Australia is a massive country with potential radio talent out there in every corner of the nation, and ARN is on a mission to find it.
With increased investment in the regions and local news expansion plans, leading the charge is KIIS 106.5‘s The Kyle and Jackie O Show – and previous Power FM Bega journo – Brooklyn Ross.
Mediaweek caught up with Ross to chat about his new role, ARN’s local news initiative, and the record-breaking radio ratings survey three results.
As well as continuing his role as Kyle and Jackie O’s newsreader, Ross has a new title to add to his resume: News Talent Development. The role is designed to discover and bring the best of regional talent to the larger metro markets.
“It was a job that was crafted for me, particularly because of my rise up through the ranks of what is now a huge combined company,” says Ross. “It’s a role designed to help others do a similar thing, find up-and-coming talent across the network, and really work closely with them to get them up to the metro standard. We’ve got this huge network now, we’ve got podcasting as well. We want to find out where people want to be, and make it happen for them.
“It’s in addition to everything I do on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, which is pretty full-on as it is. It’s just a cool little extra bit of work I get to do – to me, a really rewarding part of the job is to help others rise up to where they want to be.”
The increased investment in regional news comes after HT&E (now known as ARN Media) bought Grant Broadcasters at the back end of 2021. The acquisition included radio and digital operations across 46 Grant stations and combined them with ARN’s existing 13 stations.
“ARN recently took over Grant Broadcasters, which was a great regional network – they really invested in local stuff. That was where I got my start, at a Grant Broadcasters station 15+ years ago now, down in Bega,” says Ross. “The great thing that the company did was keep everything local – they had local breakfast shows, local journalists, local drive shows. ARN has taken over, and they just have that same philosophy. We believe in local.
“That’s what the news strategy is, not only maintaining the local presence in all these markets, but utilising that to help with our metro operations as well. I’m one example of a local talent that has moved their way up to metro, Kyle Sandilands is another who started regional and look where he is now. It’s this great resource that we’re now able to tap into.”
Last month, ARN announced the launch of the first phase of its regional news expansion plans with the introduction of a series of local news initiatives in the Spencer Gulf and Eyre Peninsula regions of South Australia.
The expansion includes an extended, weekly 20-minute local news bulletin that takes a look at the week’s big stories. The bulletins are also available as a podcast.
“ARN is huge in the podcast world, we’re number one in that and we just want to keep growing,” Ross says. “This strategy that we’re testing out in South Australia is saying, well, we’ve got these people on the ground doing great local journalism, what’s the best way to transform that into an on-demand audio product?
“It’s a weekly thing at this point, bringing together all the stuff that we’ve covered through the week, as well as exclusive stuff, and putting it all out into on-demand audio products that are super local. That’s pretty rare and hard to find, so it’s something new – and from everything I hear, it’s doing really well.”
South Australia is only the beginning of the strategy, with plans to extend ARN’s local news bulletins and podcasts out into all of the regional markets it operates in. At the heart of the move is, as Ross says, the understanding that “no matter where you live on Earth, the number one concern really is what’s happening in your specific local area.”
“If your supermarket is going to shut down, that really impacts your life if it’s the only one in town. Local trumps all other news, so if you don’t give that to people, they really miss out and they will look for it in other places.
“In Bega when I started, the newspapers only came out once a week – so you were on air every morning as the only source of local news out there aside from social media. To have a service that is really crafted and accurate is super important and really rewarding as a journalist.”
Kyle and Jackie O’s record-breaking survey
In survey three, ARN’s KIIS 106.5 saw The Kyle and Jackie O Show break the previous record they set in survey one, coming in with their highest ever share – 17.9%.
“We were so stoked, it’s getting to the level of unbelievable,” says Ross. “It’s just beyond our wildest dreams that it could get that high. To think now that they have more listeners than they’ve ever had before, and to be part of that is just mind blowing.
“We’re just so lucky to have such support. I was a fan of The Kyle and Jackie O Show before I joined it – and that was 10 years ago. You just knew driving around, as long as they are on air in Sydney, no one else has a chance. They just are Sydney, and if you live here, you need to listen to them. I’m just so lucky to be a part of it.”
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Top Image: Brooklyn Ross with Kyle and Jackie O