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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSteve Fitton. Image: Facebook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
In just a few short hours, the rumours will be put to rest and the Australian radio industry will finally get some clarity on who will (and won\u2019t) be on air at ARN in 2026, as the company holds its much-anticipated Upfront event in Sydney this afternoon.<\/p>\n
However, one part of the jigsaw puzzle has already fallen into place, with Steve Fitton confirming\u00a0that he will be departing ARN\u2019s Gold 101.7 in January after eight years.<\/p>\n
Fitton took to social media, saying he\u2019s had people reaching out and asking questions which he hasn\u2019t been a position to answer \u2026 until now.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the last year or so I have been considering moving on from WSFM\/Gold and leaving Sydney. My father is living with dementia- he is OK now and still knows who I am- but who knows how long that will last? He turns 84 this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cMy mum just had her second hip replacement and isn\u2019t the spring chicken that she once was. She is now 76.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cI get home to visit for a week every three months or so, but that isn\u2019t enough anymore. I decided whilst on holiday in the U.S last year that I need to be there and be more present, but I have been putting it off and hanging in as long as I can, because, well \u2026\u00a0 money!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis little stint at WSFM was only meant to last two years, and it has been eight. They just kept asking me to stay!\u201d<\/p>\n
Fitton says recent changes have seen the team shrink, but workloads double.<\/p>\n
With Sydney duo Jonesy and Amanda taking over his Drive shift on ARN\u2019s Gold Network, Fitton says next year the on-air team will shrink even further with only two daytime on-air slots available, and three announcers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy ego wanted to fight for one of those spots, but my heart realised that this was my opportunity to leave, so I put my hand up and said I will go. And go happily.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Fitton stresses he is NOT leaving radio. He will remain with ARN, hosting Breakfast on iHeartCountry Australia.<\/p>\n
Fitton says it\u2019s a great fit for somebody who lives and breathes country music.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am absolutely pumped that I get to play the music I love, and immerse myself in this exciting format that is taking Australia by storm, on a truly national network! AND I\u2019ll be able to indulge my other love- driving buses.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish the Gold team all the best in the new year, and say thanks to the amazing but small Sydney team that embraced me and welcomed me into the fold.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fitton will take a break for Christmas on December 15, then return to Gold for two weeks from January 5 until the 16th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Steve Fitton. Image: Facebook In just a few short hours, the rumours will be put to rest and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":247968,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,134,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-247967","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}