Samuel's Blog

Capital Radio Webstreams

I considered “A Dream Coming True?” and “About Bloody Time” as titles for this post…in the end I decided against them, but they deserve a run anyway.

Word reaches us from the MediaSpy forums that the Capital Radio Network will have functioning webstreams as of December 21.

The quote from an unknown source claims that this will be for “the whole capital network”, so with any luck that will include Eagle FM Goulburn and Snow FM Jindabyne which I think are good examples of the CHR (Current Hit Radio) format done the way it should be done.

That said, I’d be happy enough with just the Canberra stations as a stream of the Mike Jeffreys Breakfast Show would be very useful for the last few hours of my night shifts…I’d probably be too busy to listen to Welshy live, but I suppose I could timeshift him. A 2CA stream also sounds quite appealing.

And suddenly my fear of having to deal with withdrawal symptoms if I ever leave town is tentatively dissipated.

Samuel

1 comment November 21st, 2008

2CC at Bunnings Warehouse Fyshwick

2CC’s Graham Robinson and the fill-in Garden Gurus are broadcasting live from Bunnings Warehouse in Fyshwick this morning. If my memory is serving me in a non-devious manner, they haven’t broadcasted from there before.

I’ve been debating for the last few days whether or not I will visit them there, and considering that I have been up since about 4:30am working on the morning sport bulletins for AIR News and upgrading WordPress and other website components, I am now too awake to go back to sleep, and I think I will pay them a visit.

The last time I went to a 2CC outside broadcast was at Bunnings Belconnen on Saturday March 15 where Mike Frame, Graham Robinson and 2CC Program Director and 2CA evening presenter Pete Davidson were in attendance. I still have the Bunnings hat and inflatable hammer I received on that occasion…I might just have to take them with me. I’ve been trying (not hard enough, obviously) to find a reason to wear the Bunnings hat…I wonder if the fact that I’ve been considering wearing this hat to Bunnings Fyshwick as part of my debate about whether or not to attend means that there is something wrong with me?

Probably not…it just means that I have too much time to think.

Samuel

August 30th, 2008

Good Signs for Canberra’s AM Commercial Radio Stations

I’m almost certainly going to be howled down for this post…I can see the usual suspects dismissing me as a fanboy already, but hear me out because there is actually some substance to this.

This year, from the perspective of somebody like me who happens to like the two commercial AM radio stations in this town and takes note of what frequency various radios are tuned to, has been fairly disappointing. Apart from my own, I’ve struggled to find a radio which isn’t tuned to an FM commercial station. I’m not sure where all of the 666 ABC Canberra listeners are though, because I’ve barely spotted any of them.

The last month of so has seen a rather interesting turnaround though. Mix 106.3 lost Mark Parton, one of their rather popular breakfast hosts (the rumours have been flying about that ever since then). It’s fair to say that Mark had a unique style…he was never my cup of tea but a lot of people liked him, and his replacement, FM 104.7 presenter Cam Sullings, is a very different presenter. The two stations, despite a few similarities, really attract two rather different and mostly incompatible demographics…replacing Parton with Sullings has had a predictably mixed reaction from the audience, sending some in search of something else. Some of those listeners will be back simply because they like the rest of the station’s format, but others who desperately dislike Sullings won’t be back…and if they dislike Sullings then they’re not likely to enjoy FM 104.7, which doesn’t leave them with a lot of other possibilities. In music radio it leaves them with 2CA and a couple community stations who want to emulate a lot of Mix’s format.

In the short term Mix aren’t likely to gain as many listeners as they lose due to the breakfast change, mainly due to the fact that people who are listening to other breakfast shows don’t have any incentive to change. In the long term the changes at Mix may work well for them, but in the short term, with a survey period only a couple weeks away, the timing isn’t great.

In my opinion, if any station is likely to gain from Mix’s change of breakfast lineup, it’s 2CA as they have the closest music format to Mix 106.3 of any Canberra station, although where listeners end up will depend on their individual music tastes and not which station has the closest match.

Moving on to a few practical examples. In recent weeks I have spent more time in other peoples’ vehicles (be they private or public) than I have done in a very long time. With the exception of one bus driver who was listening to ABC NewsRadio, another who was listening to FM 104.7 and one who didn’t like the radio at all, all of the bus drivers (the number in this category would be close to twelve) have been listening to 2CA and 2CC. I’ve noted that the Steve Price Morning Show on 2CC is particularly popular among Canberra’s bus drivers, and it seems to be difficult to catch a bus between 9am and midday and not hear Price’s voice emanating from a speaker.

I also never thought I’d see the day (I was going to use the phrase “live to see the day”, but given recent posts on this blog, it may convey the wrong message) when people on The RiotACT would write about how much they enjoy listening to 2CC’s breakfast host Mike Jeffreys, and how 2CA’s playlist is enjoyable. (See the comments on http://the-riotact.com/?p=7932, http://the-riotact.com/?p=7831 and http://the-riotact.com/?p=7849). I was also surprised to see a YouTube video of a 2CC program end up on The RiotACT. For such a long time RiotACT has had a habit of attracting an awful lot of 666 ABC Canberra listeners…perhaps that’s the real reason for former (and now once again) RiotACT editor Johnboy returning to Canberra and the site, he wants to steer them all back to the ABC.

Another example of good signs for the commercial AM stations in Dickson Seafoods, (not surprisingly, a seafood shop in Dickson). For as long as I’ve been frequenting there (late 2004) they have been a Mix 106.3 shop. Their radio has been virtually araldited to Mix 106.3. Imagine my surprise yesterday when I walked in and heard a voiceover from Ron E. Sparks informing me that I was listening to 1053 2CA. I didn’t probe the staff on why they changed station, but it did occur to me that, considering the number of students from Daramalan College and Dickson College who frequent the store, this change of station is a mini-coup for 2CA.

A few paragraphs ago I mentioned that the next radio ratings survey period is about to start. It runs from August 3 to August 30, which means that each calendar week of the survey period contains the Beijing Olympic Games. There are only two stations in Canberra with the broadcast rights to the Games, 2CC and 666 ABC Canberra. The news services of both stations (which also serve 2CA and the ABC network respectively) have access to the Olympic broadcast material, but the FM commercial stations are lumped with the usual onerous broadcast restrictions for non-rights-holders. Whilst they are allowed to report scores and results, they have to deal with some pretty hefty restrictions on what else they can broadcast.

2CC and the ABC on the other hand have full access to commentary and pretty much whatever else they want from the games, which will make their news services much more appealing, not to mention the fact that the stations will be the place people will turn to for coverage of the games in many vehicles and offices around the city. This survey will be skewed in the favour of 2CC (and 2CA to a lesser extent due to their access to news and being the only music station near an Olympic broadcaster on the dial) and the ABC, and because of the way radio ratings work in Canberra, that skewing in favour of 2CC, 2CA and the ABC will be “official” until at least February next year, probably later. When you consider that the ABC don’t accept advertising, the only people to truly benefit from the skewing of this survey are 2CC and 2CA, and that of course will be at the expense of Mix 106.3 and FM 104.7 who make up the rest of Canberra’s commercial radio market.

If 2CC and 2CA can not only retain listeners after the Beijing Olympics but also use the extra advertising revenue effectively, then the games could be precisely the lift they need to be a very strong and effective competition against Mix 106.3 and FM 104.7

The next few months in Canberra’s radio landscape could be very interesting indeed.

