UK

Our friends at Radioinfo in Australia have reported on how radio reacted to the Bondi shooting, including Christian O’Connell dropping his show plan for the day.

Steve Ahern writes:
With the end of ratings last week, most breakfast radio teams were scheduled to be on leave from today, but some Sydney breakfast presenters have delayed their holidays, returning to air this morning to cover last night’s Bondi shooting.
Talk radio stations were the first to go live last night as the attack on a Bondi Beach Hanukkah gathering took place just before 7pm. The ABC Listen app flashed an alert just before 9pm last night as ABC News Radio and the Sydney newsroom moved into live coverage.
2GB’s Ben Fordham returned to air this morning, along with the station’s news and production teams to cover the Bondi shootings. Fordham played a number of interviews with eye witnesses recorded by 2GB reporters at the scene around Campbell Parade. Fordham was ahead of the official death toll count, broadcasting that the number of people killed had risen to 16 this morning, a figure confirmed later by police.
As the morning progressed some 2GB talkback callers were critical of the Prime Minister’s response with divisive politicised comments. Anthony Albanese condemned the terror attack as an “act of evil antisemitism,” declaring the nation will never submit to “division, violence or hatred.”
ABC Radio Sydney’s Hamish McDonald went to Bondi overnight and is there this morning reporting into the ABC Sydney breakfast show, hosted by summer fill in Chris Taylor. ABC NewsRadio was taking audio from ABC tv’s news breakfast show in the early morning timeslot. As the morning preogressed, talkback callers to ABC Radio Sydney expressed support for the victims and a sense of solidarity against terrorism.
National current affairs program AM has full coverage of the attack with reporters and eye witnesses from the scene. After AM, the new drive presenter Thomas Oriti will present mornings, with local programming all day. Hamish Macdonald is at Bondi with an OB kit and will report into local programs during the day, with Jemima Huston field producing his reports.
The new Gold 101.7 Christian O’Connell show, scheduled to be a ‘getting to know you’ compilation program, instead switched into live mode with O’Connell taking calls from listeners expressing sorrow and solidarity with the victims and the Jewish community. The same show was not heard in Melbourne.
O’Connell opened the show saying: “This week we were hoping to get to know each other, but I’m sorry to get to know you this way…It didn’t feel lilke it was happening here in Sydney Australia… Today’s show is a show of hope and support.” O’Connell’s regular news presenter Patrina Jones is presenting the bulletins.
In an unfortunate music programming twist, the first song before that opening was Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark, with the lyrics “This gun’s for hire, even if we’re just dancing in the dark.”
In contrast, smooth FM’s playlist appears to have been adapted to the tragic event with summer breakfast presenter Byron Webb playing songs such as Bob Marley’s One Love and Olivia Dean’s Nice to Each Other and handling the tragedy with low key sensitivity. “We’re a little more gentle about our song choices today,” said Webb.
2HD’s Richard King is covering the shooting from Newcastle from time to time, with his program networked into Sydney’s 2SM. The station’s news director Dianne Coveny-Garland has been in Bondi all night and, after giving early morning reports to Richard King, said she will take a quick break to rest and be back with more coverage later this morning. A major feature in the networked show this morning is not the Sydney attack, appears to be a prerecorded sequence of Xmas songs with guests in the studio.
Other music stations were mostly playing their normal music playlists, with some appearing to be pre-recorded with ‘best of’ holiday compilations and music, the only mention of the terrorist attack being in the transport reports. Triple M’s pre-recorded Pilot Week show did not air in Sydney, with local presenters Cat and Woodsy on air with music and Sydney coverage.
Two gunmen, a father and son, opened fire on the Jewish holiday event last night as the evening was cooling after a hot summer day. 16 people have died, including one of the gunmen and about 40 people are being treated for injuries in hospital. The other gunman was disarmed by a member of the public and is now in custody. The incident has been declared a terrorist attack.
Story from Radioinfo.com.au here.

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Affinity Radio North East has officially opened new broadcast studios in Pelaw.
The launch also coincides with major DAB milestones for the station’s coverage in the region.
The opening took place on Thursday 11 December this year and marked four years since the UK’s first small scale DAB service launched in South Shields and Tynemouth, alongside one year of DAB broadcasting across Newcastle and Gateshead.
Affinity Media NE CIC, the community organisation behind Affinity Radio North East, welcomed volunteers, partners and invited guests to see the new facilities and hear more about the station’s plans for the future.
Among those attending were Pam Royle, the former ITV Tyne Tees and North East Tonight presenter, and the Deputy Mayoress of Gateshead, Sharron Potts, alongside local business sponsors and supporters.
Deputy Mayoress Sharron said: “What I love about Affinity Radio is that it’s all about the community. Projects like this bring people together and show what Gateshead does best.”
Pam said the station’s progress reflects long term commitment and local support. “It is tremendous to see the effect Affinity Radio has in keeping communities connected over the airwaves.”
Angela Tuplin, Director of NE Display Ltd and Affinity Media NE CIC, said the opening reflected years of work and community backing, adding that the station’s growth continues to be shaped by local involvement.
CEO and founder Kyle Scott said: “These new studios represent growth, opportunity and community, shaped by volunteers and supported by local businesses.”

