Southern Cross Broadcasting’s negotiations with Stan Zemanek have concluded. Zemanek will not return to the 3AW Drive shift and will instead move back to Sydney to host 2UE nights from 28 January 2003.
Ross Warneke will continue as 3AW’s relief Drive presenter next week until a permanent replacement is announced.
Zemanek will present the 9pm to midnight shift on 2UE, returning to the timeslot that gave him his greatest success. After leaving 2UE he moved to 2GB mornings, hosted TV’s Beauty and the Beast then later moved to 3AW.
2UE General Manager Ian Sheppard told radioinfo: “People are over the moon about this news. Zemanek is the biggest name in night-time radio. I still get asked by my friends, taxi drivers and people in general – when’s Stan coming back? So many Sydney-siders love his program, and those who hate him still listen.”
Zemanek celebrated the news with his staff at the Royal Victorian Yacht Club after it was officially announced just after 5pm today. “It is great news, he’s thrilled and thinks it’s wonderful to be moving back to Sydney,” said a staff member from the gathering.
Zemanek spoke to radioinfo about his move:
radioinfo: Who is going to replace you?
Zemanek: I have absolutely no idea, that is for management to wrestle with.
radioinfo: If you were in management, would you choose Ross Warneke or Derryn Hinch?
Zemanek: Well, let me see, I’d have to decide on a person I’ve already fired 3 times or a person I’ve recently used for a fill in a number of times.
radioinfo: When you were at 2UE last time you did 7 til midnight. Why the later start?
Zemanek: In the last three years of my contract there until 1999 I was on the 9pm til midnight shift. That is where the bulk of the audience is. It increases late night. We have most to gain by doing that – you can go to sleep with me and wake up with Steve Price … What a horrible thought!
radioinfo: When you left 2UE nights to do mornings on 2GB, you said you didn’t want to go back to working at night didn’t you?
Zemanek: What I said then was that I wanted a break from the night shift, which I have had. What I’ve found is that at night you can be more creative and outrageous. In the daytime you are quite restricted, so I’m glad to be going back to nights.
radioinfo: What do you predict for 2UE this year?
Zemanek: It’s going to be a long hard battle against 2GB, they have the lead now, but we’ll see if we can change that now I’m back there. It’s a step in the right direction, my listeners hopefully should flow to Steve Price. Lawsy has been working hard holding up the station – now I’m back I will be able to give him a hand.
radioinfo: You and Southern Cross were playing ducks and drakes in the media during the contract negotiation. In the end was the negotiation process satisfactory?
Zemanek: It was a long drawn out process, but in the end both parties got what they wanted. I have a two year contract with 2UE and they are sponsoring my boat (which I’m about to go sailing on now). I will also keep my advertising company Metro Media – we have an office here in Melbourne and I will also open one in Sydney. A lot of advertisers are seeking my experience, and this new contract allows me to expand that part of my business during the daytime hours – I’m a workaholic!
radioinfo: Did you enjoy living in Melbourne?
Zemanek: Yes, it’s a terrific city, I can see why it was voted most liveable. But I love sailing, I love Sydney Harbour, my yacht is there, so I’ll be glad to be back in Sydney.
I kind of think Stan Zemanek has been treated harshly by the media in recent times, with all this talk of 'the failed shock-jock experiment'. The same thing happened to Derryn Hinch when 3AW dumped him only one year after firing Bruce Mansfield (who in turn was rehired).
How easily we forget... at first Stan 'increased' the ratings above what Steve Price had been getting. Likewise, Derryn Hinch was at first rating higher than Bruce and Phil were rating. Yes, in both cases, the ratings then started to fall, but two things must be acknowledged:
1) 774 ABC Melbourne gained ratings in the key morning shifts, and this has been acknowledged by their management as having impacted on all other shifts during the day. Also, events like the Bali Bombings would have sent many listeners over to the ABC for their richer news coverage no matter what 3AW tried to serve up.
2) Three years after Bruce and Phil's return to 3AW Nightline, ratings have now dropped to the same level that Derryn Hinch was getting when he was sacked. So with Nightine now doing no better than when Hinch compared it, it would be interesting to find out if Derryn Hinch was attracting more suitable demographics for 3AW three years ago than Bruce and Phil are now, given Derryn's more serious brand of talk.
Stan and Derryn are never boring to listen to because they always speak their mind. Hinch would be ideal for 3AW drive because there really isn't many strongly opinionated radio journalists in the league of Steve Price and to give Derryn much deserved credit, he came closer than anyone has ever done to pull lowly 3AK out of the ratings dead-zone. Will 3AK's ratings hold steady to justify their cost-cutting of Hinch?
