He seems to be able to fly under the radar. Have never read any criticism anywhere? I know everybody has to option to switch off. As mentioned earlier the show is so much better when he is on leave. Great concept of connecting Australia but it’s so aimed at the retired generation. Even they probably switch off.
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Concept is good. Host needs to be “retired”. That’s what it needs.
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As I wrote earlier in this topic, the show is the same as it was thirty years ago. They could probably replay an old show and no one would notice. I blame former ABC managing director David Hill, as it was his idea to put the country program Australia All Over onto the metro city stations.
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Gosh is that show still going?? People have been criticising that show for years. It seems it’s never changed
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Like I said, flying well under the radar!!!
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Macca is still alive? 
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Every Sunday 5:30 till 10:00
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We have the ABC Radio on every night as the noise helps the kids to sleep and was also good to have when we were up in the wee hours doing nappies and bottles etc… and it’s a habit we’ve just kept going because you can never get enough quizzes overnight but you also do hear some really interesting topics and discussions. However Saturday night is the worst, I have to remember to stream the Hobart station instead of my local North Tas because then I won’t get the Saturday Night Country and then I wake up to Macca on Sunday and I just can’t stand it. Especially when he craps on twice a year for weeks about daylight saving. There’s also a complete disinterest in some callers who actually do have some interesting things to say and it’s to the point of irritation and annoyance that they’ve called him, meanwhile there will be others that are so boring that he lets go on for what seems like hours. The other thing that gets me is he always advertises a gmail address, surely he’d have an ABC address that would be better to use?
Anyway, that’s my rant… Love the concept, not a fan of the host and definitely dreading the end of the 7:45 bulletin 
EDIT: The other fun thing to listen to overnight is Rod Quinn - my goodness he’s funny sometimes, people text him to get him so riled up and he reads some out and then says he’s referred others to the Police or he’ll really get stuck into some people too, especially if he suspects they’re cheating in the quiz or if they’re half asleep as some of them do tend to be.
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Yes, I’ve always wondered this and the ambiguous spelling of maccatracks@gmail.com
All I can think is that it’s a legacy from days gone by before they (Macca and his partner who is the female producer) had remote access to ABC email.
Either that or they’re sceptical of their own employer, highly doubtful as who would of the Ultimo latte sippers would be interested in the yearnings of the good ol days from an ageing audience they’re so keen to jettison from all delivery modes of the ABC?
What timing @littlegezzybear to mention David Hill as Macca is right on cue with a mention:
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Does anyone know when it is scheduled to end? I notice the short Fanfare is still being used at 7.00am.
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According to their website - the ABC North Queensland transmission tower will be undergoing upgrades - so the ACMA has licenced three temporary FM frequencies to rebroadcast the station.
From 21 July to early November 2020 a temporary tower will provide the ongoing signal to most of our listeners, but if during this time your signal is impacted, here are a number of ways you can continue to listen to ABC North Queensland.
Alternative Frequencies:
Townsville: 91.1 FM
Cardwell: 100.1 FM
Charters Towers: 100.1 FM(live now only during development)
Other details from their FAQ page of interest:
Q: Why replace the transmission mast?
The Brandon mast was built in 1959 and has come to the end of its life. Its replacement has been engineered to withstand stronger cyclonic winds than the current mast. The new mast will be 236m tall.
Q: Which areas will be serviced by the new temporary FM transmissions?
- 91.1FM will provide comparable coverage to existing ABC FM services in the Townsville area. This will cover the greater Townsville city including areas well south of Ayr to as far north as Ingham.
- 100.1FM will be available from Charters Towers, which will cover all of this township including out to 20km from the town centre in all directions including the A6, A7 highways and highway 63.
- 100.1FM will also be in Cardwell, which will cover all of this township and surrounding area including the A1 highway as far north as Tully.
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Just looked on the ACMA website and they are already licenced. Looks like 91.1 will be about 50kW ERP
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ABC lost rights to the super rugby this year?
Keeping the talent isolated ABC Melbourne style.
Might have been answered elsewhere but my Googling hasn’t brought anything up but does anyone know why ABC Canberra’s hourly pips are different to the other ABC stations?
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Maca is getting worse. Reading out poems this morning. Needs to be replaced
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Lol. I’m lucky I missed that bit. I think I listened for about 30mins this morning as nothing else interested me at the time on the radio. I was surprised not to hear any bird noises. But these were replaced by, as Macca quoted, “blood curdling” dingo howling noises for the interest of the city listeners that went on far too long. OMG I think I preferred the bird noises.
There was a bird story however from a listener though, of this wren that enters the home to clean the kitchen floor by eating food crumbs under the kitchen table. I nice idea until you think about bird droppings I guess… 
Poems have always been a part of the program, I thought. A story from 1987 when the show started on the metro stations:
Source: SMH 26 October 1987.
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Re Maca. I just can’t fathom how every program or media platform has adapted to the current day. I like the concept of the show bringing country to the city but when he rambles on with poems and bird noises there is a point were you have to switch. It’s just dribble. It’s our ABC
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You’ve got two options:
-
Don’t listen, plenty of other ABC and other platforms to get content from for a few hours a week.
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Complain to the ABC, let them know your thoughts.
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