{"id":483122,"date":"2026-02-16T06:23:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T06:23:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/483122\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T06:23:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T06:23:15","slug":"what-does-radio-do-that-nothing-else-can-christian-oconnells-question-sparks-passionate-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/483122\/","title":{"rendered":"What does radio do that nothing else can? Christian O’Connell’s question sparks passionate response"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Christian O\u2019Connell may have got a tad more than he bargained for when he put out a call for help yesterday, ahead of his appearance this week at HEARD 2026, the annual audio showcase event in Sydney.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, the top rating Breakfast show host \u2013 who this year took his show to a national audience on ARN\u2019s Gold Network \u2013 posted to LinkedIn and social media:<\/p>\n

\u201cRADIO \u2014 I need your help. Giving a speech at an Australian radio conference this week. Before I do, I want to hear from you.<\/p>\n

Do you still listen to radio? If not, what lost you?<\/p>\n

What does radio do that nothing else can?<\/p>\n

One piece of advice for stations and presenters \u2014 what would you tell them?<\/p>\n

Your answers might end up in the speech. Go.\u201d<\/p>\n

The response was immediate. And passionate.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Among the first to reply was veteran journalist and footy commentator Rohan Connolly.<\/p>\n

Does Connolly still listen to radio?<\/p>\n

\u201cBarely. What lost me? Inane content which insults the intelligence of the audience, rank populism and beating down on minorities to appeal to fear and bigotry, and the insane \u2018celebritification\u2019 of the airwaves, thus restricting talent to (a) former sportsmen (b) mediocre stand-up comedians and (c) former reality TV show contestants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connolly says radio covers live news and events and elicits reaction in real time, like nothing else can.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it\u2019s big enough and done well, it\u2019s gripping and takes the listener to the action.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connolly\u2019s advice? \u201cGet a f***** clue. We\u2019re not all shallow idiots whose culture consumption consists of MAFS. We\u2019re not all angry old right wing nut jobs. And we don\u2019t need another \u2018hilarious\u2019 brekky combo called something like \u2018Shags, Donger & Big Balls\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Australian radio and TV legend George Donikian said \u201cI think radio is more important than ever! Especially talk radio and what it needs is time to speak and LISTEN.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChurning through ads to get to the next call isn\u2019t the way forward. Ads have to be better too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For Wade Kingsley \u2013 media executive and host of The Quarter Hour podcast <\/a>\u2013 radio wins when it seizes the moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t just mean in the Jacob Elordi\/Margot Robbie moments,\u201d Kingsley says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean in moments like what happened in Bondi. Not just for breaking news but for emotional and raw reaction. As evident by your arrival in the Harbour City that weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most powerful thing you can do, Christian O\u2019Connell, is tell that story from your own experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

ARN Ballarat General Manager John Fitzgibbon said \u201cSpeak to me, not at me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShare with me, don\u2019t tell me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me a story, don\u2019t preach to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Recently retired<\/a> ARN Sales Executive Brian Wybrow said \u201cI enjoy listening (to radio) but I do find it irritating when announcers bang on without reason. Keep it simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always said \u2018entertain me give me a reason to come back.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Wybrow suggests becoming a professional friend, not a professional visitor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think your success has been people see you as a friend. All the successful announcers I have worked with over the years have a strong connection with their audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRadio is a fantastic medium. It can make you laugh and it can make you cry. Announcers must understand their audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ryan Jon Dunn \u2013 digital content creator and co-host of the wildly successful Toni & Ryan podcast \u2013 offered two pieces of advice. (1) Listen to your audience and (2) Fewer ads.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany years ago my PD came in with some listener research. Number one dislike: Too many ads.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey laughed and said, \u2018Every year they say that,\u2019 and skipped to the next dot point.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYears later I was doing a strategy class as part of my MBA and told my lecturer this story. She was dumbfounded. \u2018Why would you ask your users anything if you\u2019re going to ignore the answer?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your industry is in decline and year after year your users are telling you why, has anyone considered actually listening and trying something different?\u201d<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the thread came the suggestion that radio has to be \u2018live and local,\u2019 to which O\u2019Connell responded:<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it does.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think choice matters. The local radio scene and the national platforms can exist together. What\u2019s more important is the depth of connection on offer, not postcodes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Images: Instagram and supplied.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Christian O\u2019Connell may have got a tad more than he bargained for when he put out a call…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[33024,64,63,244845,31328,134,244846,222128,136,244847,244848,222132,244849,244850,244851],"class_list":{"0":"post-483122","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-arn","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-brian-wybrow","12":"tag-christian-oconnell","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-george-donikian","15":"tag-gold-network","16":"tag-music","17":"tag-rohan-connolly","18":"tag-ryan-jon-dunn","19":"tag-the-christian-oconnell-show","20":"tag-the-quarter-hour-podcast","21":"tag-toni-ryan-podcast","22":"tag-wade-kingsley"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483122","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=483122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}