The Chaser launched a bold initiative early Monday morning. The self-described “boring old farts” in conjunction with the self-described Chaser Interns™ and assorted contributors have entered the daily news podcast space.
The Chaser Report sees the comedy masters working with a new audio platform after time spent previously with SCA’s PodcastOne and more recently Nova Entertainment.
“We had to go to the phone book and Acast was at the top of the list so we asked them,” said The Chaser Report co-host Charles Firth told Mediaweek. Co-hosting with him will be the other Chaser co-founder Dom Knight.
“We will be working at 4am before it goes out,” Firth promised Mediaweek. “Rest assured we won’t be taking the lazy option and just prerecording and then scheduling it for a 5am release. Any breaking news that happens at 4am will be covered in our podcast. The entire 20-year history of The Chaser is doing things at the last minute, so The Chaser Report continues that tradition.”
While the comedians have singled out Schwartz Media’s 7am as the key “competitor”, they will also be alternative listening for an audience being offered LiSTNR’s The Briefing, Your Morning Agenda and Australia Today with Steve Price, Nova’s The Update, and News Corp’s From the Newsroom. Not to mention various news offering and catch-up programs from the ABC, Sky News and radio stations around Australia.
Firth and Knight are anchoring the new series with Rebecca De Unamuno reading the news. Also making an appearance will be other members of The Chaser team including Craig Reucassel, Zoe Norton Lodge, Sami Shah, Andrew Hansen, Nina Oyama, and Chris Taylor.
“They are all really successful now and are less available because they have proper careers. That means there is room for fresher voices like Sami and Zoe. We also have a new team of underpaid interns. Because no one knows their faces we can send them out to do stunts. They have already tricked the entire Australian media into thinking fairy bread was banned. They are just warming up.
“The great thing about the decline of the news media business model is that they are much easier to prank. It’s not very good for democratic accountability, but it’s great for news cycle gags.
“The media has let its guard down over the past few years which is a real opportunity for us. The Chaser Report will become so massive that for many it will be the only source of news. By the end of 2021 we will be able to tell anyone anything. Sort of Murdoch style.”
With Firth and Knight at the helm, the series is taking The Chaser back to its roots. “Dom and I used to publish a school newspaper together before The Chaser. And having a younger generation joining us gives us an energy you don’t get all the old lazy boring farts.”
Firth has been having success with the live show Anti-Experts Guide to Everything that has toured the country. “I have found a real passion doing that because it’s so much fun having people laugh at you all the time. It reminds me of my school days.”
The first episodes of The Chaser Report will feature the team calling on listeners to spread the word about the new series. “We are asking people to ring up shows like Ben Fordham and other radio shows and try and get a message to air about subscribing to The Chaser Report podcast.
“We had to come up with a prize and we are offering one listener a car. We found it on Gumtree. It’s a real car, but a terrible car that doesn’t come with any keys. We think it is probably stolen and we will give it to one listener.”
The Chaser Report: Behind the scenes
• The Chaser has promised its new daily podcast that will be published a full two hours earlier than Schwartz Media’s hit 7am podcast, making it a full two hours better for informed news junkies wanting their analysis fix each morning.
• The new Chaser podcast offers a few improvements to the now-tired 7am format – it will contain absolutely no quality analysis nor thorough research, and they guarantee Paul Bongiorno will never turn up to explain the latest goings-on in Canberra. Instead, the new early-morning podcast will contain sketches, stunts, songs and the usual disgraceful topical humour from The Chaser.
• Who is Gabbi Bolt? A Sydney singer, composer and writer for The Chaser. Firth: “Gabbi Bolt will be hosting her own show-within-a-show called The Bolt Report, which is definitely legal as it’s her real name.”
Listen to The Chaser Report here.
See also: What’s next for The Chaser: TV, radio, podcasts or all of the above?