The sacking of Sarah Macdonald, ABC Sydney’s Mornings presenter last week was a gut punch I hadn’t anticipated. I’ve worked in media for a long time – both public and commercial – and I know how fickle the industry can be. So it was a shock that this felt so personal.
Perhaps it’s the nature of local radio. It’s a very personal style of media. It has to be in tune with your life – steering you through local disasters like floods and bushfires, letting you know what roads to avoid on your way to work or whether you’ll need an umbrella today.
Its announcers are the friend in the background when you’re working from home. The person who asks the politician the questions you’ll never get to ask or who wants your opinion on that festival the local council just cancelled.
Sarah Macdonald is the kind of friend you want. She’s a smart, witty and warm woman ‘of a certain age’ who was kicking goals on a radio station where she was surrounded by white men. Monday to Friday she was preceded by Craig Reucassel, followed by James Valentine, then Richard Glover. Female presenters are mostly relegated to the non-prime-time slots of Evenings and Nightlife.
It’s a pattern that’s repeated whenever a presenter goes away. Most are replaced by people like Tim Webster, Dom Knight or James O’ Loghlin. Women, it seems, are not given priority.
The Director of Audio at the ABC Ben Latimer told the Sydney Morning Herald that “Sarah is a fantastic broadcaster. This decision really reflects our decision to add new voices to the network.”
It’s a perplexing statement, given what Macdonald said on air about the non-renewal of her contract, “I am proud of what I’ve done. The ratings are up. I’ve broken lots of stories. Had the first interview with the new Governor General. I got the premier of New South Wales to regularly take your calls. Led the election coverage, led the move to our Parramatta studios.”
Macdonald is not only beloved by her colleagues within local radio, she has a host of professional admirers who protested her sacking through social media.
Paul Barry from Media Watch wrote “I can’t believe this. I’m hearing that #ABC has dumped Sarah Macdonald from ABC Sydney. IMHO she’s brilliant, one of the best things on radio. WTAF?”
Even Ray Hadley, her competitor on 2GB, paid her a compliment by saying on air “I don’t know Sarah Macdonald but I do know one thing about her, she’s a quality broadcaster and I would say that quality broadcasters are in short supply at the ABC…”
As an employee of the ABC, the message I am hearing is that you can be a team player, incredible at your job, passionate about your work, meeting your targets, but it’s still not enough. Men are more likely to be employed and stay employed in prestigious positions.
Latimer’s job is obviously to improve ratings at the ABC – he was brought in from FM station Nova 18 months ago – but in removing Macdonald in order to connect with new audiences he’s sending a clear message that this new audience doesn’t include women. Because let me tell you, most women are pretty tired of hearing what white men think.
One listener responded to the news writing, “Sarah is literally the only reason I still listen to 702. She is so good at seamlessly moving between politics and pop culture … When Kingsmill and Glover held on for decades, why move the best thing about mornings around?”
Media Watch reported around 2000 texts complaining about Sarah’s removal and there’s a Change.org petition to reinstate Macdonald that has already been signed by 3,000 people.
We are often told that it’s “our ABC”, given it’s our tax dollars that keep it afloat. And many people see it that way.
Sarah Macdonald was how I saw myself at the ABC. It was aspirational, sure, I’m nowhere near as clever as her. But she was showing me that smart older women are still important, vital parts of our community. By sacking her last week, the ABC has inadvertently sent the message to women everywhere that we are not the workers they want, or the audience they care about. And that has left me winded.