Samuel

July 15th, 2008

Pete Davidson presents 2CC Traffic

About a week ago I met 2CC’s Program Director Pete Davidson. He was working at an outside broadcast 2CC were conducting at Bunnings Belconnen. Apart from Pete being the presenter of 2CA’s “Love Songs After Dark”, I knew that I recognised the name from something else and I asked a question along the lines of “you did the traffic a while back didn’t you?” to which Pete replied that, yes, he did work for ATN providing traffic reports for Mix 106.3 and FM 104.7.

I was actually referring to Pete presenting traffic for 2CA and 2CC for a brief period after Dennis Leigh left ATN, but as I wasn’t entirely sure and the conversation was moving on, I dropped the matter…but it hasn’t stopped it bugging me all week. Anyway, last night I was trawling through some audio for an unrelated reason and I found this recording from the 2nd of August last year, and guess what…it’s Pete Davidson with a traffic report on the 2CC breakfast show.
[audio:https://samuelgordonstewart.com/wp-content/20070802PeteDavidson2CCTraffic.mp3]
Download MP3

At least now, I can put my mind at ease on this matter, knowing that I’m not completely devoid of a working memory (reassuring considering the audio which will appear this afternoon).

Samuel

March 22nd, 2008

An Emergency Tape That Skips

Well, this is a new one for 2CC…the emergency tape sounds like it’s probably a CD, and it skips chronically. It’s been skipping for at least the last hour and a half, and probably longer.

At 6:15 2CC were broadcasting normally, by 8:15 they were not. In that time there was a fairly large thunderstorm in Canberra (it’s still nearby as I write this) so I believe this had something to do with it. I turned on the radio at about 8:15pm and thought “why is Stuart Bocking playing music”, I only had the radio on for a few moments but could hear the music skipping. About fifteen minutes later I turned the radio on again and it was still skipping…it took at least the next twenty minutes for it to progress beyond the tail end of a song and the following commercial.

It’s not a power failure in Mitchell as 2CA’s night time programming is continuing as normal. It also doesn’t sound like a standard network failure as there have been no network pulses or stray bits of audio interrupting the emergency CD…I’m guessing that something has gone seriously wrong between 2CC’s studio and transmitter causing a complete loss of the broadcast feed, which has left the standby program running.

The skipping emergency CD is a bit more of a mystery, it’s been stuck on extracts of the one song and the sting before it for the last twenty minutes, and has only just skipped back to the ad break before it. The CD was stuck on this ad break at 9pm. I suppose it’s possible that the problem is entirely at the transmitter, because otherwise I’m sure that Duncan McCrea would have rushed in to the studio and put on his own backup program by now.

9:51…and as I finish writing this, they’re back on the air…hooray!

Samuel

January 30th, 2008

The New 2UE Lineup

Today is the first day of the metropolitan radio ratings, and as such (in most cases) the start of the normal presenter schedule.

Today is also the first day for the new morning show host on 2UE. Nobody will ever replace John Laws and I think 2UE have made sure that the new host will not be attempting to do so, by shifting the focus of the show from being a national program, to being a New South Wales and ACT based program.

The new host of 2UE’s morning show is Steve Price who, in my opinion, is one of the best commentators on Australian radio, and an excellent choice to present a hard-hitting news based program. Steve has been involved in Journalism for the last 35 years, including many years with 3AW in Melbourne (as Executive Producer, Program Director, News Director and Drive presenter). He moved to Sydney’s 2UE in 2002 initially as Breakfast host and then as Drive host.

As a Canberran I have not had the opportunity to hear an awful lot of Steve Price, but have felt very privileged to hear his program during the multitude of times I have been in and around Sydney over the last couple of years. Steve has also appeared on 2CC co-hosting election coverages in the last few years.

Handing Steve the morning show is an excellent decision in my mind. Being the person to follow-on from John Laws was always going to be a tough ask, however I think Steve is the right person for the job.

I’m not as convinced about 2UE’s choice for the afternoon show though. Channel Ten newsreader, fill-in presenter for John Laws over the last few years and “listener favourite” according to 2UE, Tim Webster is taking over the afternoon show from John Stanley who has been hosting it for about the last decade.

I like Tim as a fill-in presenter, but I don’t think I could put up with him on a permanent basis. He just seems to be too “wishy-washy”. He certainly has his opinions, but unlike other presenters he just doesn’t seem to be capable of really getting to the bottom of an issue and getting some sort of resolution…perhaps that’s just because he hasn’t had a show to call his own.

My main concern is that an afternoon show with Tim Webster will mean the show becomes more news based and less fun. I certainly don’t want Tim to copy John Stanley’s format, but I don’t want him to drop all of the fun and entertainment that John had on his afternoon show either.

I suppose I will just have to wait and see if Tim grows on me. Unfortunately if his summer morning effort is anything to go by, this is going to be an arduous year of afternoon radio. Please prove me wrong Tim.

The big pity for me is that 2UE have moved John Stanley to Drive, which means he will not be heard in Canberra any more. I wish John all the best with the Drive show, he has previously had success in that timeslot and I’m sure he will do a good job, but Canberra will be a poorer place for it.

When I returned to listening to 2CC in 2003, John’s show was something I looked forward to. It’s been that way ever since. It starts with Mark Knopfler’s theme from the Local Hero soundtrack, and continues with John’s smooth voice for the next three hours. I will particularly miss John’s conversations with entertainment reporter Peter Ford, and the Thursday segment “What Drives You Nuts”. I will have less opportunities to take part in John’s show, but I won’t let the broadcast barrier in the way, I won’t be a stranger to John or his new show.

A quick thought for 2CC, if we’re in the mood for change, then please break up those ad breaks a bit during the afternoon show. During the ad breaks in Sydney, 2UE take the opportunity to run traffic reports and live-read ads. As a result, the breaks can be quite long…a minute of news headlines on 2CC around the half-hour would, admittedly, be more work for the newsroom, but would make those long breaks a bit easier to listen to, and improve 2CC’s credentials as a news leader. Even if the newsroom were to pre-record the headlines at 25 past the hour, it would be well-worth the effort. This would be a good idea for the morning show too in my opinion.

Breakfast on 2UE has a bit of a change, with Mike Carlton’s co-host Peter FitzSimons being replaced by Sandy Aloisi, making it the first time 2UE have had a female co-host in a regular weekday timeslot (or not quite…it’s the first time during a daytime slot. Davky notes in the comments that Deb Elsworth aka Ella James was Malcolm T. Elliott’s co-host in the late 90s). It’s not the first time they’ve had a regular female host on the station (although I can’t work out why Psychic Sharyn still gets four hours each week), but with all of the female co-hosts filling in for various people lately on 2UE, I’m not surprised that they have finally taken notice of their listeners and appointed a female to a regular slot.

Personally I would have preferred Peter FitzSimons and Sandy Aloisi, as I’m just not a fan of Mike Carlton and I don’t think he will ever have a chance of defeating Alan Jones in the ratings…but so be it.

On that note, I would like to congratulate Channel Ten’s Bill Woods and Deborah Knight who did very well filling in for Glenn Wheeler on the weekend afternoon show. These two work very well together and deserve a regular slot somewhere on the schedule.

I will be interested to hear the intro music that Steve Price, Tim Webster and Stuart Bocking choose this year. Steve Price has been using the Hunters and Collectors track “Holy Grail” (also used by Channel Ten for their AFL coverage) as his intro on the Drive show…hopefully he will keep using it. Tim Webster has not had the opportunity to have his own intro, having either used a standard “Tim Webster, keeping the dream alive for John Laws” intro or one of 2UE’s summer intros, and it’s about time Stuart got his own intro after having used last year’s summer intro music all year.

