ABC presenter Jon Faine on “The Conversation Hour” is someone I have listened to quite a bit especially during this year’s bush fire season. I found Jon Faine’s voice very smooth & soothing during these stressful times & made the waiting for fire updates emotional & informative. I have never cried so much listening to the radio!

The stories of struggle & hard ache he handled with composure but kept his distance somewhat. In “Mornings with Jon Faine” 8.30am-11am Jon’s talk back show covers current local news & events & is diverse & minority focused. His reporting style professional, educated & captivating. He definitely draws me in to what ever topic he chooses to discuss, even ones I didn’t think I was interested in! That to me is definitely a sign of a good presenter.

When I tuned in to his show on

 “Mornings on 3AW with Neil Mitchell” 8.30am-12pm discusses local community issues & is more current affairs & opinion driven than the more news based offering from Jon Faine. I tuned in to several mornings but most recently on 13^th July where the topic was public manners & swearing. Neil was trying to get his co-host Jane to get angry & they were get callers to discuss Road rage & their issues with strangers.  Segments such as Gloombusters helping Melbournians in need of support. Getting people jobs & helping small business owners to get the staff they are looking for. Great idea, free on air advertising when times are tough.

As a presenter Neil Mitchell is a good talk back host straight to the point & clear. He is a great facilitator for the callers & seems too really care about helping his callers as much as he can.

Neil Mitchell’s 3AW audience are more suburbian & there are ads while Jon Faine’s ABC program has no ads & more of a rural focus. They are appealing to different demographics & lifestyles. Both shows are great forums for discussion & debate on issues that are relevant to all Australians but in particularly the local listeners. Both presenters Jon Faine & Neil Mitchell are diplomatic & obtainable, successfully encouraging their audience to participate in their program discussions.

Joined by an array of educated regular guests, reporters & news presenters Kate delves deeper in to the Australian way & what effects people like me. I like it because it is always a topical weekly subject that Australia comments on. Stories  such as what makes an Australian man, death what really happens & Fire, Footy & Fate 3 very different Gippsland tales and the 80% carbon reduction by 2050 is it really a world achievement?.

The discussions are always factual & interesting & I believe well rounded. Kate O’Toole has an educated approach to the show & her producer Nat the rat & team certainly do their research.

Hack doesn’t just scrap the surface of issues. I feel by the weeks end that I always have a more educated view on the discussed topic and feel moved by the many interviews with people I feel in some way I can relate to or try to understand. Its my kind of educational program filled with insight and uncomfortable emotional subject matter. “Hack”  always happens to be on when Im driving home alone  & I really delve into these peoples worlds and empathise and relate to them through a captivating program. I feel like it makes me want to get involved & speak out on certain issues & create discussions among friends & family.

Copyright Naomi Davis Digital Zen 2009

Triple R “Breakfasters” 6am-9am Weekdays is hosted by Fee B-Squared, Sam Pang & John Origlasso for 3 hrs of music news, weather & entertainment with guest correspondents every morning. Music is again from mixed genres.

Both stations are very Fitzroy Collingwood in vibe, music & content to me which is great in its own right. I find Triple R to be quite Rock a billy & PBS more variety music. Both play less main stream, more underground, old school, multi cultural, undiscovered music than the bigger stations. Their aim is to promote up & coming talent & minorities being community broadcasters they certainly do that in regards to supporting & building the careers of presenters, employees & guests.

My preferred morning radio program is Triple J’s “Robbie, Marieke & The Doctor” I listen to it while I drive & it helps me wake up with great music & laughs. Hosted by Robby Buck, Marieke Hardy and Lindsay McDougall Triple J’s morning show appeals to 16-35 yos music lovers who want to listen to popular music that’s not Top 40. Featuring talkback, news, live interviews. Marieke is my favorite she sounds like a friend of mine & reminds me of people I know. It funny, intelligent & an entertaining start to my day & they make sure I start my day with a smile. It’s a national show so it doesn’t feel so close by & neighborly but the dynamic of the three hosts keeps me listening.

They have dominated the drive ratings & pushed other teams far behind. Their Drive Domination “Hamish & Andy” has made other stations nervous & scrambling for new ways to boost ratings however this has proven to be quite a struggle.

On television they are working with Roving Enterprises, channel 10 & guest appearances on other programs & networks.

Hamish & Andy have become big names in media in Australia, dictating new radio trends, having widespread television success & putting their names to endorsements where ever possible.

They have developed a name across all ages & mediums & have made excellent use of new technologies including internet podcasts & a new iphone application to get their content straight to your phone.

Their down to earth, personable approach make you feel like you are their with them sharing their jokes &  experiences.

