Ben Fordham has been named as the new host of 2GB’s breakfast program replacing legendary broadcaster Alan Jones, who this morning announced his retirement following advice from his doctors.

Fordham got the breakfast job ahead of Ray Hadley. “Ben has my full support,” said Hadley this morning. “I am supportive of management’s decision. To appoint me to the breakfast shift wouldn’t have been the correct decision.” Hadley added he expects his radio career to end at the expiration of his current contract in five years’ time.

Fordham is a Walkley award winning journalist who has won “Best Talk Presenter” in Australia five times and who has, for almost decade, served as 2GB’s host in the fiercely competitive Drivetime slot where he consistently tops the ratings.

“We are delighted that Ben is stepping up to host 2GB’s breakfast program,” said Tom Malone, Nine’s managing director – radio. “For decades 2GB’s breakfast show has set the agenda for Sydney and the country, and Ben will continue this great legacy and bring his unique energy to the show.”

Fordham said he was excited to be taking up the mantle as host of the #1 breakfast show in Sydney.

“I feel a sense of both responsibility and opportunity. There’s a huge responsibility in taking over from Alan and the opportunity to bring my own flavour to breakfast,” said Fordham.

“Alan is the most successful broadcaster in the history of Australian radio.  There will only ever be one Alan Jones. My first taste of radio was as a 15-year-old work experience kid on the Alan Jones breakfast show. I can’t quite believe that all these years on I’m taking over the position he’s made his own”.

After launching his career in the 2UE newsroom, and Sky News Australia, Fordham joined the Nine Network in 1999 and has been a leading reporter on A Current Affair, and a senior journalist for Nine News, including stints on the Today show, 60 Minutes, and working with Laurie Oakes in the Canberra Bureau.

Fordham has been awarded Best Talk Presenter five times (2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019) and voted Best Metropolitan Current Affairs Presenter in 2017 in the prestigious ACRA Awards.

Nine also confirmed it would look to introduce a local breakfast program to 4BC in Brisbane. An announcement on this will be made in due course.

“With Ben in Breakfast, Ray Hadley in Mornings – broadcasting to more than 30 stations across the country, Deb Knight in Afternoons, and a new Drive host to be announced, we know we have the right team to build on 2GB’s great position as the #1 radio station in Sydney.” said Malone. “Meanwhile in Brisbane we know 4BC deserves a local breakfast program and we will be making an announcement on this in the coming weeks.”

Nine’s CEO Hugh Marks said: “I want to acknowledge Alan for his contribution to 2GB, and prior to that 2UE, over many years. Alan has shown a dedication to his craft unlike any other and with that dedication comes excellence.

“This focus on his program’s content has given him outstanding audience loyalty demonstrated over decades. We wish him well and thank him for all he has done.”

“Alan’s radio career is without peer,” said Tom Malone. “The most telling indicator of his greatness was the switch from 2UE to 2GB – when Alan moved stations and the audience followed in lockstep. Alan did not miss a beat at #1. Sydney’s listeners repaid his advocacy with loyalty – Alan has always put them first.

“Alan is a giant of Australian radio. We look forward to celebrating his soaring achievements at the appropriate time. We wish him well and thank him for everything he has achieved.”

Jones will be continuing to broadcast on Sky News and will also continue writing for The Daily Telegraph and The Australian.

Under the current lockdown laws, it was hard for former 10 Perth news presenter and now Studio 10 presenter Narelda Jacobs to celebrate her recent milestone at the network. “I have two people coming around to our house tonight. Woo!” she told Mediaweek recently.

Jacobs this month celebrates 20 years with Network 10. She recently relocated to Sydney from Perth for love, to be with her partner Stevie Cruz Martin, a film and TV commercial director.

Network 10’s Narelda Jacobs

After landing a job in a regional TV newsroom straight out of university, Jacobs thought it was her dream job. Everything she has achieved since that role with GWN in Bunbury has been a bonus.

Jacobs is now a Studio 10 presenter and she presents weekend news for the Perth market out of Sydney when required.

Of her move from news presenting to a talk show, Jacobs told Mediaweek: “It was a big jump because news anchors didn’t really have opinions they could share. I was always taught to remain independent and unbiased and not make political statements at all.

“That is what I adhered to for 19 years. When I first had the opportunity to appear on Studio 10 and also The Project I realised I did have things I wanted to say. For my personal growth I wanted a bit of a challenge and then this job became available.”

Jacobs celebrates 20 years at 10 with Studio 10 colleagues Sarah Harris, Angela Bishop and Joe Hildebrand

Jacobs said the industry is more relaxed now about news presenters having an opinion. “I was always openly gay and I’m an aboriginal. It’s been pretty hard to separate those things, especially during the marriage equality debate. With social media people are now commenting on everything via Instagram and other platforms.”

Jacobs said working on Studio 10 gives her a wonderful platform to share he views. “I started a couple of weeks before January 26 and it gave me a platform to be able to share things I felt really passionately about regarding when we should be celebrating Australia Day. A month after that came Mardi Gras which gave me a chance to talk about LGBTQIA+ issues which I also feel passionately about.”

Joel Creasey, Narelda Jacobs, Courtney Act and Zoë Coombs Marr hosted SBS Mardi Gras coverage this year

After reading social media comments after she spoke on both topics, she was reminded there were plenty of people who didn’t share her views. “I thought I might be getting a collective hug from all of Australia! What I do appreciate is that it starts a conversation for things we need to talk about.”

