CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | Contact
One of the ABC’s strongest media brands, Radio Melbourne, has this week announced some big changes.
This is not usually the type of story that would make nationwide news, however, the ABC is today revelling in the success of finally nailing the sport-to-arts ratio that has plagued the public broadcaster for years.
Award-winning journalist Sharnelle Vella and former Western Bulldog Bob Murphy have been confirmed as the newest hosts for the Melbourne’s Breakfast show
The new duo has been announced following the departure of comedian Sammy J, who has valiantly hosted the show since 2020, and held the reins through four of the most psycho years that Melbourne has ever lived through.
This change marks a new direction for ABC Radio Melbourne, which will now explore a range of different topics that aren’t directly related to the city’s 300 days of lockdowns, and how badly they fucked the city.
Much like the ABC’s Conversations and Background Briefing, Radio Melbourne has also begun to successfully migrate audiences into a podcast format, which has been crucial to the survival of localised news radio in a scary media landscape where tradies can just listen to Joe Rogan or Theo Vonn for three hours at a time.
Not only that, but they are now attracted NEW listeners. Local ABC Radio stations around the country are watching closely to learn as much as they can from this story of digitalised survival.
The answer is they’ve gotten very lucky with a real journalist that everybody knows, and a real footballer that everybody knows.
Not only that, but the footballer also likes books and shit. Music and foreign films. Art galleries, that kinda stuff.
Bob Murphy, who played 312 games for the Western Bulldogs in the AFL before moving into broadcasting, also hails from Gippsland – which also means he isn’t terrified of rural people.
He represents the white whale when it comes to ABC talent, as the public broadcaster work tirelessly to re-assert themselves in the media diets of Melbourne residents who have been awash with misinformation and chaotic social media algorithms in the years since the pandemic.
As a former Channel 7 news reporter, Sharnelle Vella also has an established profile within Melbourne’s middle class. She might also be able to explain to listeners why all of these tobacconists keep burning down.
