Movement at the Stations

Well, most of the shock jocks are trudging back to work, and some changes to the Sydney radio landscape should be noted. 2UE have taken the interesting step of uniting breakfast host Mike Carlton with his summertime replacement, Peter Fitzsimons. It will be interesting to see how this experiment works - both are gutsy, outspoken, intelligent and very funny blokes, so there's bound to be sparks, but is the radio big enough for the two of them? Both have such dominant personalities that it's hard to see either playing the sidekick. Carlton's show has always been the smart alternative to the occasionally soft-centred ABC 702 Breakfast - it remains to be seen whether this will give it the ratings boost 2UE is clearly after.

Speaking of ABC 702, it looks like Adam Spencer's long awaited debut in the breakfast slot will be some time off yet, but the new programming format begins on Monday. The breakfast show now ends before AM at 8am, and Virginia Trioli begins at 8:30am, ending at 11am. There's now a new show, hosted by Richard Fidler (I really should stop saying formerly of the Doug Anthony Allstars ...), called The Conversation Hour, and described as ... well ... conversations. For an hour. It's the biggest change in ABC 702's line-up in living memory, and its listeners tend to be creatures of habit (the caller who told Angela Catterns `We'll miss you' has been endlessly quoted as a case in point - not the least by observers of her new employers, Vega FM, who recently sacked Saatchi & Saatchi in favour of new talent to relaunch the disappointingly received station), so it will be interesting to see their reaction to the myriad changes.

Meanwhile, the Sunday political shows return in a few weeks, with the new souped up Insiders making its debut on the ABC on February 12th, Channel 9's Sunday also returning, with reinstated executive producer John Lyons.