Part of Australia’s rich media history: Nigel Dick AM

Now aged 83, Nigel Dick has worked in the media industry since 1948. Between 1956 and 1988, a time of huge change in broadcasting, he worked in several companies as a television and radio executive and saw first hand the evolution of the industry in Australia. It seems that  Nigel has never really retired, he is still working as a media consultant and researcher and is currently completing a PhD at the University of Melbourne. Nigel Dick shares some of his career experiences with radioinfo.

 

 

In his capacity as manager, and then CEO, of the Packer owned GTV9 in Melbourne, Nigel was one of those instrumental in acquiring 3AK Melbourne in the 1960s. Later, when the station was in difficulty, he hired Rhett Walker as its Program Director. 3AK Where No Wrinklies Fly was Rhett’s hit format.

Later, on a trip to Perth, he acquired the Nicholson Radio Network from Frank Whitford. It comprised four stations, 6PM Perth, 6NA Northam, 6KG Kalgoorlie and 6GE Geraldton. Nigel encouraged  Eric Fisher to manage the group. Under Eric’s tutelage the network was highly successful.

 

In 1969/70 Nigel accepted the role of Director of Television and Broadcasting for the Herald and Weekly Times Ltd and Chairman of HSV7 Melbourne. He had responsibility for chairing the 3DB/3LK board of management. For what he says was, in hindsight, a ‘masochistic moment’, he returned to the Packer group with responsibility to the Packers for all their television and radio interests.

 

When Nigel and Sir Frank Packer came to a ‘parting of the ways’, he turned down an offer from the Ansett group to become CEO of Austarama Television (ATV).  Instead he went to Victorian Broadcasting Network Limited (VBN) as its managing director and later its executive chairman.  VBN was the licensee of radio stations 4MK MacKay, 3TR Sale, 3HA Hamilton, 3SH Swan Hill, 3CV Maryborough,  6PR Perth  and 6TAZ/ CI Bunbury and Collie VBN was also the licensee of television stations BCV8 Bendigo and GLV10 Gippsland.

6PR was having problems competing with 6IX and 6KY. Each had ‘sister’ television stations and heavy cross promotion gave them a huge ‘awareness- advantage’.  Nigel brought in his old colleague and radio 3AK program expert Rhett Walker.  Rhett introduced his Gentle on your mind format and soon took 6PR to the top of the ratings.     

 

It was Nigel who instigated the change in the VBN name to Southern Cross Communications Ltd (with Pride in Australia under the Southern Cross).  Peter Harvie, then the managing director of ad agency Clemenger Harvie, was very much involved in the name-change process.  Peter became chairman of Austereo and has recently gone back to advertising after the Austereo merger.

Prior to the aggregation of regional television, Southern Cross agreed to an amicable take-over by a group headed by Peter Nixon, the retired federal parliamentary cabvarchar(15) minister.  

 

From 1986 to 1978 Nigel spent time as the Chief Executive of the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ). He had accepted a three year contract while the Corporation was undergoing change under the Lange Labor Government. The BCNZ had two advertising supported television networks , two non-commercial radio networks, a pop non-commercial radio network  and over 30 major city and regional commercial radio stations. The Corporation also had a magazine, the Listener, and a symphony orchestra.  Each division had at its head directors general, (radio and television),  a general manager (orchestra) and managing editor (Listener). They reported to the board through the CEO.      

 

After returning to Australia Nigel worked as a consultant in the radio and television industries. He also became the chairman of the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria . He was a founder of Odyssey House Victoria 33 years ago and continues on its board today.

In 1994 Nigel was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the media and the community.  He wrote a thesis on television for which he was admitted to the degree of Master of Arts in 2000.   He won the Prime Minsters Award “For Outstanding Contribution in Drug and Alcohol Endeavours” in 2007 and was selected as the Victorian Senior Australian for the Year 2010.

Nigel was on the Media Studies Advisory Committee at RMIT University for over a decade and still delivers the occasional guest lecture.  The University conferred on him the Degree of Doctor of Communications honoris causa in 2008.

His latest endeavour is his PhD candidature at the University of Melbourne. At 83, he is one of the older PhD students (he’s not sure whether he is currently the oldest). 

 

Nigel Dick, AM, was born 15th March 1928 in the UK, and immigrated to Australia aged 12 years old in the late 1940s. He became an Australian citizen in 1949. Nigel believes he has been very fortunate to have lived through much of Australia’s rich media history.