Unstuck
In this post for Mumbrella Pro subscribers, we explore ARN Media’s strategy reset, along with Christian O’Connell’s early start on Gold Sydney. A version of this first appeared in Saturday’s Best of the Week newsletter
Stephenson: Entertainment, not audio, first
ARN Media continued to correct its course.
Last Monday the company made a double announcement. Kerry Elstub will be chief content officer while Dave Cameron will be director of content for metro radio. They fill the gap left at the top of the org chart after last month’s decision to make chief audience and content officer Lauren Joyce redundant.
On Tuesday ARN ripped up its Brisbane plan. Having sacked Robin Bailey, Kip Wightman and Corey Oates in October to make way for Craig Lowe, ARN asked them to come back next year after all, and will move Lowie to nights instead. That will prevent what would have otherwise been another self-inflicted ratings disaster.
We’ll start with the management appointments. The most urgent was that of Cameron. The former content director of Southern Cross Austereo, with 30 years’ service to the company, he departed back in mid-July. His appointment at ARN came almost six months later to the day. I presume they were waiting out a non-compete clause in his old contract.