Working at Network 10 comes with complete freedom of any editorial input in the news, said Jacobs. “We just react to the news of the day and we have never pulled any stories, never been cautious when we have approached stories and that is the beauty of Channel 10. We have always had the freedom to be journalists.

“There is a lot of job security here with the backing of ViacomCBS and we feel the future is looking pretty good. Everybody has always said they like working at Network 10 and that’s something I agree with.

“I worked through several waves of redundancies. When people depart they often come back after time at another network. We are a bit of a family.”

Jacobs with Studio 10 team Sarah Harris, Natarsha Belling, Angela Bishop and Joe Hildebrand

Jacobs is enjoying working with new colleagues on a daily basis at Studio 10, “I have such a lot of respect for them. They do a wonderful job. Sarah Harris and Joe Hildebrand do a wonderful job and it’s good how we challenge each other all the time. The aim of it is to get people at home thinking about issues and to see what position they take on it. Our healthy debates might border on arguments at different times, but we always respect each other.”

Kerri-Anne Kennerley has upset some members of the team in the past who have called her different names. “I get on really well with Kerri-Anne and really respect her,” said Jacobs.

Politically Kennerley and Jacobs could be quite far apart we asked? “When I am with her I wouldn’t know because we get on very well. I appreciate working with someone like her because she represents a lot of the community. She knows television better than anybody in the country and I am learning stuff from her.”

Lockdown has meant Jacobs hasn’t been able to visit Perth – she had to cancel her Easter travel plans and a recent weekend trip too. “I now have the opportunity to read the weekend news for Perth as it comes out of Sydney. That has been great and allows me to maintain a connection with the city.”

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Top Photo: Network 10’s Narelda Jacobs

Matty J and producer Ruby Teys will be covering the return of Mondays listener letters and special guests, Thursdays review on all things celebrity and entertainment and an all-new fan-requested Pop Culture Quiz episode on Saturdays.

A diverse range of guests will join the team on Mondays including the first guest Hollywood heavy weight and former MTV VJ Keiynan Lonsdale, known for roles in The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, The Divergent Series: Insurgent and The Finest Hours. Mondays episodes will also feature Will Égg Boy’ Connolly, the Australian teenager who donated close to $100,000 to the survivors of the Christchurch terrorist attack, after smashing an egg on Senator Fraser Anning’s head. Égg Boy has now raised $200,000 for the long term mental health support of Australia’s bush fire victims and travels the world for global unity outreach programs.

Andrew Brentnall, Nova’s Managing Editor said, “The Babble is a great example of Nova’s strategic direction to build new audiences through original and relevant content. Digital audio plays an important role in the future of Australian media and is an exciting place to see real creativity shine through. Our original content is developing and adapting to the needs and wants of the Australian market. The Babble is now even more focused on providing light relief during these challenging times – hand picking the best entertainment stories to discuss, finding the most interesting people to interview and delivering quirky answers to listener problems. In response to audience demand for more content from The Babble, we are now publishing three times a week and launching a special quiz off each Saturday to provide an opportunity for listeners to become involved.”

The Babble launched in November 2019 and is the Nova Network’s first original popular culture podcast.

Seven News 1,337,000/1,234,000
Nine News 1,184,000/1,143,000
ABC News 927,000
A Current Affair 891,000
7.30 777,000
Four Corners 706,000
Media Watch 658,000
The Project 413,000/647,000
Q+A 517,000
10 News 491,000/315,000
Sunrise 312,000
The Drum 256,000
News Breakfast 243,000
The Latest 226,000
Today 218,000
SBS World News 201,000
Nine News Late 161,000

Nine: Lego Masters finished its short week with the last elimination before Finals Week. Missing the cut last night were Jennifer and Jodie who bowed out with what Brickman called their best build of the competition. The Monday constructions were made for underwater, with a wet-suited Hamish Blake supervising the lowering of each of them into a tank toward the end of the episode. The episode did 1,238,000, well up on last week’s 1,089,000.
After 7pm A Current Affair was on 891,000 after a week 19 average of 712,000.
Later in the night the second episode of Emergence did 344,000.

Seven: Laith and George topped the leader board on House Rules after its three-episode short week. The Monday ep did 568,000 after 625,000 a week ago.
9-1-1 did 344,000 later in the night.
Earlier in the night Home and Away was on 707,000 after a week 19 average of 639,000.

10: “This week we are going to push you further than you’ve even been pushed before,” promised MasterChef judge Andy Allen to his contestants last night. A service challenge saw Melissa divide the remaining 17 contestants into two teams with Hayden sitting out. Each team had to cook for 50 people with three hours to prep. The first curve ball thrown in Twist Week was making the teams swap halfway through the cook. The clever surprise made it all the more interesting although none of the contestants were thrilled. The Monday episode did 870,000 after 876,000 a week ago.
The second episode of HYBPA? saw Ed and Sam joined by Lloyd, Celia and Mel. Ed was the clear winner as was the channel in the timeslot with 868,000 watching after a launch episode did 935,000 a week ago. 

ABC: Four Corners had the biggest audience after News and 7.30. The 8.30pm current affairs audience was 706,000 for an episode on Donald Trump and his leadership during the COVID-19 health crisis.
Elsewhere last night Australian Story did 670,000, Media Watch was on 658,000 and Q+A had an audience of 517,000 watching the east coast mainland premiers talking about their response to COVID-19 and their road map back.

SBS: The Secrets of the Royal…Jewels was the second episode in a season of five about the British royal family. The episode did 244,000 for the channel’s biggest audience.