You can be sure the bean-counters in at 3AK are searching through the professional employment classifieds in case next ratings day is not a happy one. The same people who indulged in a useless outdoor ad campaign for 3AK late last year, yet couldn't afford to hold on to the major cog in their publicity machine.
A recent book by razor-sharp authors Al and Laura Ries throws cold water on the effectiveness of advertising when measured against publicity. You really have to question the priorities of the bean-counters who make these clumsy decisions.
Derryn Hinch was under-valued and Stan Zamenek has been blamed for 3AW's falling ratings. It's very easy to use people who leave or get shafted as scapegoats.
For example, I found it rather silly when ARN came out and acknowledged on radioinfo the descision to change some of their station names had been an 'ugly' one, then proceeded to lay the blame on someone who had already left (the scapegoat), as if their hands are in some way tied to those decisions.
It's all to easy to blame things on people, when the people issues may in fact only be the thin edge of the wedge.
Stan is back where he belongs..2UE nights and I hope Southern Cross are making it worthwhile for him. He was awesome on 3AW but the audience did not warm to him and it's Melbourne's loss!!
Welcome back to Sydney Stan...and the regional networks that are sensible enough to take the show!
I believe it is best that Stan goes back to Sydney and Derryn goes back on in Melbourne. There are differences in how these two markets like thier talk formats.
Personally I'm a Stan fan and hope he is syndicated again (like the old days) to Brissy. This would mean we could hear him on the fringe from 4BC (Brissy) on the Gold Coast.
I'm that much of a Stan supporter that I would even run repeats of his shows on my NAS licenses here. This would suit the Narrowcast rules for them now. Obviuosly only if his bosses agreed to the rights at a reasonable cost!!!!! How about it any one reading this?????
I don't think they will bring back Hinch... but dedicated Zemanek listener's will follow like black sheep. It might affect 2GB temporarily in a bad way until they think of something else to fill in the vast gaping hole of talkback.
I'm sure everybody in the radio community is saddened at the loss of Owen Delaney. I had the pleasure and privilege of chatting with Owen on a daily basis just before my breakfast show on 3AW all those years ago. What an easy going, personable, intelligent bloke. A professional radio man through and through who will be sadly missed. To Owen's family, friends and colleagues my deepest condolences.
In Sally Jackson’s The Australian article (23/1/03) “New Year New Look For Strife Torn Station”, 3AK’s Jeff Chatfield says, “The purge has been part of a new strategy: abandon the "high profile, high cost, massive ego model" of talk radio and put together a team of strong but lesser-known talents, skewing "younger and more female" than chief rival 3AW. Then promote the product, not the personalities.”
If Chatfield reckons the piddling $1500.00 per week ($900.00 after tax) was a “high cost” he has no grip on reality whatsoever and shouldn’t be allowed to hold a fishing licence let alone a broadcasting licence.
There’s an old adage about peanuts and monkeys and I’m personally and professionally glad to be no longer part of their sad little troop.
God only knows what pittances the new “lesser known” line-up is working for.
As for “massive egos” – Chatfield fits both categories!
The sooner he and the other two Swan Street Stooges (Ron Hall & Craig Lovelady) disappear off the radio landscape the better – what an absolute disgrace!
Sydney is welcome to Zemanek and he will probably be very successful there. 3AW should replace him with Derryn. Why do people want "Blackers for Breakfast"? His style is 80's and not entertaining anymore! Hinch is the only announcer I will miss from 3AK. Greg Evans was slow and ponderous, Yvonne Adele is much more entertaining and a breath of fresh air in the afternoons! Not so sure about Tim Ferguson but Rob Elliott is entertaining and irreverent. It is the management of AK that deserves criticism not those working on air at the station. But at least they try new names on AK, not re-cycled like AW. Tired and boring radio can be heard on 1278AM in Melbourne!
Hello Brendan Gurry and Brenda Rawlins, whoever you both are? So Brenda if someone disagrees with you do you usually resort to insults? That really shows intelligence and a sense of humour! Yes I am the anonymous poster you presume to have no intelligence or humour. I DID NOT insult Mr Blackman in any way as I have a lot of respect for him. Just stated my point of view. If he is so good though tell me when he last had good ratings? Back in the 80's on AW is the answer. And Brendan, you now have my name so I hope you are happy!
What happens when you are a lowly-rating station like 3AK on ratings day? How do you interpret anything meaningful from such low-figures?
