For political analysis, Pickering has looked to a different source. “He’s someone who mainstream media won’t know about, but digital media knows very well, and that’s Punter’s Politics [Konrad Benjamin]. He has a podcast and a thriving social media feed, but he’s having conversations about politics that legacy broadcast media aren’t having.”
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Of his impressive track record of nurturing new talent, Pickering is typically humble.
“I’ve been very lucky to work with some great people,” he says. “When we started The Weekly, the first two people I called were Tom Gleeson and Kitty Flanagan, not just because they were friends. I just knew that they were the two funniest people in the country. I couldn’t believe that people had not been throwing opportunities at them … I choose people that make me laugh and come up with things that I couldn’t think of myself.
“And there’s this other little thing that’s important, and there’s not enough of it in comedy, but they can speak with a tone of authority, even if it’s based on bullshit. They also have to be comfortable bullying me on my own show because I might employ them, but I want them to be fearless at all times.”
His greatest skill, he says, is knowing when to step aside.
“I see my job as removing as many obstacles as possible between great comedians and the audience,” he says. “Most producers I’ve seen in various other networks do the opposite. They get in the way. They tell comedians how to be funny and what audiences like. And I know that you hire the best comedians in the country because they know how to be funny, and they know what audiences like. And so my job is to get everything out of their way and have them working with freedom to express themselves. And that is the only recipe for success.”
The Yearly 2025 airs at 7.30pm on Wednesday, December 17, on the ABC.
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