Ben Fordham has been named as the new host of 2GB’s breakfast program replacing legendary broadcaster Alan Jones, who this morning announced his retirement following advice from his doctors.
4BC Brisbane is likely to get its own local breakfast show.
Fordham is a Walkley award winning journalist who has won “Best Talk Presenter” in Australia five times and who has, for almost decade, served as 2GB’s host in the fiercely competitive Drivetime slot where he consistently tops the ratings.
Nine’s Managing Director – Radio, Tom Malone, says “We are delighted that Ben is stepping up to host 2GB’s breakfast program. For decades 2GB’s breakfast show has set the agenda for Sydney and the country, and Ben will continue this great legacy and bring his unique energy to the show.”
Fordham said he was excited to be taking up the mantle as host of the #1 breakfast show in Sydney, “I feel a sense of both responsibility and opportunity. There’s a huge responsibility in taking over from Alan and the opportunity to bring my own flavour to breakfast.
“Alan is the most successful broadcaster in the history of Australian radio. There will only ever be one Alan Jones. My first taste of radio was as a 15-year-old work experience kid on the Alan Jones breakfast show. I can’t quite believe that all these years on I’m taking over the position he’s made his own”.
After launching his career in the 2UE newsroom, and Sky News Australia, Fordham joined the Nine Network in 1999 and has been a leading reporter on A Current Affair, and a senior journalist for Nine News, including stints on the Today show, 60 Minutes, and working with Laurie Oakes in the Canberra Bureau.
Fordham has been awarded ‘Best Talk Presenter’ five times (2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019) and voted ‘Best Metropolitan Current Affairs Presenter’ in 2017 in the ACRA Awards.
Nine also confirmed to radioinfo it would look to introduce a local breakfast program to 4BC in Brisbane by June 1st.
Malone says, “With Ben in Breakfast, Ray Hadley in Mornings – broadcasting to more than 30 stations across the country, Deb Knight in Afternoons, and a new Drive host to be announced, we know we have the right team to build on 2GB’s great position as the #1 radio station in Sydney. Meanwhile in Brisbane we know 4BC deserves a local breakfast program and we will be making an announcement on this in the coming weeks.”
Ben’s father, the late John Fordham, was Alan Jones’ manager. Jones is still managed by the Fordham company.
Jones will have a non-compete clause in his retirement payout that precludes him for working on any rival radio stations or podcasts until July 2021.
Subscribe to the radioinfo daily flash briefing podcast on these platforms: Acast, Apple iTunes Podcasts, Podtail, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, or wherever you get your podcasts.
