Archive for March 7th, 2008

The weather bureau’s storm warning

Good evening Stuart,

One does have to wonder if the same person is on duty at the weather bureau tonight as was there a few years back when you had the massive hailstorm and the only warning came after the event, and talked about "a chance of small hail".

It's extraordinary the time it takes them to issue storm warnings sometimes…if the activity started at 7:30 and they only issued the alert at 9:59 then there is something seriously wrong. Perhaps the weather channel should have issued their own warnings instead of waiting for the official alert if they have their own on-staff meteorologists and knew there was something happening, as they claimed when you interviewed them.

Enjoy your weekend (and don't get too wet).

Regards,
Samuel Gordon-Stewart
Canberra

1 comment March 7th, 2008 at 10:30pm

Jim Ball switches midnight station

Jim Ball2GB’s middawn presenter (and summer Drive presenter) Jim Ball has announced that he is switching from 2GB to 2UE, to take over the middawn slot vacated by Clive Robertson. As I write this, Jim is presenting his fourth-last show on 2GB (a show which he opened with innuendo about “heading north to the competition”). He will present his final 2GB show on Wednesday March 12 and will take over 2UE’s middawn program on Monday March 17. Jim will be presenting the Monday to Friday edition of the show, with John Kerr continuing his current weekend program.

Jim Ball’s success (29.4% of the Sydney audience) in the Sydney ratings in 2005 is widely believed to be one of the reasons 2UE moved John Kerr to the weekend and gave Stuart Bocking the middawn shift in 2006. Stuart gained ground on Jim Ball in 2006 (2GB 16.9% – 2UE 12.5%). I didn’t actually notice the middawn ratings last year and it doesn’t look like radioinfo published them so I don’t know what happened, but it will be interesting to see how Jim Ball goes…I’m sure 2UE will be hoping that he brings his existing audience with him, much like former 2UE weekend middawn announcer George Gibson did when his contract wasn’t renewed in late 2005 and he jumped to 2GB, filling in for weekend middawn presenter Frank Crook (he even managed to get the interstate listeners tuned in to the webstream and calling in…I was one of them).

Actually 2UE and 2GB have an interesting middawn presenter trading history. Warren Moore was 2UE’s middawn fill-in presenter before switching to 2GB where he is now their summer evening presenter. Glenn Wheeler was quite popular on 2GB (from memory he hosted the middawn shift, but I could be wrong) before switching to 2UE where his first shift was filling in on the middawn shift. He is now 2UE’s weekend afternoon presenter. With this history, one does have to wonder if Jim Ball is hoping to also get a non-middawn shift on 2UE in the near future.

Anyway, I’m getting off-topic, Jim Ball has a website at http://www.jimball.com.au/ where he lists articles referred to in recent programs. Somehow, I think the “highlights of recent shows” page and his biography will be of more use if you’re interested in finding out about him.

Jim has been hosting 2GB’s middawn program since 1999, and interestingly has a similar philosophy to the one Stuart Bocking enforced on the middawn program; Stuarts was “If it matters to you, it matters to us” and Jim’s is “We talk to anybody about anything”. Jim, like Stuart, is also a golf enthusiast.

It will be interesting to see what happens, I welcome Jim to the syndicated middawn program and I hope it works well for him…and I have just a bit of advice for 2UE. There is no point in having good ratings in the middle of the night if everyone switches off at 5:30. You’ll never beat Alan Jones, but if you want to provide some competition, get rid of Mike Carlton and put Clive Robertson on breakfast…he was popular overnight, he was popular on ABC Classic FM’s breakfast show, and he would be good at breakfast on 2UE (he might find the hours a bit more agreeable too). I can’t comment on the performance of Sandy Aloisi but the last ratings did show that breakfast is not improving…if you want ratings during the day, then you need ratings at breakfast, and I firmly believe that with the talent of Clive Robertson available to you, he is your best option.

Now, who’s going to take over middawn on 2GB?

Samuel

6 comments March 7th, 2008 at 02:17am


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