Speaking of 2UE’s summer intros, 2UE used the (not so great in my opinion) Joe Cocker cover of The Lovin’ Spoonful’s hit song “Summer In The City” as the basis for their intros. The bit they used works quite well, but the rest of the song is certainly not a highlight of the Joe Cocker catalogue. For the sake of radio posterity, here are Tim Webster and Glenn Wheeler’s 2007/2008 summer intros.
[audio:https://samuelgordonstewart.com/wp-content/2UESummerIntros0708.mp3]
Download MP3

Incidentally, I was watching the webcam when Glenn Wheeler “boogied” to the summer intro (as mentioned in the audio), it was quite amusing and I sent him an email to express my amusement.

And while we’re here, good luck to Ash Keenan who has resigned from the Australian Traffic Network. Ash was their traffic reporter for 2CA and 2CC following Dennis Leigh leaving last year. At this stage I don’t know who will take over, or who will fill-in, although I will hazard a guess at Mike “frame in the plane” Frame being the fill-in traffic reporter. (Update: Nope, we have a Dwayne Strauss presenting the traffic).

Samuel

5 comments January 14th, 2008

Peter Leonard wins award for Community Media

On the 17th of December (Monday last week), Peter Leonard won the Chief Minister-Public Relations Institute of Australia (ACT Division) Award for Community Media, and in doing so became the first individual to win the award.

To quote from Jon Stanhope’s press release:

Mr Stanhope said Mr Leonard received the award, in its ffith [sic] year, for his service to media and the Canberra community.

“I am very pleased to be able to present the Award to such a deserving winner. Peter is well known to Canberrans as a proud, popular and vocal supporter of the ACT community,” Mr Stanhope said.

The award acknowledges outstanding contributions to the community by ACT media organisations or individuals. This year, for the first time, an individual has been chosen as the recipient of the award.

Mr Leonard was selected for his exceptional service to the community through the media and public relations industry in Canberra, particularly his work at WIN TV presenting ACT and district news for many years.

“Peter has also dedicated himself to a wide range of ACT community programs and events, was Canberra Citizen of the Year in 1991, and has been a tireless worker for local charities such as the MS Society of the ACT and the Cancer Council,” Mr Stanhope said.

“On behalf of the ACT Community I thank Peter for his contribution and congratulate him on this prestigious and well deserved award.”

Seeing as Peter has been handed this prestigious award, I think it is appropriate to run this 1995 promo for WIN News. This is the Canberra version of the promo, WIN also had versions of the promo produced for Wollongong and Western New South Wales and probably other places as well. The promos were based on Nine’s Who’s Who of News, and were probably produced by Nine.

Interestingly it’s the only WIN version of the promo not to include footage of the journalists reporting to camera. It is also worthwhile noting that Canberra’s set was different to the one used in Wollongong and Western New South Wales. I personally preferred the physical set to the keyed set currently used. It is my opinion that if you’re going to have a static background, you might as well use a physical set, and the old WIN News set had some charm. I would like to see them do what Nine do, and have a camera somewhere providing the city as a backdrop, it’s a pity that this probably isn’t a viable option for WIN, especially in the places where the local news is read elsewhere, as it would personalise their bulletins a lot more than the static out of focus control room image they currently use across the entire network.

Anyway, Jon Stanhope’s press release goes on to mention some previous winners of the award, namely:

The Canberra Times for its contribution to the bushfire recovery, WIN News for continuing to maintain an excellent local news service, and radio station 2XX for many years of service to community radio.

It also mentions 666 ABC Canberra for their work during the 2003 bushfire. I have to say that I didn’t understand that award. It really should have been a joint award between 666 ABC Canberra, 2CC, 2CA, WIN News and ABC TV News. 2CC and 2CA (2CC took over 2CA for the day) did just as much work as 666 covering the fires, the WIN staff came in without being asked and put on a special bulletin..one Jon Stanhope should remember as I seem to recall him being interviewed by Peter Leonard during the bulletin, and ABC TV News also put on a special coverage of the fire. Why one group was singled out when they all did excellent work is beyond me.

I suppose that’s a discussion for another day, as today I should really just be congratulating Peter Leonard on another fabulous achievement. The award is thoroughly deserved.

Samuel

4 comments December 27th, 2007

Congratulations Peta

Fresh from being a panel operator for 2CC, Peta Waller-Bryant has taken up a producer position on 2CC’s Mike Jeffreys Breakfast Program.

Peta is still studying as a Flexible Delivery student at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, and if performance to date is anything to go by, she has a very bright future ahead of her in the radio industry.

Congratulations and best of luck Peta.

It is also worthwhile mentioning, whilst on the topic of 2CC staff, that the new general manager of 2CC/2CA is Graham Cron, who just finished a seven year stint in the same position at the warmer by name and temperature Hot 100/MIX Darwin. Mr. Cron replaces Doug Bell who left earlier this year.

Samuel

5 comments November 6th, 2007

Samuel’s Melbourne Cup Tip

As I’ve said half a dozen times in various places already in the last twelve hours, I’m usually quite hopeless at picking Melbourne Cup winners, so I was going to let the computers at ACTTAB pick three random horses instead, but then I had a nap and woke up with three numbers stuck in my head for no apparent reason, and therefore my tips are:

1 – Tawqeet
3 – Blutigeroo
15 – Scenic Shot

I will be putting these three numbers in as one of ACTTAB’s $15 cup packs which will provide me with a $1 win and place bet on each horse, and a boxed quinella and trifecta with all the horses. The bottom line with this is that I will get some of my outlay back if one of the horses comes first, second or third, and I will get more for combinations of first, second and third.

If you decide to have a punt, do so with care, only bet what you can afford to lose, and all the best with it.

The race takes place at 3pm Melbourne time (GMT +11) and will be broadcast live on the Seven Network and affilliates, Sky Channel, most radio stations (in Canberra 2CC and 2CA have access to the official radio feed of the Melbourne Cup from the official radio partner Southern Cross/Macquarie/Fairfax Broadcasting (depending on who owns that bit of the company right now)), and will also be live on the various webstreams such as ACTTAB Radio, 2KY Racing Radio and Sport 927. All the webstreams will sound the same but I expect some of them to hit capacity, which is why I provided multiple options.

The race results will also be published here, just like they are every year.

If you have a gambling problem call Lifeline in the ACT on 13 11 14, or the relevant gambling helpline in your jurisdiction.

Samuel

10 comments November 6th, 2007

ACRA Award Winners

The Australian Commercial Radio Awards were held last night in Melbourne. The full list of winners is below, however as this is a generally Canberra focussed blog, I will run through the winners of note in Canberra first.

Firstly congratulations to 2CC’s Drive announcer Mike Welsh who took out the best provincial talk presenter award. Mike defeated station colleague Mike Jeffreys who won the award not that long ago.

Mike Welsh’s producer, Michael Thompson, took out the award for best provincial newcomer off-air.

The sales team at Mix 106.3 took out the award for best provincial station sales achievement and Joseph Gleeson picked up the best entertainment/music show producer for his work on Mix 106.3.

Also of some note, 2GB’s Jason Morrison picked up a Brian White Memorial Award. Jason has a regular segment on 2CC’s breakfast show at 7:25.

3AW’s Clinton Grybas picked up the award for best metropolitan sport presenter. Clinton used to be heard on 2CA calling the AFL, and was also involved in the coverage of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games last year.

Max Healey, Leigh Zaghet and Alastair Reynolds from 2UE/Southern Cross Broadcasting and Syndication picked up the Engineering Excellence award. These three people are responsible for keeping a number of stations including 2CC on the air for a number of hours every day, including making sure John Laws, and 2GB’s Continuous Call Team, get to air whenever they are on. Clive Robertson could hardly speak any higher of Mr. Reynolds, the three of them obviously do some very good work.

