2UE Manager Quits
July 7th, 2006 at 05:13pm
2UE’s general manager, Ian Sheppard, has quit. His decision comes hot on the heels of last week’s sacking of at least nine 2UE staff which, according to insiders, was yet another decision from Southern Cross Broadcasting in Melbourne.
Radioinfo had this to say:
Ian Sheppard, who only last week presided over the sacking of at least nine 2UE staff, some of them having worked at the station for more than 12 years, today fell on his own sword.
The announcement came at a short staff meeting at around 12:30pm where Sheppard was reported by insiders to have said, “I can no longer work at a radio station where there are so few staff”.
According to Southern Cross Group GM, Graham Mott, who will take over management of the station in the short term, Sheppard was offered a job at Channel Nine. He told radioinfo, “Ian Sheppard has done a wonderful job here at 2UE in all his years as both Sales Manager and more recently General Manager. We’re very sorry to see him go, but it’s a great opportunity for him at the Nine Network and we wish him all the best.”
His resignation has come at the end of a tough week for Sheppard. Having had to sack a slew of staff on Friday, on Tuesday, he had to endure a very public taunt from Ray Hadley, on rival station, 2GB. In a spray that also targeted Bill Caralis and John Laws described Ian Sheppard as being, “So lightweight he keeps his office windows shut in case he gets blown away”.
Graham Mott will once again commute from Melbourne until a suitable replacement is found.
Reading between the lines there, it would appear that Ian Sheppard is sick of Melbournites making decisions for a Sydney radio station, and who can blame him? 2UE’s ratings have slipped considerably since SCB Melbourne started interfering in their operations, and Ian Sheppard has consistently been left with the job of answering public questions about each and every change. Will SCB learn from the loss of a very talented manager? I hope so, but I’m not holding my breath.
Samuel
Entry Filed under: TV/Radio/Media
