Get ready for 24/7 recorded bulletins coming into play before the year is out. Regionals are not happy with the number of mistakes coming from inexperienced and under-trained news readers.
Seismic changes that could impact the fabric of 3AW are coming as well. Mornings and football are being targeted and the changes will not go down well.
Games being called off screens from a studio? Talent being axed? David Armstrong being shown the door? Ross & Russ and Tom Elliott show consolidations? Weekday AM news being networked with Sydney out of 2GB?
If they get rid or Armo I’ll likely stop listening.
There had been a higher number of football matches being called from 3AW studios, due to AFL scheduling matches played interstate in early Saturday afternoons which is the station’s traditional timeslot. With Tasmania entering the competition in 2028, expect more non-Victorian home matches in the slot which will be outside 3AW’s control.
I don’t know who the newsreader was, but listening to the news on either Magic or 3MP the other morning, which I gather is syndicated from Tapt, the newsreader was talking about the upcoming 2026 Brisbane Olympic Games. 
As well as this the boxes at the MCG and Marvel aren’t cheap….. talking crazy money for them.
50/50 if 3AW is even doing AFL in 2028 beyond the current rights agreement.
Lucy will probably take Michael McLaren’s job. If they’ve axed Manyard for ratings then McLaren can’t be too far behind.
McLaren’s program has been going ok but I think 2GB has bigger problems. Drive is difficult because the FM stations in particular Smooth rate well because they play music people don’t want to hear all the negativity that 2GB talk about every day after a hard day at work. They in recent surveys have seen them come second to Smooth in mornings for similar reasons I would argue.
Not to mention if I listen to Ben in the morning, Mark in mornings, Michael in afternoons and James at drive and hear the same views and the same bashing of the Labor party I personally find boring and it isn’t doing themselves any favours. Like today the surcharge ban was a big component instead of saying why certain businesses have increased their prices above 2 per cent and that they should be reported and name and shamed as they would if a liberal government did that they used it to have a go at the government.
Their ratings will just continue to fall if they keep going the way they are.
McLaren sounds like an absolute tosspot. His voice alone is irritating. He’s up there with the likes of Marc Fennell in terms of people I’d avoid listen/watching like the plague.
Exactly. Even if they do put a woman, shock horror, like Lucy Zelic, in any spot, that problem will still remain. There is only so much Labor-bashing, ONP-praising one can put up with in any one day.
I suspect that if they do drop McLaren, it’ll become a national timeslot for the replacement. They’ll start to look to trim fat where they can.
So this afternoon during Drive with Felgate, there was a caller about a usual pile-up on the Western Ring Rd.
Transport Victoria’s Chris Miller called in to the program, as he often does, he used to work at ATN and set-up DTP’s team including taking a few reporters with him. Providing a live update (interesting in itself given they just lost the contract to ATN), saying “all lanes have now been re-opened”.
…And then the pre-recorded ATN traffic report a couple of minutes later goes “a multi-vehicle accident with lanes closed in both directions on the Ring Rd near Pascoe Vale Rd” 
Fail. Case in point exactly. Confusing drivers I’m sure.
I don’t listen to Michael solely because he stole the job off Deborah who I thought did a very good job. I felt sorry for her because she keeps missing out on certain opportunities.
The fact is the people who are moving into the age that would be listening to 2GB get their news elsewhere and are in many ways better informed than any other generation. I would say if Hadley was still hosting the same thing would be happening. You saw this as he lost the first survey in 20 years or some ridiculous long period of time just before he retired. Being noticibly bias and having a conservative agenda doesn’t work anymore. They have to change their approach otherwise the slow decline will continue. I think talk radio has a place in the modern landscape but not how it is structured now. I would say the only show performing well on 2GB would be breakfast.
If it’s 50/50 on 3AW continuing its AFL coverage, there has to be some doubt on 2GB keeping the NRL as well.
Rex Hunt might have a few things to say about that!
Madelaine Burke has grown me on these last couple of weeks, but yes, it’s in their best interests that David stays.
Denis O’Kane and Brian Wilson are good value on the weekends too.
He’s only as good as the team of journalists around him and it definitely shows as they’ve continued to cut and cut the number of shifts and rounds over the years.
It’s called The Summary, and the only reason I know about it is because today’s episode has been spammed promoted in the podcast feed of another 3AW show that I follow.
Saw someone post this today off the back of the ratings and I did have a bit of a chuckle. It’s pretty bang on.
Now that the football is over, sports presenter and producer Spiro Christopoulos (pictured main) and motoring journalist Trent Nikolic will look after 2GB and 4BC weekend afternoons and evenings. Trent takes over from the Two Murrays, Murray Wilton and Murray Olds.
Trent will host weekend afternoons. Spiro takes over on a Saturday night, through till 10pm.
