Hedley Thomas, who investigated, co-produced and presented the hugely successful The Teacher’s Pet podcast series, will be a keynote speaker at the 2019 Radio Alive national conference.
The podcast, which revolves around the unsolved case of missing Sydney mother Lynette Dawson, has been a global phenomenon, achieving more than 50 million downloads across the USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
Thomas will talk about the power of story-telling through the podcast format and share a behind-the-scenes account in conversation with 2GB radio presenter Ben Fordham.
Thomas is an investigative journalist and national chief correspondent at The Australian. He has won seven Walkley Awards and is the only reporter to have won the Gold Walkley twice, including last year’s win for The Teacher’s Pet.
Industry leaders will also take to the stage, with the CEO of Southern Cross Austereo, Grant Blackley, HT&E CEO Ciaran Davis, Nova Entertainment CEO Cathy O’Connor and Macquarie Media CEO Adam Lang discussing the current state of radio and audio in Australia and opportunities for stimulating further growth in the sector into the future.
More than 600 radio and media executives from around Australia will gather in Brisbane for the annual radio conference on Friday, 18 October, followed by the 31st Australian Commercial Radio Awards on Saturday, 19 October with more than 1000 on-air radio personalities, radio and media executives in attendance.
Joan Warner, the chief executive officer of peak body Commercial Radio Australia, said the industry was looking forward to hearing from a range of leading speakers during a time of rapid change for Australian media.
“The conference will be an important opportunity for the radio industry to explore trends in audio, the growth of podcasting, and how technology is changing the way consumers access entertainment and information,” she said.
Radio Alive 2019 will be held at the Royal International Convention Centre in Brisbane. Tickets for the conference and the Australian Commercial Radio Awards are on sale now through Commercial Radio Australia here.