Of special interest to me is an award going to Australian Independent Radio News client station Flow FM. They picked up an award for best country station sales achievement.

Tributes were also paid to recently deceased industry legends Stan Zemanek and Frank Hyde.

The full list of winners, courtesy of RadioInfo, follows.

Category Finalists are denoted with the following letters: Country, Provincial, Non Metropolitan and Metropolitan

BEST ON-AIR TEAM
Sea FM Morning Crew with Matt, Maree and Smithy – 101.9 Sea FM, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Maryborough QLD C
Phebe Irwin and Dave Gorr – “Phebe and Dave’s Bigger Breakfast”, Wave 96.5 FM, Grant Broadcasting, Wollongong NSW P
The Kyle and Jackie O Show – 2Day FM, Austereo, Sydney NSW M

BEST TALK PRESENTER
Jennifer Menchin – 2BS, Bathurst Broadcasters, Bathurst NSW C
Mike Welsh – “Mike Welsh Drive Show”, 2CC, Capital Radio, Canberra ACT P
Neil Mitchell – “3AW Morning Program”, 3AW, Southern Cross Broadcasting, Melbourne VIC M

BEST MUSIC PERSONALITY
Cameron Williams – 97.7 Snow FM, Capital Radio, Jindabyne, NSW C
Kris Fade – The Edge 96.1, Australian Radio Network, Sydney West NSW P
Jabba – Nova 969, DMG Radio, Sydney NSW M

BEST CURRENT AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR
Neil Mitchell – 3AW, Southern Cross Broadcasting, Melbourne VIC

BRIAN WHITE MEMORIAL
Greg Henricks – “Sting in the Tale”, 92.5 Gold FM, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Gold Coast QLD
Jason Morrison – 2GB, Macquarie Radio Network, Sydney NSW

BEST SPORTS PRESENTER
Geoff Mann – “Without a Doubt”, 2DU, Super Network, Dubbo NSW C
Steve Allan – “2GO Good Sports”, 2GO FM 107.7, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Gosford NSW P
Clinton Grybas – “3AW Sport”, 3AW, Southern Cross Broadcasting, Melbourne VIC M

BEST NEWS PRESENTER
Sarah Taylor – 3WM, ACE Radio Broadcasters, Horsham VIC C
Rod McLeod – 92.5 Gold FM, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Gold Coast QLD P
Tony Tardio – 3AW, Southern Cross Broadcasting, Melbourne VIC M (AM)
Kristy Warner – Nova 969, DMG Radio, Sydney NSW M (FM)

BEST PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Glen Roth – 97.7 Snow FM, Capital Radio, Jindabyne NSW C
Jason Matthews – 92.5 Gold FM/ Sea FM 90.9, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Gold Coast QLD P
John Brennan – 2GB, Macquarie Radio Network, Sydney NSW M

BEST MUSIC DIRECTOR
Karina Singer – Sea FM 101.9, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Maryborough QLD C
Johnno Keetels – Sea FM, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Sunshine Coast QLD P
Mickey Maher – B105, Austereo, Brisbane QLD M

BEST SHOW PRODUCER – ENTERTAINMENT/ MUSIC
Derek Bargwanna – 2Day FM, Austereo, Sydney NSW
Sam Cavanagh – Fox FM 101.9, Austereo Melbourne VIC
Joseph Gleeson – Mix 106.3, ARN/ Austereo, Canberra ACT

BEST SHOW PRODUCER – TALKBACK/ CURRENT AFFAIRS
Tony Briscoe – “Charles Wooley Across Australia”, Heart 107.3, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Hobart TAS NM
Paul Christenson – “Alan Jones Show”, 2GB, Macquarie Radio Network, Sydney NSW M

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Dennis Guthrie and Charles Wooley – “Beaconsfield Master Blaster”, Heart 107.3, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Hobart TAS NM
Sideshow Mike Andersen – “Anzac Day”, Triple M, Austereo, Sydney NSW M

BEST MUSIC SPECIAL
Early Openers – “Spirit of the Bush”, Mixx FM 106.3, ACE Radio Broadcasters, Horsham VIC C
Matty Acton and Renee Peterson–“The List–Backstage at the Big Day Out 2007”, Sea FM 90.9, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Gold Coast QLD P

BEST SPORTS EVENT COVERAGE
Luke Bradnam and Ben Harrison – “Gold Coast Game Fishing Comp”, 102.9 FM, Hot Tomato, Gold Coast QLD NM
Triple M Football – “2006 AFL Grand Final”, Triple M, Austereo, Melbourne VIC M

BEST STATION PRODUCED COMMERCIAL
Ray Adams – “For Pup’s Sake Dog Grooming – Rex”, ACE Radio Broadcasters, Mixx FM, Hamilton VIC C
Kent Howlett and Lawrence Moorfield – “Strike Action, Strike Bearer, Strike Out”, Hot Tomato, Gold Coast QLD P
Rusty Graham – “The Island Party Boat”, Nova 106.9, DMG Radio, Brisbane QLD M

BEST PROMOTIONS DIRECTOR
Steve White – Sea FM/92.7 Mix FM, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Sunshine Coast QLD NM
Leanne Glamuzina – Nova 106.9, DMG Radio, Brisbane QLD M

BEST STATION PROMOTION
The Morning Crew with Matt, Maree and Smithy–“Smithy’s Challenge Wheel”, 101.9 Sea FM, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Maryborough QLD C
Sea FM – “15 Concerts in 15 Days”, Sea FM, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Sunshine Coast QLD P
2Day FM Promotions – “Kyle and Jackie O Boost Your Life”, 2Day FM, Austereo, Sydney NSW M

BEST STATION PRODUCED COMEDY SEGMENT
Dave and Hughesy – “Telco Torture”, Zoo FM, Super Network, Dubbo NSW C
Luke Bradnam – “Granny Calls Granny”, 102.9 FM, Hot Tomato, Gold Coast QLD P
Matt Hale – “Cake Message Phonecall”, 96FM, Southern Cross Broadcasting, Perth WA M

BEST NETWORKED PROGRAM
Trent McCurdy – “The Dirty 30”, Mixx FM, ACE Radio Broadcasters, Horsham VIC NM
Charles Wooley – “Charles Wooley Across Australia”, Heart 107.3, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Hobart TAS NM
Hamish and Andy – Fox FM 101.9, Austereo, Melbourne VIC M

BEST SYNDICATED AUSTRALIAN PROGRAM
Radiowise Media Networks – “Home Grown Humour”, Sydney NSW

BEST STATION SALES ACHIEVEMENT
The Sales Team – 5RM/Magic 93.1 FM, Star Broadcasting, Riverland SA C
Flow FM – Flow FM, W&L Phillips, Kapunda SA C
Mix 106.3 Sales Team – Mix 106.3 FM, ARN/Austereo, ACT P
Triple M Brisbane – Triple M, Austereo, Brisbane QLD M

BEST AGENCY SALESPERSON
Stephanie Hodgetts – Star Broadcasting, Riverland SA NM
Tanya Williams – Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Brisbane QLD NM
Simon Kent – Austereo, Melbounre VIC M

BEST DIRECT SALESPERSON
Denise Nolan – 5RM/Magic 93.1 FM, Star Broadcasting, Riverland SA C
Leonie Leonard – Hot FM/Sea FM 98.7, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Mackay QLD P
Juanna Masters – Fox FM 101.9/Triple M, Austereo, Melbourne VIC M

BEST SALES PROMOTION
Belinda Didsman, Zanna Munro, Phil Cole and Jennifer Menchin – “60 Jobs in 60 Days”, 2BS, Bathurst Broadcasters, Bathurst NSW C
NX FM – “Have Maccas with Matty”, NX FM, Austereo, Newcastle NSW P
Triple M – “The Snickers Hour”, Triple M, Austereo, Melbourne VIC M

