consistent offering to advertisers (albeit one that rubs some of them the wrong way, too).
I know networking works in some markets, but there’s a knack to knowing which talent is truly portable, relevant and appealing, and will be enduring. Nobody wants to spend a fortune on a show that many people don’t like and possibly won’t last the distance …
As I commented on this interview, ARN’s chief content officer, Duncan Campbell, seems to be trying to convince himself that he hasn’t wasted $100 million* on a 10-year contract for a double act that’s past its prime (and, I should’ve added, too wedded to the one market).
Nevertheless, I was told again this week (by a different source than last time I was told the same thing) that KIIS is determined to beam Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson into Brisbane, replacing a successful local show fronted by Robin Bailey and Kip Wightman.
Maybe it will work; maybe it’ll fail to fire like the Melbourne venture. But it seems like a hell of risk to try to fix something that really isn’t broken.
Footnote: ABC Gold Coast, which rates very modestly, enjoyed a small spike in Weekends** listenership during the survey, which coincided with the tenure on Saturday Breakfasts of fill-in host Spencer Howson, who will also be hosting ABC Brisbane Breakfast in the lead-up to Christmas. I predict big things for this talented young man.
No longer in Queensland
As I mentioned a few editions ago, the InQueensland newsletter, launched in 2020 as a bold attempt to offer an alternative to The Courier-Mail, has become InDaily Queensland and is now issued from South Australia.
One former contributor confirmed directly to me that all the Queensland columnists have been let go, and, in a social media post this week, another writer referred to InQueensland as “defunct”.
At the time of writing, great content from its sister publications In Review and Weekend Edition continues to appear in the InDaily Queensland email, which is topped by agency news copy.
Failing a second life for the site — is there a white knight out there? — I at least hope the southern management continues to employ Queenslanders to cover the arts and dining scenes here in Brisbane and beyond.
Disclosures: Brett Debritz used to work for 4BC and, very very briefly, the ABC, and was a launch columnist for InQueensland.
*Update: I should’ve said $200 million. I forgot that there are two people who are both on $100m contracts.
**An earlier version of this email missed out the word “Weekends”; ABC GC listenership went down overall.