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Emma Willis is set to take over the BBC Radio 2 Saturday lunchtime slot from Zoe Ball.

Zoe steps down from her weekly show on the station 12 months after leaving the breakfast show to enjoy more family time.
Zoe will present her final programme in the slot on Saturday 20th December and will continue to host specials on Radio 2, as she has done throughout this year.
Emma said she was looking forward to joining the station’s weekend line-up, describing Radio 2 as a station she has long admired and acknowledging Zoe’s contribution to the programme.
She added that she was keen to spend her Saturday afternoons with listeners.
Emma previously co-presented Sunday mornings on Heart Radio with Stephen Mulhern for six years and has been a familiar voice on Radio 2 since 2019, regularly deputising for Sara Cox on weekday afternoons and for Romesh Ranganathan and Claudia Winkleman on Saturdays.
Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2, said: “Emma is one of the UK’s most popular broadcasters and I’m thrilled that she’s joining the Radio 2 family. I’m certain that our listeners will welcome her with open arms.”
The programme will continue to be produced by Biscuit Jim and will sit within Radio 2’s Saturday schedule alongside Tony Blackburn, Dermot O’Leary, Romesh, Rylan, Liza Tarbuck, Gary Davies and Fearne Cotton.
Zoe said she had enjoyed her time in the slot and welcomed Emma as her successor, saying she was “over the moon” to see her take on the role. Helen added thanks to Zoe for her contribution, describing her as a valued part of the Radio 2 team.
As her first new project, Zoe will also present a new series of the Radio 2 podcast Eras, focusing on the life and career of Phil Collins. The series launches on BBC Sounds on Monday 19th January, with broadcasts on Radio 2 later in the month.

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V2 Radio listeners have helped collect around three thousand toys for children across Sussex and Hampshire.

The gifts, worth an estimated thirty six thousand pounds, will be distributed by more than twenty organisations.
V2 Radio staff have thanked everyone who donated to the campaign, which comes at a time when household budgets remain tight.
Programme Controller Ian Crouch said listeners “have once again got behind our toy appeal to help those families in Sussex and Hampshire that are struggling” and added that the donations will brighten many children’s Christmas Day.
Rebecca Newman Smith from Ashton Care Group, which sponsored the appeal, visited the station during the Brunch Hour and said she was moved by the scale of donations. She said the sight of the toys “nearly made me cry” and praised listeners for coming together to help others at a time of need. Rebecca added that people were “changing lives, making such a difference to people when they need it most”.

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GTN UK’s long-serving Chief Operating Officer John Quinn is set to step down on 28 February next year.

Tim McCabe will become Managing Director from 24 December, with both working together over the coming weeks to ensure continuity across the company’s radio travel news and advertising operations.
John joined the business in 2009 after GTN acquired UBC Media’s commercial division and has been a central figure in running UK operations.
The company says he leaves after more than three decades in the radio and media industry and has helped shape GTN’s development through his knowledge of the commercial radio sector.
In a statement, GTN thanked John for his contribution and wished him well for the future.
Tim is already well established within the organisation and brings detailed understanding of its UK activity. GTN says his industry experience and close involvement in the business make him well placed to lead the next phase of its work with radio groups and advertisers.
The company added that it looks forward to working with Tim as he takes on the role and continues to deliver advertising solutions across the UK.

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The Radio Academy is inviting members to put themselves forward for two vacancies on its Board of Trustees.

The organisation, soon to be known as the Audio Academy, says it is looking for candidates with wide industry experience who want to help shape the future of the UK audio sector.
The role involves guiding the Academy’s strategy and ensuring its work continues to support people working across radio, podcasting and wider audio. Trustees also oversee delivery of the Academy’s major events and programmes and help ensure the charity provides value to its members and the industry.
Members from all backgrounds are encouraged to express an interest, with the Academy highlighting its ambition to reflect the full range of voices and experiences across the UK. It describes the positions as a chance to champion talent, influence policy and contribute to development across the audio sector.
The Academy says it wants to hear from anyone who cares deeply about audio and believes they can play a part in supporting the community it represents.

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