Someone should launch a radio station with all the recently dumped ABC talent
“Change is never easy,” the ABC’s audio boss, Ben Latimer, said late last month as the broadcaster put some of its most talented and beloved radio personalities out to pasture.
The ABC’s recent decision to either reduce or remove a number of key broadcaster roles at its radio network “reflect[s] the need to revitalise our programming and bring a renewed mix of voices and perspectives” according to Latimer, who feels that “relying solely on what we’ve always done won’t help us connect with the new audiences we need.”
The ABC seems obsessed with connecting with a new audience.
New chair, Kim Williams, said at his address to the National Press Club late last month, “I want the ABC to go after younger viewers, listeners and readers on every platform”, citing this as “a vital part of our civic duty” and calling this demographic drive “a matter of intergenerational equity”.
It’s lofty language. I’m not sure “reconnecting with the young is now an urgent democratic and cultural imperative” as Williams claims, or even necessarily a good idea. As he joked in that same speech, “there is a new 50-year-old and 60-year-old born every minute”. And, in its rush to contemporise its radio offering, the ABC might find its loyal audiences, those who have come to rely upon those familiar voices that have chatted in their ears for decades, will go elsewhere.
But where elsewhere? This is where some canny entrepreneur with a love for radio, a few investors on speed dial, and an old Beat The Drum sticker on their new EV can step in and build a radio station out of the talent that ABC has recently discarded.
If we are going to build a radio station, let’s start with the music director. And if we are going to get a music director, why not employ the best there’s ever been, the man who has bolstered the careers of literally thousands of Australian musicians over the past 36 years.
I’m talking about Richard Kingsmill, the man who was booted by the ABC at the end of 2023, after helping build triple j into an internationally renowned brand across four decades.
At the time of his removal, Kingsmill noted “how much I’ve still got left in the tank in continuing to contribute to the Australian music industry”. Great! We’ll take him.
Next – Robbie Buck. On Monday, Buck announced he was “stepping back from the ABC” after 28 years with the broadcaster.
“I am hoping to still have a toe in the water here on the airwaves, and so I’m hoping to pop up from time to time, but it just seems like it’s the right time for me to step back,” Buck said.
A toe in the water? Pop up from time to time? C’mon Robbie, we can do better than that for you. We’ll even team you up with Sammy J, who broadcasts his final show on ABC Melbourne next Friday, after announcing his departure from the popular breakfast show by explaining “after five years I’m ready to trade the 4:15 am alarm for more regular hours”.
So, we’ll whack those two on Arvos and hope they work well together.
After all, radio loves a good double act, and one of the best is Zan Rowe and Myf Warhurst. Both remain at the ABC, but have recently had their roles reduced across the broadcaster.
Next week will be Rowe’s final week on ABC News Breakfast, where she has hosted a weekly segment for ten years, while Warhurst announced the end of her Eurovision hosting gig on SBS.
In addition, Rowe and Warhurst ended the popular ABC podcast, Bang On!, which ran for seven years, and recently saw the pair take Best Host at the Australian Podcasting Awards. Rowe remains on double j – as far as we know – and will return to ABC screens next year for the second season of Take Five. But if Sam Pang, Melissa Leong, and Shaun Micallef (and, indeed, Warhurst) can host shows on competing networks, then our EV-driving, radio-loving baron can work something out contractually with Rowe and the ABC lawyers, I’m sure.
Let’s grab Linda Marigliano while we’re at it, who left triple j at the end of 2019 to move to ABC TV, but who hasn’t been seen regularly on the TV for three years now. She hosted a podcast with Brooke Boney on LISTNR, which also wrapped in 2021.
We can’t just rebuild triple j from the 2000s though, much as Australia would love us for providing this service to the nation. So let’s introduce a few other ABC names into the stable.
How about Patricia Karvelas to inject a bit of that Radio National gravitas to the mix? Or maybe she’d prefer to introduce Secret Sounds segments and prank local hardware stores after ten years of serious work at RN. Either way, she’s welcome.
Karvelas wraps her RN Breakfast role next Friday and has moved into a “cross-platform role” at the ABC where she will host Q+A and Afternoon Briefing, podcasts Politics Now and The Party Room, and write political analyst for ABC News online. I don’t see a radio gig there…
Richard Glover is also sans-radio gig, since he announced his retirement from ABC Radio Sydney after 28 years at the station, 26 of those spent steering the station’s Drive show.
Sarah Macdonald
There’s also ABC Radio Sydney Mornings presenter, Sarah MacDonald, whose dumping last month attracted the ire of everyone from Paul Barry to the Mumbrella comments section, causing Latimer to defend the decision to staffers and then to the public in the email I opened this column with.
Even Ray Hadley (he’s leaving radio too, but we can’t afford him), who competed with her directly in the Sydney ratings for two decades, said, “I don’t know Sarah Macdonald, but I do know one thing about her: she’s a quality broadcaster, and I would say that quality broadcasters are in short supply at the ABC”.
A similar level of anger was felt when ABC Radio Sydney weekend host, Simon Marnie told, his listeners “the ABC has looked at its Weekend Structure in 2025 and informed me they do not have a role for me in that structure”.