The simplistic interpretation would be: Bottom of the barrel compared with 3AW.
Hardly a constructive interpretation, is it? Not when you are trying to build your ratings from an asterisk (from scratch).
I believe three important surveys for 3AK were the start of 1999, half-way through 2001 and the start of 2002. Each of these surveys place one announcer, John Blackman and then co-host Anna Pinkus in the first instance, then Mr. Hinch in the second and third instance, with 'above station average' ratings results.
I reckon "Above the station average" indicates the strongest program in a station line-up most likely to 'lead the charge' up the ratings ladder, eventually taking the rest of the station up too if the station mobilzes it's resources towards this program and tries to intensify the impact it is making.
Mobilizing resources may include extra PR/advertising for that program, more support staff and higher salaries paid than $150,000 per year :)
Maybe even a 20 per cent stake in the station itself :)
Alan Jones (2GB) and Red Symons/John Faine (774 ABC Melbourne) are the latest demonstrations of 'leading the charge' and eventually impacting on the rest of the station's performance.
(This stategy is probably more a goer for market challengers than defenders. Fox FM's Tracey and Matt rate 'below the station average', yet the station mobilized more resources towards defending their breakfast figures than any other shift during 2002, hence the Jerry Springer campaign. And it worked! A big ad campaign was Fox FM's best chance of keeping some of the spotlight since publicity was all going Nova's way last year).
Contrast the idea of intensifying one program's impact on the station's ratings with 3AK's new attempt to promote the product and not the personalities. In other words, no one is leading the charge anymore at 3AK. Jeff Chatfield's statement about doing away with the "high-profile, high-cost, massive ego' model of talk-radio indicates accounting is perhaps more important than marketing at 3AK.
There's no acknowledgement whatsoever that Hinch lead the charge that resulted in 3AK getting better ratings across the day.
What comes first, the chicken or the egg? The accounting or the marketing?
Since marketing costs money and 3AK are cash-strapped, it appears Data & Commerce value the accounting more, in-spite of the likeliness it's the marketing that pulls in the ratings.
In fairness, some of Mr. Chatfield's thinking is understandble. The first two years of Talk 1116 3AK has given the station the oldest commercial radio audience in Melbourne.
At the peak of 3AK's ratings heights last year, the station grabbed 8.2 per cent of the 55+ audience, but at the same time were only getting 4.6% of grocery buyers.
So up to this point, I can understand putting so much money into older talents like John Blackman and Derryn Hinch is risky if the only listeners they attract are outside the ball-park demographics that most interest advertisers. Much safer to diffuse the risk and disperse resources across all shifts and bring the station more into line with 3MP's 'younger and more female' skew. After all, 3MP is meant to be a station that can be sold with 3AK as a package, yes?
- BUT -
Data and Commerce don't just disperse resources across two radio stations, they also have to prop up two other business interests that are only remotely related to the AM radio operation at best.
Get rid of them.
The writing is on the wall, guys. Just look at what's happened at Austereo. No more Rumba! now that they are closing their live concert division after losing $3.8 million pre tax.
By trying to hang on to everything, Data & Commerce deny 3AK the ability to concentrate on feeding all money it makes back into their own business. With resources too dispersed, 3AK then become limited to the 'bean-counter' strategy, the cheapest format available rather than let marketing decide the best approach.
There's the risk right now 3AK's new attempt at a younger, more female audience is merely a goal, not a well thought out strategy. At first Blackman, then later Hinch were the eggs that hatched the chicken. The single programs that hatched the ratings which then hatched the ability to make money at all.
With no "high profile, high cost, massive ego" eggs left in their basket, the bean-counters may soon find egg on their face. Talk radio costs money, period. I feel sorry for Denis O'Kane having to work so hard against the odds. He knows 3AK needs to differentiate and should be applauded for appointing a great new team of announcers (give Sam and Jane a listen, it's the best thing they have done since the delightful Anna Pinkus co-hosted with Blackers).
It's the management I don't feel sorry for. Data & Commerce - focus on your radio stations, or simply forget it and get out.
It'll take more than just Stan to lift 2UE back to the top. However there is a legion of fans that will hurry back to him, whether they'll stay with the station is another matter. 2GB sounds fresh and alive, right now, 2UE sounds beaten over the air, anyone noticed?. If anyone can build it up to it's former glory, Stan Zemanek can do just that. On another note, if any station needs a huge shot in the arm,it would have to be 2SM. There are Sydney community stations that sound more professional and slicker than SM.