Last dog on the radio
It’s killing season in radioland, the time of year where underperforming jocks and those who’ve fallen out with management wait nervously to see if they get a tap on the shoulder from the bosses.
Last week saw Robin Bailey unceremoniously axed from 97.3FM breakfast in Brisbane, leading to her claiming she had been “blindsided” by the announcement as she was replaced by regional radio host Bianca Dye.
Another victim of recent changes is Guardian Australia cartoonist First Dog on the Moon, whose Sunday slot on ABC Radio National A Guide to Modern Living was unceremoniously dropped last week.
But he wasn’t content to go out with an outraged statement, but instead penned a cartoon parodying the series of events that saw his slot given to conservative commentator Tom Switzer.
Some of First Dog’s cartoon
In a cartoon depicting a comedic history of the slot published in The Guardian First Dog laid into his soon to be former employers for the decision not to axe his show, but instead to cut the transcription service which he describes as a “genuine and fierce attack on people with disabilities” and “also diminishes out national collective memory”.
A saving, he points out, of $210,000 a year.
Nope. Not an Alan Jones’ listener or an ABC leftie, but I am confused why those of the left get cheesed when a government of the right puts the squeeze on an obviously left-leaning organisation under their tutelage – causing the lead on said lefties to be tightened. Hey dog, ever heard of not biting the hand that feeds you?
Do you reckon Tele or 2GB talent would last long if they offended their paymaster? Not a flea’s chance!