Marnie, who joined ABC Sydney in 1996, said the news “came as a shock and I am still processing what it means for me”. Marnie’s final show last weekend was an outside broadcast at Government House where tearful audience members farewelled the beloved broadcaster. That’s how loved this guy was – people cried when his weekend show was taken from them.
Marnie’s final show.
Aside from his 28 years at ABC Sydney, Marnie has rock and roll bonafides, starting at triple j, conceiving the SBS music TV show Nomad, which discovered Silverchair – plus he is married to Amanda Brown from The Go-Betweens! Simon, welcome to your new home.
I mentioned Paul Barry before, who hosted his final Media Watch this week. His ‘Media Bites’ segment would be perfect as a radio show – so let’s take him, too.
The point of all this is not only to note the irrationality of some of these decisions, but also to highlight the depth of talent that ABC radio has nurtured over the years.
Kim Williams’ focus on attracting younger audiences is presented as a noble pursuit. He said he hopes his new generation of ABC talent will “understand intuitively how their contemporaries consume and think about the media, and know best how to reach them with appropriate expression and perspective on their favoured and rapidly changing platforms”.
This would be great, but it might just come at the expense of its older audiences – it’s certainly come at the expense of the older talent.
The younger generation of workers that Williams is trying to attract might also note the recent shabby treatment of those who have built the ABC over decades of service, at a percentage of the pay received by their commercial counterparts, and decide they want no part of it.
After all, if you get booted on the way out the door, regardless of where you work, you may as well take the money. It makes for a good cushion.
Enjoy your weekend.
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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Ignorant, ageist & paranoid!
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Great idea, Nathan! What should we call it? How about Blue Rinse FM—cornering the over-75 demographic!
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So Nathan Jolly.. you didn’t even give we Radeladians a thought. “SOMEONE” has been fiddling down here as well.
There are a bazillion radio for THE YOUNG ONE’S!!! I have been listening to MY LOCAL ABC since the early 80’s… I used to love my radio. Even purchased digital radios so that I wouldn’t have to listen to sport. Had one going in 3 rooms of my house.
I’m 80… I don’t want to listen to “children” who have little knowledge of history, with terrible voices and little ability to pronounce and enunciate and really bad grammar.
I also don’t want to hear a lot of music. This also can be heard on many stations that are specifically designed for younger listeners.
I want to continue to be educated and kept up to date about world affairs and hear what other 891 listeners have to say. Most have educated comments that are interesting. I don’t want to hear presenters from the Eat Coast. They truly don’t give a stuff about us and are ignorant about anywhere much else that their Capital Cities
I want to hear information about MY LOCAL STATE and Capital city ADELAIDE!!
I DON’T WANT TO LISTEN TO THE “OTHER” ADELAIDE COMMERCIAL TALK BACKK STATIONS…THEY ARE AWFUL!
So YES!! PLEASE SOMEONE SET UP A RADIO STATION THAT CATERS FOR THOSE OF US WHO THE ABC USED TO CATER FOR!!
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Let’s call it disrupt radio, oh wait, no audience listened
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What a shame Mumbrella doesn’t provide a ‘thumb down’ for readers to call out ignorant and ageist comments such as “Don’t think so” posted above. No, I’m not a member of that demographic – I’m 28 years old and a keen ad-free ABC listener.
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Surely, sacking reliable workers for younger, cheaper replacements is discriminatory? It appears ageism is now part of recruitment policy at our national broadcaster. Doesn’t ABC’s Triple J already cater to younger audiences?
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Hi Ben, as per the date at the top of the piece, you can see this was published on Saturday morning. Hope that clarifies.
Thanks, Lauren – Mumbrella
Great idea, Nathan! What should we call it? How about Blue Rinse FM—cornering the over-75 demographic!
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Well, Mr Williams did work for News Corp….history repeating itself.
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What a joke! Any and all former tax payer funded employees of the ABC should be retired permanently without any further payments from the public trough!
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Who listens to radio anymore apart from taxi drivers waiting at RSL clubs with long socks and tiny shorts?
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Enjoy your weekend! How long ago did Nathan write this? It’s Tuesday! Who says enjoy your weekend on a Tuesday?
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There’s been zero discussion about putting ads on the ABC, so your handwringing is ridiculous.
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Disrupt had an innovative format, in addition to using talent like Libbi Gorr. It turned out not enough listeners both knew the station existed and liked the format.
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The idea of the ABC “going younger” is admirable. If it wants a music station with an older listenership than Triple J, there is Double J to invest in. If it wants a talk station that’s strong in the 30-50 age group, it could do what the commercial stations do and add more breakfast and drive talk to that station. It might also organise some metro FM licences for it.
A 40-65 year old targeted ABC Local Radio, instead of the 65+ focused one we have now could do more good for a greater number in Melbourne and Sydney where 3AW and 2GB are very strong, but would likely be a backward step in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.
As much as I like NewsRadio and RN the way they are, each might be a better platform for creating a new national talk network for 40-65 year olds.
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