Cherie Romaro leaves 2CH GM role

Programming veteran and general manager of Classic Hits 2CH, Cherie Romaro, has announced her departure from the role.

Her news comes soon after the station was purchased by Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) from former owners EON Broadcasting.

SEN then moved the 2CH station to be DAB+ only, replacing it with the sports-focused 1170 SEN.

Romaro has assisted with 2CH’s DAB+ transition, and helped to launch 1170 SEN in Sydney.

2CH started life as a church-focused station in the 1930s. The NSW Council of Churches held the licence until it was sold to John Singleton in 1994, bringing it into the Macquarie Radio Network. It had to be sold in 2017 due to the merger of Macquarie Media and the company formerly known as Fairfax Media, as collectively the new company also owned 2GB and 2UE. Its new owners were a consortium including Glenn Wheatley and John Williams.

Fairfax Media and Macquarie Media have subsequently been taken over by Nine, with the radio assets now operating under the Nine Radio banner.

2CH was sold to Craig Hutchison earlier this year.

Romaro – who has held roles across senior management, programming and marketing with Triple M, 2DayFM, Mix 106.5 and GOLD, among others – said it had been a marathon, and it’s now time to refresh and reset.

“I am proud of what the Classic Hits 2CH team has achieved in such a short time,” she said.

“It has been a big challenge and an absolute privilege to work with such quality professionals both in front of the microphone and behind the scenes.

“It is hard to say goodbye at such an exciting time for 1170 SEN and I wish only the very best for Hutchy and the Sports Entertainment Network team with their foray into the Sydney market and continued expansion across the country.”

Hutchison said Romaro’s legacy is profound.

“Cherie’s career and respect in Australian radio stacks up against anyone’s and she has been consummate professional working with us on our launch into Sydney and to successfully migrate Classic Hits 2CH from the AM band to DAB+,” Hutchison said.

“On Cherie’s watch 2CH grew to a 4.8 share of the toughest and biggest radio market in the country.

“Cherie is adored by her staff, and her love and respect for the medium of radio and the desire to entertain audiences is an asset to the entire industry, not just 2CH.”

He accepted, however, that the time was right for her to move on.

“We accept that the time is right for Cherie to choose new challenges, and we wish her every success in doing what she has always done – conquering and achieving the next media challenges that come her way.”