Geelong isn’t on the fringe of the Melbourne CBD like say Frankston is. It’s its own city with its own identity and own surrounding regional (moorabool, bellarine and surf coast). If you want a NSW example it’s Newcastle.
Geelong has been forced Melbourne centric news for so long now that most residents would probably think that anything from Geelong would be inconsequential. More likely to see a news report about a car hitting a tram in kew, than a story about a house burning down in Geelong.
That really is the issue now. Incumbency. Both my grandparents have lived their whole lives in Geelong and have always had to put up with Melbourne based TV and radio. It’s hard to change people habits 60 years down the track.
ABC does have an office in town, think it’s only one person (maybe two). They really should be doing more even if it only is online only. Still think there should be some form of local show but I doubt that would ever happen now.
I agree with some of that although I’m not sure Newcastle is comparable to Geelong. Newcastle is more than twice the distance from Sydney than Geelong is from Melbourne. Newcastle has never had access to Sydney media in the same way. You can’t get Sydney stations in Newcastle so it’s always had its own TV and radio.
Geelong might be a sizeable city in its own right but its proximity to Melbourne and the abundance of access to Melbourne media make it a different scenario altogether.
The NSW comparison I’d make is the Central Coast - which has a localised ABC which only gets ~5% in the ratings - it is unsurveyed but I suspect 702 ABC outrates it based on typical shares the ABC usually gets in regional markets. ABC Sunshine Coast similarly last rated 7% vs the 5% for ABC Brisbane.
When the big capital city ABC is readily receivable - it takes a big share of the audience even when a localised version is available. I would expect that a Geelong service, especially this late on, would have the same problem justifying people making the switch.
Geelong > Melbourne would surely be far more comparable with the NSW Central Coast > Sydney?!
Newcastle and the Hunter has long enjoyed a strong, independent local identity to the NSW state capital in most facets of life. The Central Coast…not so much - it’s probably closer to being an unofficial extension of Sydney, particularly with the Southern half of the Coast.
And if there was to be an ABC Local Radio Geelong anytime soon, I think it would be much like ABC Central Coast - Local Breakfast only and ABC Melbourne the rest of the time.
ABC should absolutely have a station in Geelong and surf coast with local breakfast, mornings and drive IMO, plus local sport on weekends. It’s big enough.
The NSW Central Coast (which again, has a higher population than Geelong) only has a local breakfast show on 92.5 with ABC Radio Sydney at all other times.
So with that in mind, I can’t see (or more to the point, hear) why an ABC Local station for Geelong would have anything other than local brekky with ABC Radio Melbourne at all other times.
Not sure where you get the low pay from, but their prescence is a news bureau, not a radio station, however there have been times when they’ve used The Pulse’s studios for radio interviews.
Her colleague Rafael Epstein is broadcasting from home, isolating after attending at a tier 1 exposure site. He was at the Victorian Government’s COVID press conference yesterday.
what’s the point, Geelong is only 60km in a straight line from the ABC Radio Melbourne transmitters at Delahey, and Geelong is technically in their service area, so they should cover Geelong on their breakfast/morning/drive shows. Apart from those times the programmes on ABC Radio Melbourne are the same all over Victoria anyway there is no need for a separate station just to cover Geelong. When Bay FM and K Rock go DAB+ from Murradoc Hill the ABC should have their DAB+ multiplex on there as well to cover Geelong, DAB+ reception from Mt Dandenong received in Geelong is hit and miss in some places.