BEST COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECT
Janeen Hosemans – “Bessie Fitzpatrick – Orringe Appeal”, 2BS, Bathurst Broadcasters, Bathurst NSW C
93.9 Bay FM – “Bay FM Community Forum”, 93.9 Bay FM, Grant Broadcasting, Geelong VIC P
KO FM Promotions Team – “Murdoch Family Rescue”, KO FM, Austereo, Newcastle NSW P
Triple M – “Youngcare Appeal”, Triple M, Austereo, Brisbane QLD P

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION
Andrew Andrews – 103.5 Mix FM/Sea FM, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Maryborough QLD C
David Huth – Sea FM/92.7 Mix FM, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Sunshine Coast QLD P
Ben Ryan – Nova 106.9, DMG Radio, Brisbane QLD M

ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE
Max Healey, Leigh Zaghet and Alastair Reynolds – 2UE, Southern Cross Broadcasting, Sydney NSW

INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE
Natalie Florence – “3AW Producer Manual”, 3AW, Southern Cross Broadcasting, Melbourne VIC

MOST POPULAR STATION MANAGER
David Bye – 5RM/Magic 93.1FM, Star Broadcasting, Riverland SA C
Paul O’Connor – Hot FM/Sea FM 98.7, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Mackay QLD P
David McDonald – 4BC/4BH, Southern Cross Broadcasting, Brisbane QLD M

BEST NEWCOMER ON-AIR
Charles Croucher – 2BS, Bathurst Broadcasters, Bathurst, NSW C
Zoe Ella – Hot FM, Macquarie Regional Radioworks, Townsville QLD P
Dylan Lewis – Nova 100, DMG Radio, Melbourne VIC M

BEST NEWCOMER OFF-AIR
Krystle Theodore – Mixx FM 106.3/3CS, ACE Radio Broadcasters, Colac VIC C
Michael Thompson – 2CC, Capital Radio, Canberra ACT P
Faith Bradley – 4BC, Southern Cross Broadcasting, Brisbane QLD M

Congratulations to all the winners.

Samuel

October 14th, 2007

Canberra Radio Ratings #2 for 2007

Late last week Nielsen Media Research released the results of the second survey of radio listeners in Canberra for 2007. For the last few ratings I haven’t managed to produce a statistical analysis of the ratings due to the amount of time it takes, however this time I have gone to the effort of putting all the ratings results since 2005 in to a spreadsheet, this not only allows me to automate the calculations required for the analysis, but also allows me to create graphs. As such, you can expect much more interesting ratings results from me from now on.

So, without further ado, the ratings.

666 ABC Canberra have clearly cemented themselves at the top of the ratings (congratulations to them…but I really can’t understand why…if the audience want to listen to the ABC, Radio National is much better, and if they’re not fussed about whether the station they are listening to is an ABC one or not then 2CC is the best talk radio station in Canberra in my opinion), 2CA are making an impressive comeback, and ABC Classic FM are losing ground quickly. 2CC have now lost ground for two consecutive surveys (although I have been informed that Mike Frame’s weekend programs are rating between 14% and 16% in their timeslots, and are the highest rating programs of any 2CC presenter, local or otherwise). FM 104.7 did much better than their sister station Mix 106.3, and JJJ continue to gain.

It is quite interesting to see how the leaderboard has changed over time (Excel refused to reduce the Y axis range to “1 to 10”).

I think it is quite interesting to see the segmentation of the market between the talk and music stations, and how it changes over time.

There are five music stations and four talk stations in Canberra, so it is also interesting to see the average rating of each station in each category.

ABC and Commercial audiences.

There are five ABC stations and four commercial stations…therefore the averages of the stations in each category.

And probably my favourite category comparison…the battle of the bands.

FM might still be winning, but this is the second consecutive gain for AM!

The averages based on four AM stations and five FM stations.

So far the date for the first survey of 2008 has not been announced.

4 comments September 19th, 2007

Radio Review – Survey 2 2007 – Drive

Updated: I have been informed that the traffic reporter used by Mix 106.3 and FM 104.7 is actually from the Australian Traffic Network, not Mix and 104.7’s Gungahlin studios. The reviews have been updated to take this in to account, which has resulted in Mix 106.3 gaining a few points and jumping up to third place (effectively pushing 666 ABC Radio down to fourth), and FM 104.7 gaining to be equal 8th. I apologise for an inconvenience this error may have caused.End Update Summary

I was supposed to have this online at 9am? Hmmm, just a few hours late.

Yesterday afternoon (Wednesday August 9) I conducted the first of four radio reviews in this series, the 3pm to 6pm “drive shift” review. The order of stations in the roster for this review was 2CC, ABC Classic FM, 666 ABC Canberra, ABC Radio National, Mix 106.3, FM 104.7, ABC NewsRadio, 2CA and JJJ. This order was randomly selected, and the stations will not be permitted to hold the same spot in any future roster in this series. (For an explanation of the methodology behind the reviews, click here)

My detailed analysis of the three hours is below, however I shall start by showing you the overall outcome. All ratings are out of five possible points.

Summary:
1st: 1206 2CC: (4.6)
2CC had a very good review. There were a few bits and pieces I didn’t enjoy as much as I could have, but overall they did very well.

2nd: 1053 2CA: (4.5)
It’s good to see a mix of music and talk at the top of the pile. 2CA played some very good music and Leighton Archer is a very good choice for the drive time announcer.

4th 3rd: Mix 106.3: (3.3 3.8)
It can he hard to work out where you stand with Mix 106.3 at times. There is a reasonable amount of good music, and Erin Miller can be quite entertaining, but they suffer from some rather poor music choices, and I can’t help but think that the traffic reports would be a bit more credible if the reporter was somewhere other than their Gungahlin studios. Updated: I’ve been informed that these traffic reports are directly from the Australian Traffic Network…in which case I congratulate Mix on having traffic reports with much better sound quality than the traffic reports from the same service which air on 2CC and 2CA. That being said, I have to admit that I think Warren Purchase speaks more clearly than the ATN presenter Mix and 104.7 are using.

3rd 4th: 666 ABC Canberra: (3.7)
Take Louise Maher out of the equation and they could have gained half a point, maybe even a whole point. They are doing well and they could easily be higher up the ladder in future reviews if the presenters are better than Louise Maher.

5th: ABC Radio National: (2.9)
Some interesting discussions worked in Radio National’s favour, but presenters who insist on talking at a pace which indicates they want us to all fall asleep and a rather poor 5pm news bulletin worked against them. It’s not a great start, but there is plenty of room for improvement, and I got the distinct impression that we will see (or hear, as the case may be) plenty of improvement.

6th: ABC Classic FM: (2.7)
I really don’t know what to say about this station. They obviously don’t use a compressor, and that is probably a good thing for the preservation of the dynamic range in the classical music they play, but it makes the station very difficult to listen to for an extended period of time, and probably impossible if you are in a motor vehicle. I’m not entirely sure that some of the presenters have any common sense, or trust that their listeners might have some intelligence.

7th: ABC NewsRadio: (2.5)
Parliament broadcasts are an essential service, but many politicians make dreadful radio. If the politicians could be slightly more interesting (or even be slightly more interested in what they’re talking about), and the NewsRadio people could try not to talk over the top of the politicians, they would have fared much better. Perhaps the non-parliament broadcasts will fare better.

8th Equal 8th: ABC JJJ: (2.4)
If they stopped playing “music” and turned in to a talk station, they would be much better off. Their choice of music is abysmal, but the talk components of the station are quite good.

