Lui Zacher calls it a day at K rock and Bay
After a two-and-a-half years, two elections, one Covid pandemic and having covered countless local stories in the Victorian regional city of Geelong, K rock and Bay FM newsreader Lui Zacher is hanging up the headphones.
As Lui embarks on a new, yet-to-be revealed adventure, he’s told Radio Today it’s been a privilege to be part of a station that lives and breathes Geelong:
“The highlight of my time at K rock and Bay 93.9 would definitely be the culture in the building, the comradery across all departments is something I’ve never really seen at any of the stations I’ve worked at before.”
“Everyone understands each other’s jobs, and chips in to help each other out, which makes work so much easier.”
“It comes with a passion for being live and local – which I know is a radio cliche – but there are not many regional radio stations that have the luxury of broadcasting local shows from 6am to 6pm throughout the week and live shows on the weekend, and of course, K rock Football broadcasting every Cats game live.”
A standout moment for Lui was eliciting one of the more memorable news grabs from Scott Morrison, when the former Prime Minister paid a visit to Geelong.
Lui landed quite the scoop when – in the tradition of the Big Banana and Big Pineapple – he asked the PM what he thought about the idea of the City of Geelong getting a ‘Big Ute’ on a pole.
“How good are utes?” responded the PM, warming to the idea.
In a LinkedIn post, Lui said he especially wanted to thank News Director Rob McLennan and former General Manager Andy Mathers for giving him a go.
“Along with Andy and Rob, I would like to acknowledge Rachel Patterson, who’s taken over as General Manager. She’s already achieved great things and will continue to push K Rock and Bay FM into the future. I’ll be cheering on from afar.”
“I’d also like to shout out to my colleagues Rebecca, Adam, Cheandre and Will, as well as the entire programming and sales staff who were all part of the wonderful culture at Geelong Broadcasters.
“It truly is the best radio station to work at in Australia, and will continue to punch above its weight.”
One of the real nice guys, all the best mate.
“How good are ute’s”..
When someone says they are “Hanging up the Headphones”, It means they have been sacked. Why aren’t these articles factually accurate or checked . Surely a simple call to Bay FM could have cleared that up.
Hi Ismella,
We did verify the fact that Lui is leaving the station. As a rule this publication does not disclose whether an individual was pushed or jumped unless we are made aware there was misconduct involved or the individual is a major star in a metro market. Otherwise, it’s up to the individual whether they wish the industry to know the circumstances of their departure. Ed.
I have to say its a big story for a casual journo. Could you ask him about all the random posts, having a crack at the industry on those radioblogs or has that stopped now ?
Heay Lui, Looking forward to hearing what the next chapter is.