Ronnie Stanton, Ryan Rathbone chat Game Changers Talent Survey

Craig Bruce continues to dive into the data from the Game Changes 2020 Talent Survey, uploading two new podcast chats breaking down the numbers and insights.

Following a chat with renowned international radio consultant Tracy Johnson, Bruce has now shared catch-ups with Canada-based Aussie Ronnie Stanton and Grant Broadcasters group CD Ryan Rathbone.

The survey was the largest study of its kind in Australian radio, with a sample size of 226 participants contributing, and was a joint venture by Bruce and Create Consult Research.

Bruce firstly sifted through the highlights of the survey with Stanton, who has held high-level executive roles both in Australia and Canada where he currently works at Corus Entertainment.

He began by asking for Stanton’s reaction to the news that SCA has axed multiple regional Breakfast shows around the country.

“I feel like, as a radio professional, all of us… we have a responsibility both to the audience and the shareholders to get ratings and to get revenue.

“But aren’t we custodians of the medium as well? We have to protect this great thing called radio, and help it thrive and flourish. The industry is changing but it feels like we are dying by a thousand cuts by our own hand,” Stanton said, before comparing the situation to what’s happening in North America over a longer period.

When it came to the 2020 Talent Survey, he was pleased by the response rate.

“I think the biggest takeaway for me is the lack of people who had a full understanding of where the station strategy was,” he said.

“I get that different content directors and different talent like to manage and be managed in different kinds of ways.

“I like to think that everyone that I work with knows what we’re trying to achieve. The numbers in this survey suggest that’s half [of the talent] or less.”

Ryan Rathbone has experience working at all three major networks in Australia, plus as CD at The Edge in New Zealand, and is now group content director at Grant Broadcasters.

Similarly, Bruce asked for his impressions of the recent news of regional redundancies.

“Firstly it’s just awful for the people. Personally I think it’s the wrong move and it’s disappointing. But it’s also business and I understand that,” he said.

“Without a doubt it will impact everybody including SCA in the long term. We’re losing a lot of great young talent to Instagram and Facebook, and ‘I want to be an influencer’.”

Moving onto the Talent Survey, Bruce brought up the fact that one out of every three shows were getting little feedback or assistance from CDs.

“It’s disappointing because we are really lucky that we have content directors in these markets to begin with,” said Rathbone.

“For me, I was fortune enough to create a career from that, and to see them go to waste it’s disappointing.”