Roy & HG are the brains behind Triple M’s “The Life” who  also share the Drive time market. The team that is Roy & HG have  moved from Triple J recently. I think they are a better fit on Triple M is much more appropriate for their style & demographic & will be more successful than when they were on Triple J. Personally I didn’t think their football filled Sunday show suited Triple J but on Triple M they are perfect fit.

In comparison to Roy & HG, Hamish & Andy are a younger fresher team with jokes that suit my sense of humor & wave length better. I find Roy & HG are also a quick witted, clever team but generally they are far more sport & football orientated than Hamish & Andy which I find far less appealing. Also I have met Hamish & Andy & their team & know how far they have come since their days & RMITV & SYN FM & have a lot of respect for that.

Both teams have great fusion & intuition with each other & I have true respect & admiration for that, as I know how hard sharing timing & dynamics can be sometimes. The hard team work, passion & dedication really shines through with both radio teams. Go guys!

Red Symmons is someone I & many Australians find intriguing. Hosting ABC Melbourne Breakfast Radio Mon to Fri 5.30-7.45am he’s approach is very straight forward & he definitely speaks his mind. I believe he’s breakfast show success on ABC 774 is largely due to the “love to hate” factor he has. He is quick witted multi-talented & definitely brings his own take on Melbourne.

On “Breakfast with Red Symons”, Red delivers a mix of news & current affairs, interviews, music & regular weather & traffic updates gets Melbourne up in the morning in an entertaining intelligent format.

Ross Stevenson hosts 3AW Breakfast with side kick John Burns. “Breakfast with Ross Stevenson & John Burns” contains fun segments such as The Literally File reporting on overuse of the word literally & regular entertainment reports by Peter Ford. They promote reverse charges talk back for overseas listeners & the double your pay competition is back. The news content is more sport & entertainment focused.

Comparing the two shows I find Red is popular because of his cheeky comic personality & educational, informative content & Ross is popular due to his talk back style, casual attitude & heavy sport content.

Personally I find Red’s style more intriguing & his voice easier to listen to & the content more my cup of tea.

Radio National “Breakfast” show contains the most national & international news content of all & is hosted by Fran Kelly.

The content is educational, varied & topical without being overwhelming. There’s AM, ABC News updates throughout & reports from CNN & BBC World Service.

For breakfast radio Radio National is great for world & national news, 774 is best for local Melbourne news, weather & traffic & 3AW is great for sports news, & local weather & traffic.  Depending on your tastes there is great variety out there in just these 3 breakfast shows. They are filling different niece markets & are highly successful because of this & them all being great sources of morning news & information.

                                                            Copyright Naomi Davis Digital Zen 2009

My first observation about both shows, was there were so many advertisements! Both stations seemed to have  more advertisements than content. Also both stations were very AFL, sports driven.

I find these stations will focus more on celebritiies and sports personalities rather than real news stories. They both rely heavily on gossip, hear say and the hosts and callers opinions. Neither breakfast show discussed important issues, or offered advice or education.  The lack of content or intellectual discussion is why I am not a fan of commercial radio such as this.

What NOVA does offer the listener is commedians. Hughesy is a popular commedian in Australia and giving him a radio show is a great idea. The hosts on NOVA are quick witted, human and come across as kind hearted. The presenters relationships are solid and trusting. It is evident Hughesy, & Kate  have healthy working relationships. They laugh together, finish off each others sentences and their discussions are no holds barred.

When I tuned in their show was all about people flashing out of car windows. So while the topic was very casual it made for silly, entertaining breakfast radio.

Gold FM is aimed at a similar audience but comes across as more mature. It is still very much aimed at a mainstream  Australian stereotype – A football loving suburban Australian who loves Top 40 music and works full time Monday to Friday but the demographic is about ten years older.

Grubby & Dee Dee had a slightly strained relationship the day I tuned in. Grubby sounded more like Grumpy and Dee Dee seemed a bit distant. Grubby was leading the conversation and Dee Dee seemed to be just agreeing with him and following his lead. Dee Dee seemed a bit cross with Grubby taking control and therefore she shut down a bit during the show.

The overall sound of Gold was more mature but less fun than NOVA.

Both NOVA and Gold seem to be aiming for the same type of audience and style of show but NOVA is more light hearted and has fresher content.

The presenters on NOVA are younger, more relaxed and have a friendly bond. While Gold’s Grubby & Dee Dee have more of a professional working relationship. They dont seem to trust each other very much. And I couldn’t imagine them socialising together.

Both stations have presenters who have a history of working together and therefore have a strong bond. However NOVA’s presenters Hughesy & Kate are the most down to earth, real and compatible of the two stations.