What's New
BY Sarah Patterson April 24, 2024
What's New December 4, 2023
Fran Kelly returns to RN and new Saturday lineup
Fran Kelly will return to RN in 2024 as part of a new Saturday lineup. She will host Saturday Extra from 7am.
Current Saturday Extra presenter Geraldine Doogue will host a new program Global Roaming with Geraldine Doogue and Hamish MacDonald, also on a Saturday morning at 8:30, discussing international affairs with a focus on Asia and the Pacific and Australia’s place in it. It will also be played at 6pm Mondays and 5.30am Tuesday.
Kelly said of her return:
“I’m delighted to be back with the RN audience and looking forward to starting my Saturday talking about the things that are happening in your world and the world at large and having some fun along the way. It is the weekend after all.”
Doogue said:
“It’s been a genuine thrill to present Saturday Extra for these past years, to cover such a sweep of events from post 9/11 to the GFC, to domestic politics dramas, the Queen and Duke’s death, COVID and lots more in-between. I’ve worked with some fabulous people to whom I’ll be ever grateful. It’s exemplified, I hope, that ambitious, generalist news coverage is the glittering prize on offer to journalism and the ABC. I wish it ongoing success.”
Other changes include Norman Swan and Tegan Taylor hosting The Health Report, which will include their delightfully named new podcast, What’s That Rash?! where they take questions from listeners on a wide range of health issues and answer them with the most up to date and reliable information. The Health Report airs at 9am Saturdays and 3pm Mondays.
Blueprint for Living will now be heard at 10am Fridays and 1pm Saturdays.
Stop Everything! will be hosted by Beverley Wang as Ben Law steps away to focus on screen commitments. It will air 11.30am weekdays and Sundays at 2pm.
Cassie McCullagh will co-host The Bookshelf, while Kate Evans takes an extended break at the beginning of next year.
Earshot will not produce new episodes and will broadcast from its archives. Counterpoint and Between the Lines won’t return.
Manager ABC RN Cath Dwyer said:
“I’d like to thank Amanda Vanstone and Benjamin Law for their contribution to RN, and for bringing their ideas and perspectives to RN’s audience and wish them both the very best for the future.”
Returning are Patricia Karvelas for RN Breakfast, Andy Park on RN Drive, Phillip Adams on Late Night Live and Hilary Harper on Life Matters, Days Like These and Background Briefing.
Extremely disappointing to learn the ‘Between the lines’ will not be returning to ABC RN in 2024. Tom Switzer was a superb host, who brought scholarship, curiosity and incisive questioning of his guests on topics not covered by other programs.
It was one of the weekly highlights of ABC RN and explanations ought to be provided on why both ‘Between the lines’ and ‘Counterpoint’ have been expunged, in particular, what criteria were applied. ABC RN is increasingly turning off its current and potential audiences, as evidenced by its ongoing extremely low ratings. The new line up for 2024 underscores this suboptimal trajectory.
I also loved between the lines and was amazed at the skill dedication and interview style of Tom Switzer. I am a devoted RN listener recently since early retirement.
I hope this show wasn’t axed and he has had a better offer.
Amazing new line up! Getting Fran back and keeping Geraldine couldn’t be a better outcome. 2024 is shaping up very well, thank you the early Xmas present.
Losing Between the Lines reduces further the status of the ABC as a quality public broadcaster. And Fran Kelly – a self described ‘activist’ – replacing Doogue on Saturday Extra: bordering on contempt for the audience.
So pleased that Fran Kelly will be back! I love listening to Saturday and Sunday Extra, so informative. When Geraldine said today that it was her last time presenting the Asia-Pacific Review I was worried that she was leaving so I searched for the answer and found out that she and Hamish will be hosting a brand new program, Global Roaming. That’s good news. I also LOVE Late Night Live and I’m happy that Philip Adams is continuing in his wise and wonderful role as host of this outstanding program. THANK YOU to the ABC for all your efforts.
So disappointed by the new line up which reinforces the current woke, narrow minded, leftist styled ABC with Fran Kelly and Philip Adams whilst removing any free thinking, alternate viewpoint such as Tom Switzer and Amanda Vanstone.
The saving grace is that Geraldine Doogue, who is classiest act in broadcasting, will still be a presence. She is the benchmark!
I am so disappointed Fran Kelly is coming back.
I suppose we will now get more feminist stories.
I certainly wont be listening until Geraldine is on and turn off when the Health Report comes on
The ABC is becoming so bland I have stopped watching ABC TV so I guess I will start listening less to ABC Radio
When I found between the lines I was hooked. I could not believe all sides of the debate were covered /challenged. It was just what I was looking for at the ABC. What a loss ! I was so impressed with Tom Switzer’s closing remarks on the last show. Rob Smith