9th Equal 8th: FM 104.7: (2.2 2.4)
The ads sound good, but the music, for the most part, isn’t great and the presenters aren’t much better. In their defence, the station clearly appeals to a lot of people who aren’t me.

There are still three shifts left for review, and any station could win it from here. The following is my detailed analysis of the three hours.

15:00 2CC – News with Peter Lusted, Fairly comprehensive coverage of interest rate rise. Story about Peter Beattie’s comments about John Howard. Mohammed Haneef’s Visa. Murray Darling Basin. Liberal criticism of ACT Government’s handling of local taxi licences. ACT Police comments about local street racing. Very comprehensive news service (5).

15:04 Classic FM – Enjoyable classical music. A tad too quiet for proper broadcast in parts and just a tad repetitive. (3.5)

15:08 666 – Good song (Midnight Train to Georgia), but mildly distorted, almost as if it is being fed to the studio equipment a couple decibels too loud. An enjoyable four minutes. (5)

15:12 ABC RN – Cooking and general food discussion with a restaurateur and a food book author. Something about eating lunch in a park, and the restaurateur thinks it’s a terrible thing to discuss in front of someone who hasn’t had breakfast yet. Awkward lengthy (5 seconds at least) pause following all of them trying to talk over each other. Very uninteresting anecdote about the author’s experience in a foreign restaurant. I didn’t know it was possible to bore people with a discussion of how globalism affects food…apparently it is. (2)

15:16 Mix – A song possibly called “Changes”, the base tune has been stolen from another song and the lead singer is relatively tone deaf. Station ID over the top of the intro of the next song (it works quite well in this case), the rather acceptable “Had a bad day”. I could listen to this without screaming if I was on hold. (4)

15:20 104.7 – Gotta love tone deaf musicians…on the plus side, these ones aren’t screaming. Station ID followed by a rather grating bit of hip hop. I counted five uses of one swear word, although I did struggle to understand a lot of the rest of the lyrics. (0.5)

15:24 NewsRadio – Parliament. It’s amazing how politicians, supposedly confident public speakers, can use “um” and “ah” constantly during pre-written speeches, and manage to sound completely uninterested in everything they are reading out to the house. That being said, parliament is a rather amusing thing to listen to for a short duration. It also contains the most sloppy panel operating on the wireless. Incorrect microphones open, incorrect microphones closed, the speaker mumbling under his breath. I’m certain that the politician who spoke for the entire four minutes doesn’t remember how she started her speech. (2.5)

15:28 2CA – Ad break: Buddy Holly special, Charlotte Pass ski resort, Dolphin bathrooms. 2CA ID. The Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive”. A pleasant and relaxed ad break followed by a pretty good song. The only thing to count against them here is the fact that The Bee Gees do annoy me slightly. (4.5)

15:32 JJJ – A rather polished and well produced bit of techno music (“Easy Love” by MSTRKRFT apparently). Sounds better on headphones than it does on speakers, although not quite as good as it could. That’s not JJJ’s fault, picking an overly long repetitive song is though. (Disclaimer: I don’t recognise most of the music played on JJJ, so I’m relying on the JPlay website which Mick linked to a few days ago for the song lists.) (3.5)

15:36 2CC – Ad break: Cheesecake shop, Repco service, Exquisite Jewellers Holt, Rivoland Tiles featuring Mike Jeffreys, Precision Panel. Short music return before Mike Welsh mentions that a caller has complained about the signs for the Scrivener Dam bridge works not being far enough back from the roadworks to warn drivers to use an alternative route. Psychology segment talking about “Brain Snaps” and the reasons behind them. Quality programming. (5)

15:40 Classic FM – Dramatic classical music with inaudible gaps and just a bit too much dynamic range. I suppose we expect this from Classic FM, in which case I have to wonder why people insist on using it as telephone hold music, telephones do not convey the dynamic range as well as the radio, and as a result people end up with lengthy inaudible segments. Every time you think this piece of music will end, it continues. They must only go through a handful of tracks each hour. Somewhat uninteresting. (2)

15:44 666 – Something about a movie and a lot of giggling. The presenter starts pondering why some people vandalise things and others don’t…the studio guests start discussing the logistics of vandalism. They should be careful how they phrase things. “You egg people’s cars…that’s OK”. Not what they meant, but it comes across poorly. More giggling and they wish they had a psychologist…perhaps they should ring 2CC, they had one on a few minutes ago. They have one sensible person in the room who seems to understand basic peer pressure and adolescent mental development, but the rest are speculating rather poorly…to their credit they are almost silent during the logical person’s explanation, but they do insist on asking silly questions. (3.5)

15:48 ABC RN – Discussion about how a technical stage production company has a certain level of freedom of expression by using their own custom software to help handle various bits of their productions, and other production work they do. Surprisingly interesting. (4.5)

15:52 Mix – Can’t say that I’m impressed by the song which ends just as I turn over to this station. It is followed by a station ID which includes their Tuggeranong repeater’s frequency. The next song, Cold Chisel’s “Flame Tree”, isn’t particular impressive either…I just find the song rather bland and tuneless. (1)

15:56 104.7 – The music hasn’t improved much here either. People who claim to be musicians but insisting on constantly changing from singing to shouting in the same sentence annoy me. Promo for Scotty and Nige breakfast show, and the humourorus highlight in the promo wasn’t even remotely funny. Ad Break: Government Workplace Realtions ad, Kaleen Indoor Sports, MacDonald’s Name-it burger, ActewAGL GreenChoice. The ads saved them. (2.5)

16:00 NewsRadio – More parliament. This politician is talking about India and nuclear weapons. Whilst she is avoiding the use of “um” and “ah” (mostly), she does not sound even remotely interested in her speech. She decides to ramble on about how we need a referendum on every decision the government has made in the last four years…and then something about climate change, this seems to encourage the ums and ahs. An uninteresting politician doesn’t help. (2)

16:04 2CA – Sport segment of the news (with Peter Lusted), AFL, Rugby League, Olympic preparations and US Baseball. 2CA Traffic with Warren Purchase. Very comprehensive although there isn’t much happening. 2CA weather with the announcer, Leighton Archer. There isn’t much to say about the weather except that it was presented well. Promo for “Snow Stars” competition. Very good song Elton John’s “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues”. Sounding good! (5)

16:08 JJJ – The less I know about this track (“An Englishman In Ibiza” by Disco Stu) the better I think. Horrid and repetitive. Actually I think this track (definitely not a song) might be a language lesson…although I’m not sure what language the English components are being repeated in. I’m sure it sounds good when you’ve had a bit too much to drink and probably injected something illegal…but I, thankfully, don’t fit in to that category. (0)

16:12 2CC – Mike Welsh talking to John Lehmann, Editor in Chief of Bulletin Magazine about the federal seat of Bennelong. Not the most exciting conversation, but it got better towards the end. Traffic with Warren Purchase, comprehensive coverage of traffic flow. (4)

16:16 Classic FM – A light and mildly interesting piece of classical music, and the dynamic range on this one is much better for radio than the previous attempts. (4.5)

16:20 666 – They’re playing music…it was good when it started out as a piano solo, but the poorly recorded tone-deaf vocals on this one are truly appalling. Tim James live in the studio apparently, and the sound quality can be forgiven because a microphone collapsed. Tim James starts telling the host Louise Maher about his charity work. Louise then moves to News Headlines with Julian Abbott…no local news even rates a mention except for the current temperature despite half a dozen national and international stories getting a rather lengthy reading. Promo for the Australian Rugby Championships. Louise starts chatting with ABC TV Newsreader Virginia Haussegger about the interest rate rise…it does help to read the right figures Virginia, especially when you’re a prominent newsreader…Kudos for noticing the error though. (3)

