What's New
BY Sarah Patterson April 24, 2024
What's New May 6, 2021
ARN restructure sees Richie Wright take on national content role & Jeff Burzacott elevated in Adelaide
Pictured: Jeff Burzacott (left) and Richie Wright
There’s been more change at the Australian Radio Network’s (ARN) Adelaide operation, with content director Richie Wright switching to a national role.
Wright became content director of Adelaide last year in the wake of Barry Keohane’s departure.
Now, just over six months later, he will move into a newly created national role, as national content operations manager. He will still be based in Adelaide, but will work with chief content officer Duncan Campbell, as well as ARN’s content director across the country.
He will be charged with executing the overarching audio content strategy for listener and commercial content across ARN’s radio, podcast and music platforms.
In his place as Adelaide CD will be Jeff Burzacott, who has been the music director for Mix 102.3 and CRUISE 1323 for the past 10 years.
Campbell said the new roles will help ARN to grow and thrive in Adelaide.
“I am pleased to announce these new roles today for both Richie and Jeff who are valuable members of the content team. Both roles signify investment into the ongoing evolution of ARN as Australia’s destination of choice for audio content. Richie’s creative and operational skills will be perfect for his new national role to provide support for the content teams across all our platforms – radio, music and podcasts,” he said.
“As the music director for Mix and Cruise for the past 10 years, Jeff has the skills and experience needed to take on the role of Content Director and lead the content team in Adelaide to even greater ratings success while working with the commercial team to drive greater revenue as well.”
Today’s announcement is just the latest in a raft of movements and upheavals at ARN Adelaide.
Long-serving Breakfast co-host Jody Oddy abruptly departed in November after 13 years and over 80 survey wins. She was then permanently replaced by Erin Phillips with ARN noting the show was going in a new direction.
New executive producer Geoff Watts also left the program to move into a position as brand activations director, forcing ARN to again recruit for an EP for the program.
Phillips and co-host Mark ‘Soda’ Soderstrom then mysteriously disappeared from the airwaves in March, with ARN sending mixed messages about what was going on behind the scenes and when they would be back.
They returned following survey break, and in the most recent radio ratings, Mix 102.3 had a 12.0% share in Breakfast, up 1.1 points and leading the FM market.
ARN is also facing changes in Melbourne, with co-host Polly ‘PJ’ Harding departing the Jase & PJ show to return home to New Zealand. That program, too, has had a change in EP and various behind-the-scenes staff departures.
ARN has remained tight-lipped over who will replace Harding.
That was a very quick posting and removing of a CD into an operations role… what has gone on? Adelaide staff apparently know. Congratulations Jeff on your appointment.
Go Jeff! Never felt complete with that appointment of Richie and I work in Adelaide. It never clicked from my observation. It was only a matter of time. Soda will be happy with Jeff.
Some sort of record on a PD coming and going…… book of records anyone?
Soder 1 Duncan 0
Job number 1 Jeff – Make friends with the breakfast host. Your job depends on it
In all my time in the media, anyone who got the “Operations Managers ” role was destined for the scrap heap within 6 months. It’s a great future retrenchment role. Totally unrequited. Richie may as well send his cv to SCA now. He will need a new job shortly.
Congrats Jeff. You are a bloody legend. One of the great guys in the industry. It’s great to see you have been this opportunity. Well deserved and all the best.
Someone inexperienced was given a CD role and is now being swept under the rug for a real manager. For all the flack ARN give sca for inventing roles to keep people employed… They’ve done the same thing.
Adelaide people know what’s going on. It’s obvious the CD couldn’t do what he needed to do, and upset many. So moving him into a glorified ops role, which lets face it, isn’t really a promotion, was the only option. Congrats Jeff. You deserve it. Deserved it beforehand too.
From such humble beginnings…
https://youtu.be/NErqwCAgosc
A national operations role in a network of inconsistent brands seems fishy. Does this explain the Adelaide breakfast mysterious disappearances? Good for Jeff. Back in your tent Richie.
A national operations role in a network of inconsistent brands seems fishy. Does this explain the Adelaide breakfast mysterious disappearances? Good for Jeff. Back in your tent Richie.
Ollie “being friend’s with staff” is not the key to success unfortunately. It’s about mutual respect.
Current teams are stretched and under pressure and a role made up, not a great look. Jeff will do a much better job, should have got it before trying to lift junior people into roles they are not capable of.