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When Ray Hadley hangs up his microphone for the last time next month, he will have dominated the airwaves in Sydney’s fiercely contested morning radio schedule for more than two decades.
But the coming battle to replace him will be just as disputed.
Hadley’s departure, at the end of the year’s grueling ratings season, will give Nine top brass the summer to decide on the presenter’s eventual successor at its flagship 2GB station.
Insiders said several names are already being discussed quietly within the radio network’s executive suites, although they know replacing Hadley will not be an easy task.
His morning show, which is syndicated on more than 30 outlets, has earned first place in every radio poll since 2003.
Its dominance has made it one of the network’s most profitable shows and a much-needed revenue stream at a time of declining advertising revenue across the company.
Sources told Daily Mail Australia that meant there would be no room for error in naming Hadley’s heir, and that network executives would be looking for a “radio person” who already had “board careers.”
Ben Fordham
Ben Fordham is probably the short-term favorite, having earned himself a night of
When the bookies start giving odds on Hadley’s replacement, current 2GB breakfast show host Ben Fordham is likely to be the short-term favourite.
The tireless broadcaster has repeatedly proven that he is more than capable of winning over audiences.
Four years ago he was given the near-impossible task of replacing 2GB’s almighty Alan Jones and has since proven hugely successful in retaining the station’s critical early morning audience.
Before that, the Walkley Award-winning journalist regularly topped the ratings while fronting the outlet’s anchor schedule for more than a decade and has demonstrated his news chops with stints on Sky News, A Current Affair and 60 Minutes.
Is there anything this father of three can’t do? Well, maybe you enjoy sleeping in.
Insiders suggested that Fordham may well feel it’s about time he was allowed to hit the snooze button on his alarm clock and press ahead to the coveted morning time slot.
The only drawback? The internal reshuffle would simply create more headaches for Nine Radio executives, who would then have to replace him at breakfast.
Still, this is the one to watch.
Chris O’Keefe
If you look into Fordham’s shadow, you might well find his energetic Nine journalist, Chris O’Keefe, busy plying his trade.
Another highly respected journalist who has gained a following within the company’s executive ranks, O’Keefe is a Walkley Award-winning journalist who has also worked successfully in television and radio at the media giant.
As a television news reporter, he impressed as Nine Sydney’s state political editor before switching formats.
O’Keefe has since excelled behind the microphone after filling in for Fordham during lead time and is in a strong position to claim Hadley’s prized slot.
Of course, if Fordham ended up moving to mornings, it would be more than likely that O’Keefe would follow in his footsteps again and end up on the air during breakfast.
Whatever happens with 2GB, you can be sure that the young father’s name will be in the mix.
Chris O’Keefe (left) is a clear favorite for the job. Radio host Jason Morrison (right) has plenty of experience
Jason Morrison
If Nine executives are looking for experience, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone with more talking hours under their belt than Jason Morrison.
He began his long media career at 2GB as a cadet reporter back in 1989, at the tender age of 17.
Sure, but was it good?
Well, within just 10 years, he had been named the station’s news director, the youngest person to hold that position, and had been writing a weekly newspaper column. So it probably wasn’t that bad.
Like Fordham and O’Keefe, Morrison is a veteran of the 2GB drivetime schedule, having hosted the show between 2008 and 2010, when he was regularly seen on billboards around the city as part of an advertising campaign built around him.
He was also Alan Jones’ regular stand-in breakfast host during the golden age of talkback and, according to industry legend, even one-upped him for an extended period before defecting to rival 2UE.
Morrison eventually left radio for the glitz and glamor of television for eight years as news director at Seven in Sydney before taking time off with his young family last year.
His name has hit the headlines again in recent weeks following revelations that Sydney’s 2SM is pursuing him as its new owners plan to take the station from radio minnows to major players.
Liam Bartlett
When it comes to having a big radio presence, few can compete with Liam Bartlett’s booming baritone.
The award-winning journalist is a favorite among executives at every commercial network in the country (and even headlined at the national station for a time) because of his blunt, no-holds-barred approach to interviews.
This year, the father of three made headlines for his masterful interview with billionaire former media mogul James Packer, conveniently located on the wealthy Lister’s yacht off Tahiti, and for revealing the ‘hoaxed shooting’ scandal that engulfed to ABC.
Liam Bartlett with James Packer
Like Fordham, Bartlett is well known to national audiences for his long stints on Nine’s flagship news programs 60 Minutes and A Current Affair, as well as Seven’s upstart rival Spotlight.
After leaving 60 Minutes for the second time five years ago, he enjoyed a successful stint at 2GB’s sister station 6PR in his hometown of Perth before being lured back to the bright lights of television.
Sources said he enjoyed a strong relationship with Nine Radio boss Tom Malone while the duo worked together at 60 Minutes and should not be left out of the running.
In fact, inside sources said the imposing figure of the veteran broadcaster had been seen boarding a flight from Perth to Sydney on Thursday morning. Coincidence?
jonesy and amanda
The award-winning combination of Brendan Jones and Amanda Keller could well emerge as a wildcard option for Malone, who has never been afraid to take risks.
The duo have proven to be an extremely popular couple for Sydney’s WSFM with their breakfast show Jonesy and Amanda over the past two decades. They continue to attract the station’s best figures.
A move towards lighter entertainment at Nine Radio’s 4BC outlet in Brisbane was effectively declared a failure when high-profile trio Laurel Edwards, Gary Clare and Mark Hine were making the cut in September. – but the world is full of surprises.
Jonesy and Amanda would be an innovative move, but the world is full of surprises
Additionally, Jones and Keller are said to be currently in the midst of “awkward” contract renegotiations with their bosses at the Australian Radio Network and might consider it time to move to a network that really appreciates them.
And while fans are enjoying the double act’s light and cheerful (and very funny) conversational banter right now, insiders said they were both extremely talented and experienced radio personalities who were more than capable of making the transition to a format of more forceful conversation.
Would they want to do that?
Once again, the world is full of surprises.
Marcos Levy
Well, these names are all well and good… but what do they really know about rugby league?
What 2GB really need to do is replace Hadley with someone as well-versed in hard-hitting football as he is in hard-hitting news and current affairs.
At least, that’s what Daily Mail Australia readers have been arguing all morning.
For that reason, when it came to choosing the readers, the name that was on the tip of everyone’s tongue on Thursday was Mark Levy.
Reader’s Choice: Mark Levy
The fan favorite currently hosts the network’s Wide World of Sports show six nights a week, and although moving to mornings would nearly triple his workload, Levy has never shied away from a challenge.
As Levy’s fans point out. It would be unwise to pigeonhole him as simply a sports commentator: 2UE made that mistake with Hadley, which led him to switch to 2GB and the rest, well, as they say, is history.
After all, Levy won plaudits (and an award) for her live, ongoing coverage of the tragic Westfield Bondi Junction stabbings earlier this year, proving she’s more than capable of tackling breaking news.
Will the readers be right? Only time (and nervous executives at Nine) will tell.