16:24 ABC RN – Discussion about the global economy, and whether the governments of Bob Hawke and Paul Keating had more of a positive impact on our economy than that of John Howard. The rather slowly talking presenter insists on breathing on the microphone constantly…otherwise it was pretty good. (4)

16:28 Mix – The tail end of the sport, followed by the weather and a studio based traffic report which just didn’t seem to have the same immediacy as the traffic reporter on other stations (Updated: Not entirely sure why…maybe the studio sound quality makes the report sound less like it has come from an actual reporter). Promo for Mix 106.3’s changing playlist based on the feedback of listeners. Ad break: Capital Ink Services, Harvey Norman, Andy’s Auto Gas, Rubelli Furniture, Rydges Priority Guest, Rolfe Subaru, ACTION Bus Service Outage Announcment. Pretty good. (4 5)

16:32 104.7 – I don’t know and I don’t want to know that this is…it certainly isn’t music. I do have some advice for the alleged artist though…if you don’t want to be in love, you don’t have to tell us about it. Particularly well produced station ID. This song is at least bearable…U2’s “City Of Blinding Lights”. (3)

16:36 NewsRadio – Parliament, and finally a politician who is interested in what she is saying, Senator Milne. Unfortunately her time is up just after I tuned in, and Senator Ron Boswell stars telling parliament (whilst the NewsRadio voice over person talks over the top of him to introduce him) that the Greens hate logical debate and are very naughty…or something like that. He then talks about how we will keep track of any uranium that we send off-shore. Plenty of “um”s and “ah”s, but surprisingly interesting listening to Senator Boswell accusing everyone else of being disorganised. (4)

16:40 2CA – A good song along the lines of “wrap me in your arms like I know you can”. 2CA “Super Memory” ID. Grass Roots’ “Midnight Confessions”, quite a good song. Leighton Archer back announces some songs and announces that all the “Snow Star” songs have been played and to keep an ear out for the cue to call to win a holiday in the snow. Leighton then talks about what’s planned for tomorrow’s breakfast show with Larry Appley. (4.5)

16:44 JJJ – Well, this (“It’s Not Over Yet” by Klaxons) is slightly better than whatever they were playing last time, but it is still absolutely dreadful. Announcer talks about how terrible it is that someone in that band broke their foot and couldn’t tour Australia (hooray!!). Promo for JJJ segment Top Shelf. (1.5)

16:48 2CC – Mike Welsh talking to ACT Senator Gary Humphreys who doesn’t think the Greens have a decent framework for running the country. Mike then summarises the conversation. Ad Break: Neil Diamond imitation concert, Grantley Perry and Sons Funerals, Millennium Audio Visual, Sassy Lassy Lingerie. Mike Welsh ID. Mike introduces traffic. Warren Purchase provides another good traffic report. (4)

16:52 Classic FM – If medieval knights danced in public, it would probably be to this. The presenter informs us all about the title and conductor of the music, and then introduces the next piece of music by daftly trusting an automated Internet translation of its title. The music unfortunately didn’t warrant such a lavish introduction as it is a rather strange and boring repetitive bit of piano music. (3)

16:56 666 – Louise Maher talks to Robin Poque from the ACT Olympic Council about some money the ACT Government is providing to the athletes in the form of a grant. Louise then asks who will be going to the Olympics, to which the guest reminds her that they haven’t been selected yet. Louise then questions whether $80,000 is enough, and seems to insist on interrupting answers…the guest doesn’t seem overly impressed about it but tries to get on with his answers. The questions are, unfortunately, very poor, and very scripted. Louise then mentions the temperature, says they will examine the interest rate rise after the news and announces five o’clock a few seconds early. Promo for fishing segment on tomorrow’s breakfast show. The guests were interesting, but they had to work around Louise’s poor style of interviewing.(3)

17:00 ABC RN – News with Julian Abbott , headlines, Interest rates rise report, Pro-Labor report about how marvellous Labor’s performance (and how poor the Liberal’s performance) was in Parliament today, House prices rise with soundbite from housing affordability person talking about how hard it is to rent a property, share market rises, Currency report, Labor announces how much money it wouldn’t spend if elected, finally some local news with the local timber mill fiasco. A fairly unbalanced news bulletin with minimal actual content for the time spent. (1.5)

17:04 Mix – Sport segment of the news with upward inflections at the end of each sentence. Finance report with Will Cameron from ABN Amro on the phone who does a pretty good job. Weather clearly pre-recorded with a very obvious cut in it. Traffic from the studio Update: ATN (a minor elocution lesson wouldn’t hurt). “Feel Good Vibe” station ID. Good song though, Roxanne by Sting and The Police. (3 4)

17:08 104.7 – Announcer introduces “Top Five at Five”. Song from Rihanna “Shut Up and Drive”, I can’t say that I’m enthused about this song, but it would be acceptable for a short period on hold. 104.7 Top Five at Five ID with Sponsor mention (but do they really think “Making the time of the day and the number of songs the same” is a clever promo?). (2).

17:12 NewsRadio – Parliament again, a politician tells us all how farmers can look more professional and talks about how one particular family could be the last family farmers in existence. A clever accidental mix of “farmer” and “family” at one stage…”farmerily”. I’m not sure what a “thote” is though…could be a “thought”. Politician is really uninteresting and not in the slightest bit sincere. (1)

17:16 2CA – I recognise this song but can’t put my finger on the title…it’s a remake of “Every Night” by Paul McCartney…can’t work out who is singing though. They are venturing close to strangled cat status with these last few “oooh ahh” bits. 2CA’s mini-series Captain Kremmen of the Star Corps promo. Ad: Boney M concert (sponsored by 2CA). Kremmen of the Star Corps begins, this really is a very interesting serial and it’s a pity I have to leave it. (4.5)

17:20 JJJ – Interview with someone about…not entirely sure to start with, but it appears to be about the Portable Film Festival. They play a sound clip and annoyingly laugh over the top of it. The conversation isn’t particularly interesting but it’s an awful lot better than the music they’ve been playing. Not surprisingly for this station, the presenters ramble on about something completely unrelated (hovering public transport), then start a bad song (“D Is For Dangerous” by Arctic Monkeys), announce the station’s name late and then almost fade out the song. (3)

17:24 2CC – Mike Welsh introduces Anita Quigley from the Daily Telegraph who is on the line to talk about the Catholic Church’s proposal that they give priority to Catholics in Catholic schools. Anita seems to know a fair bit about the subject and the conversation is quite enlightening. (5)

17:28 Classic FM – A rather slow piece of music…not really an ideal choice for the journey home from work unless you want to fall asleep or have barricaded yourself in your office following a really really bad day and need an audible tranquilliser. The announcer then tells us how precious the recording is and how marvellous it is (surely we can decide for ourselves?) and then we have something which sounds like it may have been recorded in a Catholic Church at some stage. Roughly as tranquillising as the last piece. (0.5)

17:32 666 – Where do these people find this bad music? I can talk in a not quite semi-musical tone over the top of a looping guitar at a low bitrate as well, but I choose not to. It’s mildly distorted, so yet again they are feeding it to the equipment a bit too loud. Apparently it was called “As You Do Now” by Susan Vega or something like that. Kieran McKekkney (a female Kieran?) joins Louise Maher from Parliament House. Kieran provides a fairly good quality and impartial analysis of the interest rate rise although does get talked over a bit by Louise. Thankfully Louise kept out of the conversation for the most part. (4)

