Nine Radio (Talk)

Alan Pearsall (who’s been doing 3AW weekend overnights for many years) I actually preferred over the late great Keith McGowan (weeknights).

Thanks, I stand corrected.

2 Likes

I think, at one stage Alan Pearsall was a disc jockey, spinning discs!

1 Like

There have been so many changes in the last few years it’s hard to keep track of them all!!

1 Like

He used to pop up on Magic from time to time as holiday cover

1 Like

Was never much of a frequent listener but I’d agree with that. McGowan seemed a cranky old man most of the time. Probably haven’t tuned in to Pearsall since Yvonne Lawrance left and Sexually Speaking (11-12 Saturday’s) ended.

2 Likes

he was at 3AK I believe during its beautiful music days in the 1970s and was there again (or still) during its various takes on the same format in the late 1980s.

1 Like

They paying for the cost of two producers there, the on air talent already has a variety of titles at 4BC.

Very nasal, may have content/reasoning but presentation not there.

They haven’t in Adelaide, flick on AA now, you’re likely to hear similar with Jeremy and definitely overnight which sounds like an insomniacs club.

Sport is not my main interest in talk radio but having the sport hour before the 6am bfast for AA is a welcome break from the overnight ‘club’

Didn’t he do mornings briefly on TL?

Best thing he did was have a chat to his old apprentice from Bathurst, MMM GPD Mike Fitzy Fitzpatrick to do overnight talk on MMM

Exactly, wonderful radio. Even if the Darling Downs mostly suffer with it on AM.

You could suggest he try Golden Days Radio for that to continue :wink:

Due to incompetence, lack of consistency is poor management or lack thereof.

Good show.

2 Likes

Yes Luke Bona did mornings in literally the dying few weeks of 2UE then moved to early evenings at the start of TL in Sydney but was on his way to Triple M within a couple of months

1 Like

I am enjoying all this speculation!
What I do know is that when MRN merged with Fairfax Radio they only wanted Breakfast and Drive to come out of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and everything else networked out of Sydney. Of course Neil Mitchell through a spanner in the works as he continues to rate highly. They didn’t really want the music stations in Melbourne and Sydney, had no real idea what to do with 2UE other than it was an iconic call sign and really did not want Perth as it was too far away. Looking back now, what a mess! and hardly no programmes out of Brisbane. The upshot is that 2GB and 3AW continue to rate well but at what cost.

3 Likes

Sorry, I meant music stations out of Melbourne and Brisbane.

If 4BC had had a stronger-performing breakfast show at the time of the merger, perhaps fronted by a long-standing 4BC favourite like Greg Carey or Peter Dick, I think it might have escaped the networking of Alan Jones - but as we know, that wasn’t the case.

On 3AW I suspect Macquarie are very torn. On the one hand why would you meddle with such a successful lineup that consistently delivers the ratings and the cash. On the other hand there must be a temptation to increase the amount of networking with Sydney to reduce costs - although no doubt the experience of MTR is still in the minds of some at Macquarie Towers as a stark reminder of how what works in Sydney doesn’t necessarily work in Melbourne too. That said, I’m sure that if Steve Price does take over the Chris Smith slot, the temptation to network the show to Melbourne might prove too great to resist - and would be testing the water on how well daytime networking does go down in Melbourne.

Only time will tell but yes, wonderful to speculate!

3 Likes

7 assets yet only 2 are successful, what a disaster. Shareholders should be asking questions why fiduciary duties aren’t being met.

Precisely.

The content change was the big problem, the network direction was for ridiculous, magazine content, so Greg ‘retired’ and other great talent such as Gary Hardgrave and Peter Dick either sacked or left.

The change of content happened after David McDonald, the GM holding back the dam wall saw the writing on his own wall and also left, uncomfortable with their Fairfax decisions being made by… you guessed it, Adam Lang.

That male is the chief mucker of the lot yet retains his job. Must have a lot of ‘photos’ that the board keeps him on. Shareholders and clients deserve better, a network without him making the decisions.

We know with the nights figures that it’s only the 10 - midnight local slot that props up the night figures. The rubbish of an hour of money show and two of 2GB nights is no magnet for the usually loyal AW audience.

I’d like to see Nine walk away, acquire SCA and leave MRN to work their own mess out.

I am certain that either the Camerons buy the network on their own or with Blyton and Caralis. It will be a largely devalued network without Jones et al. How long can Jones survive to continue? He’s not young and he’s not well.

2 Likes
1 Like

Ben Fordham has entered the Wilshire Zone.

2 Likes

What’s with 3AW playing the opening bars of Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” (The Alan Jones Breakfast Show theme) coming out of the 8am news this morning?

Is this a realisation by AW staff that the station is about to become even more networked from Sydney?

2 Likes

Is that really his theme song? I thought that was a joke! How queer! I am gay

1 Like

It’s played after the 5:30 news and just before 9:00am.

1 Like

I wish we were joking, but “Gloria” by Laura Branigan really is the theme music for Alan Jones’ breakfast show - has been going as far back as his 2UE days as well, to the best of my knowledge.

That also explains why you may have sometimes heard people refer to AJ as Gloria! :wink:

1 Like

From Radioinfo:

Australian Radio Hall of Fame inductee, John Brennan, who implemented Sydney’s most successful talk radio format has criticised the removal of radio star Chris Smith from 2GB.

Read more at: https://radioinfo.com.au/news/john-brennan-criticises-2gb-dropping-chris-smith

1 Like