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2CC and 2CA back to sharing news…and a new outcue for 2CC…maybe…

It looks like the gradual revision of 2CA programming has started this morning, with their short, not quite on the hour (or the half hour), pre-recorded news bulletins scrapped in favour of sharing live news with 2CC under the guise of “Capital Radio News”. I personally think the old “Capital Radio Network News had more gradeur…but it did take half a second longer to say, and that’s half a second not dedicated to news.

As of 5:30 this morning 2CA and 2CC have returned to sharing the bulletins, something they stopped doing when 2CA relaunched [1] with their failed “new sound” in late January.

Also, 2CC have a new outcue for their news bulletins, no longer do we hear that “There’ll be more news at (time of next bulletin) on 2CC, where you’ll hear it first in the nations capital”, instead we now hear that 2CC has “live local news on the hour, the half-hour, and when it breaks”, which is remarkably similar to the outcue used by KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles, their outcue is “KFI is the station with live local news on the hour, on the half, and when it breaks”.

Mind you, the new outcue must be one of the most short-lived outcues in the history of radio…by 7am they were back to the old “There’ll be more news at…” outcue, which is probably just as well, as the new one was a downright lie.

On weekdays 2CC have live and local news from 5:30am to 6pm, with live (but not local) news from 7pm to 11pm, and pre-recorded news (thanks 2UE!) from midnight to 5am. Weekends are the same, except the live but not local news starts at 1pm, and the pre-recorded news runs through until 5:30am.

2CC also have an actual intro for Dennis Leigh’s traffic reports…it’s just a sound effect of a car horn beeping twice and 2CC’s voiceover man saying something to the effect of “2CC Traffic for (insert sponsor here)”, but it is a change from the newsreader informing us that it is now time for 2CC traffic…he still gets a live intro from presenters though. That being said, Dennis changed his outro from “more 2CC traffic shortly” to “more Canberra traffic shortly”. Oh it’s a strange day in news and traffic at that station today.

As for 2CA…looks like the old format might be making a bit of a comeback, something which was rumoured a couple days after their recent ratings disaster [2]. A source inside Capital Radio said to me “It looks like we will be heading to a “Classic Hits” type of format over the next few weeks”, and it looks like that source was right…in fact it looks like the old format is making a comeback, the news is certainly an indicator of that.

The source also told me “the music has been pretty “confused” since we started, with songs like “Morning Has Broken” followed by Nickelback etc. Realistically, I think the younger audience would switch off when the old stuff came on, and the older audience would switch off when the new stuff came on.” Which left them with a mere 2.9% of Canberra, most of which who switched off when music they didn’t like started playing.

Samuel

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#1 Comment By One Wire Less On September 25, 2006 @ 12:28 pm

How crazy was it for 2CA to take on Mix head on. You wouldn’t open an hamburger shop next door to McDonalds would you ?

#2 Comment By Samuel On September 25, 2006 @ 1:55 pm

In hindsight, it was a downright stupid idea…personally I loved the format (except for the FM style not quite on the dot news), and discovered some modernish music that I like (and a lot of stuff I didn’t but could put up with), and I wish I had an AM Stereo receiver so I could listen to 2CA’s full stereo glory…but, as usual, I am the exception and not the rule…2CA lost an awful lot of loyal listeners to Mix, the ABC and 2CC (not quite sure how 2CC gained music loyalists…but anyway), their spasmodic music selection was a turnoff to many, and 2CA are now licking their wounds and (hopefully) learning from their mistakes.

Canberra is missing a “golden oldies” station at the moment, and is also missing a true “easy listening” station for an older demographic. There is are a few niches that 2CA could fill, just as long as they don’t try to fill all of them…that’s one of the mistakes they made in taking on Mix.

I also have to wonder why NewsRadio were moved to FM 103.9, and 2CA stayed on the AM band. 2CA had much more to gain from an FM conversion than NewsRadio…and they probably would have had a stereo signal, unlike NewsRadio who abandoned their stereo signal shortly after launching on 103.9.

Personally I hope 2CA keep the AFL (even though it didn’t perform as well as expected)…but only if 3AW keep the majority radio rights. If not, I want Rex Hunt, Clinton Grybas, Graeme Bond and Dipper to head to Channel Seven and form a commentary team there…yes they’re excentric lunatics when they call a game of football, but they add to the atmosphere and excitement. I know that on Saturday, during the AFL Grand Final, I will have the television muted, and 2CA turned right up.

I’m going off on a tangent here, but I sincerely hope Bruce McAvaney returns to commentary when Seven get the AFL back next year…I miss his commentary.

#3 Comment By Samuel On September 25, 2006 @ 2:05 pm

Back on topic (sorry about that), and 2CA have, for the first time in living memory, taken the full ten minute midday news (it’s closer to 12 minutes really). Before 2CA’s format change in January, they had their very own pre-recorded normal length news bulletin at midday, but Capital Radio have obviously decided that pre-recorded news is a bad idea, and 2CA deserve an extended midday bulletin, just like 2CC.

I think Jane Turner is having a very positive effect on that newsroom…her newsreading style is very comprehensive and informational…and she’s not scared of breaking the “norms of newsreading” by ending a story with a last minute update along the lines “and we’ve just learnt that…”

I still miss Kris McKenzie as a newsreader though…he does wonders with sport, but I think he is excellent at news…I love it when he does weekend bulletins, he’s just so good at it.

And I won’t leave out Francis Keanie (anybody know the correct spelling?), I was skeptical at first, but he has come a long way, the stumbling over words is gone, and he is a credit to the stations.

#4 Comment By Captain Flume On September 26, 2006 @ 2:40 am

I would delete that whole first comment for being off-topic. Caught in the crossfire.

Hey Samuel, did you ever listen to Roy & HG’s calls of the ARL back in the day? The Doctor’s Feet, Penalty Puller etc?

Now that was radio gold worthy of turning the telly down for.

#5 Comment By Samuel On September 26, 2006 @ 8:30 am

No I didn’t actually, and I suspect I probably would have been too young to see what all the fuss was about at the time.

#6 Comment By Chuck A. Spear On September 26, 2006 @ 11:37 pm

Rex Hunt, Clinton Grybas, Graeme Bond and Dipper need big rocks dropped on their heads.

Roy and HG !

Samuel. They called a good game.

#7 Comment By Samuel On September 26, 2006 @ 11:40 pm

I’m sure Roy and HG did Chuck…but Rex, Clinton, Graeme and Dipper deserve Rawards (not a typo), not big rocks…and I thought we dispensed with the rock dropping a few months back.

#8 Comment By Loki On September 27, 2006 @ 12:55 am

I agree with Samuel Chuck – after all poor Rex has been through in recent months, the last thing he needs is someone putting the thought of big rocks being dropped on to the collective heads of his crew out in to the universe.

And whilst Roy and HG do present some very humourous rejoinders about sport, I think they engage in excessive bawdiness (with references to “dates”, “wedgies” and “bed flutes” abounding), which seems to be par for the course for ABC Radio, but would not be tolerated in quality stations such as 2UE and 2CC.

#9 Comment By Chuck A. Spear On September 27, 2006 @ 3:21 am

You are obviously not familiar with the big rocks quote Loki.

I am glad that Jane Turner is now is the news room though. It will prove a good break from Kath and Kim.

“Hello Boys”

#10 Comment By Loki On September 27, 2006 @ 9:54 am

I thought the big rocks may have been a reference to Life of Brian – Rex being not the Messiah, but just a “very naughty boy”.

Is Jane Turner the actress that was in Jewel of the Nile with Michael Douglas?