Two top men resign from Radio Avon

Press, 24 April 1979, Page 3

Two top men resign from Radio Avon

Since the announcement last week by Radio Avon that its ratings had fallen 13 per cent, the station’s programme director and company secretary have bath handed in their notice. According to Radio Avon’s chairman of directors (Mr P. L. Mortlock), the company secretary, Mr David iMcßrearty, indicated some time ago that he was thinking of leaving, and has taken up an appointment in Hamilton.

But the resignation of the programme director, Mr Ken Ellis, was an “over-reaction to the survey results,” Mr Mortlock said yesterday.

“Programme directors tend to over-react to survey figures,” he said. “Mr Ellis has told us that he intends to resign, but the board has not discussed it yet, and will not do so until it meets next week.” Mr Mortlock said that Radio Avon’s Octa survey figures, which showed that the station’s ratings had fallen from 50 per cent to 37 per cent of the audience, had been influenced by the change in the line-up of breakfast and early-morning announcers on the station.

“So it was hardly surprise ing that there should be a greater degree of dial-twist-

ling while people are finding out what is on the other stations,” he said. “I believe that the Broadcasting Corporation’s survey, which covers a 12-week period and which is due out next month, will show Radio Avon to be in a better position.” Mr Mortlock said he was “not in a position to comment at this stage” about who was likely to replace Mr Ellis, should his resignation be accepted.

Rumours that Radio Avon’s former programme director, Mr Graeme Parsonage, would return were scotched yesterday by Mr Parsonage. “I have resigned from Radio Hauraki,” he said, “and I am now working out what I am going to do in the next few years.

“One of the options open to me is a job as programme director at a Melbourne radio station. J am very much inclined to take it.”

I Mr Parsonage said that Radio Avon was . not one of the options that was open to him at present. “I will leave Hauraki on May 15, provided they can find a suitable replacement,” he said.

Mr Parsonage worked at Radio Avon from its inception in 1973 as programme director and was th might to be largely responsible for its popular, winning format that kept it at the top of the ratings, well ahead of its competitors. He left Radio Avon in 1977 to work for Radio Hauraki, following on the heels of Murray Inglis. Another popular disc jockey, Bruce Barnett, left the same year. Lee Hanner is now the only original disc jockey still employed on the station.