17:36 ABC RN – The presenter (New Zealand correspondent Peter Lewis) is talking about Maori affairs and playing sound grabs from various Maori representatives. The story is relatively interesting, but Peter Lewis might as well be in the chamber at Parliament House as he doesn’t sound remotely interested in the topic at hand. The studio presenter then introduces a story about genetics affecting intelligence, and then interviews Charles Murray, the author of a book about this subject. Mildly interesting, but the presenters really do speak far too slowly. They sound ridiculous talking at that pace when everyone else they talk to on the air talks so much faster. (2.5)

17:40 Mix – It’s a song 2UE have used in some of their promos, “In Love Again” by Rogue Traders, I like this song. Presenter Erin Miller back announces the song, and then talks about how she likes to think about Pyramids, and how she would like to see the pyramids in Egypt…it’s an effort to introduce a competition where that is the prize. Traffic report from the studio. (4.5 5)

17:44 104.7 – This song would sound good without vocals (reflections of the sun…or something like that)…why do people who can’t sing insist on doing so? Traffic from the studio (Updated: ATN) with the same person who does Mix 106.3 traffic, brief but does the job, but again, it doesn’t have the immediacy of a real traffic reporter. Ad Break: Green faces, MacDonald’s Name-It Burger, Harvey Norman. (4)

17:48 NewsRadio – Parliament, a politician tells us a story about a pensioner who has a hard time buying beer, and then talks about cheap electronics being used to calculate the pension. The NewsRadio presenter talks over the top of the middle of this politician’s speech to re-introduce him. The politician then says that his pay, and that of his colleagues, should be set by an independent body. Not exactly riveting, but interesting enough. (3)

17:52 2CA – 2CA Station ID. “Lady Love” not sure of the artist, good song though. Leighton Archer informs me that it’s Lou Rawls, and then he gives me hints about the songs coming up after the news. Promo for Larry Appley breakfast show featuring entertainment reporter Peter Ford. (4)

17:56 JJJ – Someone talking about how worried they are about being underpaid at work, followed by the presenter saying that if you have similar concerns you should ring the Workplace Ombudsman. Then it’s on to a story about how the Beijing Olympics are a year away and an interview with somebody using it as a launching platform for their protest about Tibetan Human Rights. Mildly interesting, and much better than their attempts at playing music. (4)

Samuel

2 comments August 9th, 2007

Letter to Peter Leonard

As promised, here is a copy of the letter I will be delivering to WIN Television this afternoon (and hopefully be able to deliver to Peter Leonard in person).

Dear Mr. Peter Leonard,

I am writing to you to thank you for doing such a marvellous job as the newsreader on WIN News here in Canberra for as long as I can remember, and to wish you all the best in your retirement.

For as long as I can recall, you have been reading the news on WIN Television, and because of that you have been a constant and reliable part of my life.

News, as you know, is a vital part of our society, and relies on trustworthy people to deliver it. The fact that you have been warmly welcomed in to peoples’ homes every night for years is a testament to the trust and respect that people have in you. You have worked hard to earn that, and you deserve it.

I’m sure that very few of us will ever forget the way you, and the rest of the WIN News team, turned up at the WIN studios on the day of the devastating 2003 bushfires. None of you had to do this, but you did so because you all felt compelled to cover this terrible and extraordinary event, on a day that you weren’t even scheduled to be on the air.

Your commitment to delivering quality news and information to the Canberra and Queanbeyan community is something I greatly appreciate and thank you for, and I’m sure the rest of the community do as well.

I will greatly miss you. As I said, you have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, however you truly deserve a wonderful retirement, and I wish you all the best for your retirement. I hope it is as relaxing and productive as you desire.

Canberra won’t be the same without you reading the news each night, however I’m sure that Jessica Good will continue the great tradition you have been a part of.

Incidentally, I had a conversation with your former 2CA colleague John Kerr on the weekend, during which I mentioned to him that you are retiring. He said that he would send you a message, however I know that John can sometimes forget these things, so in case he didn’t get around to sending you a message, I would like to let you know on his behalf that he also wishes you all the best in your retirement.

Thank you for everything you have done for this community, you have been, and always will be, one of my idols.

Your Sincerely, with the best possible wishes for the future,

Samuel Gordon-Stewart

1 comment July 20th, 2007

Farewell to Peter Leonard and John Ringwood

As many of you would already be aware, WIN News’ Canberra newsreader Peter Leonard is retiring at the end of tonight’s news following 16 years with the station. WIN television are putting on a special news bulletin to farewell Peter, the basic format will be the same except the news after the first ad break will be replaced by the sport, and the usual sport slot will be replaced by the weather, and the normal weather slot will be replaced by a tribute to Peter.

Jessica Good will be taking over as the primary newsreader next week, however no weather presenter has been appointed. It is expected that Jessica will read the weather from the news desk.

That reminds me, I need to pass on a message to Peter from his former 2CA colleague, John Kerr.

ABC Canberra’s television weather presenter John Ringwood is also having his last bulletin tonight. Rumour has it that 2CN’s (666 ABC Canberra for those of you not familiar with the callsign) garden expert will take over as the weather presenter. That might sound odd, but considering that last night they presented a five minute editorial from federal political editor Jim Middleton as news, no change in that place would surprise me.

I met John Ringwood once outside the ABC studios in Dickson and we had a rather lengthy chat. He seems like a gentleman, and I wish him all the best for the future. (Apparently that will involve some parliamentary reporting…maybe he could replace Jim Middleton).

Incidentally, I’ve been informed that prior to moving to WIN Television, Peter Leonard was the weather presenter for the ABC…which makes tonight’s events even more interesting.

Also of interest, it’s 2GB news director Ian Ferguson’s last day with 2GB. He is moving to a senior role with Sky News. 2GB current affairs director Jason Morrison will take over as news director until a replacement for Mr. Ferguson is found.

Later today I will publish the letter I have written to Peter Leonard…I intend on delivering it to WIN’s studios in Griffith Kingston (why do I always get those two suburbs confused?) this afternoon.

Samuel

5 comments July 20th, 2007

Samuel’s Musician Of The Week

This week I am giving the award to George Ivan Morrison OBE (more commonly known, quite simply, as Van Morrison). Van Morrison is a musician I was thinking about during the week for no particular reason, and the musician that enters my mind every time I think of 2CA’s Leighton Archer, mainly because on a day earlier this year when a nice uplifting song was just what I needed, Leighton was on the radio and he played the feature song for this week, Bright Side Of The Road.

From the dark end of the street
To the bright side of the road
We’ll be lovers once again on the
Bright side of the road

Little darlin’, come with me
Won’t you help me share my load
From the dark end of the street
To the bright side of the road

And into this life we’re born
Baby sometimes, sometimes I don’t know why
And time seems to go by so fast
In the twinkling of an eye

Let’s enjoy it while we can
(Let’s enjoy it while we can)
Won’t you help me share my load
(Help me share my load)
From the dark end of the street
To the bright side of the road

And then into this life we’re born
Baby sometimes, baby sometimes I don’t know why, don’t know
And it seems to go by so fast
In the twinkling of an eye

Let’s enjoy it while we can
(Let’s enjoy it while we can)
Help me sing my song
(Help me sing my song)
Little darling come along
On the bright side of the road

From the dark end of the street
(From the dark end of the street)
To the bright side of the road
(To the bright side of the road)
Little darling come along
On the bright side of the road

From the dark end of the street
(From the dark end of the street)
To the bright side of the road
(To the bright side of the road)
We’ll be lovers once again
On the bright side of the road
Well We’ll be, we’ll be lovers once again
On the bright side of the road

We’ll be lovers once again
On the bright side of the road

Samuel

May 20th, 2007