Radio Avon post

Press, 24 December 1985, Page 1

Radio Avon post

Another stage in Radio Avon’s planned assault on Christchurch audience ratings was announced yesterday with the appointment of Mark Kennedy, an Auckland announcer, as Avon’s new breakfast disc jockey. Kennedy, aged 27, will join a fellow Aucklander, Peter Sinclair, at Avon next year. Both announcers will begin work at the station in January. Radio Avon’s station manager, Mr Wayne Johnson, said that Kennedy would give the station one of the best breakfast shows it had had. He declined to comment on salary, although he said Kennedy; would cost Avon “heaps." Avon’s breakfast show (6 a.m. to 9 am.) is now being presented by Ric Ditchburn, who will become full-time programme director when Kennedy takes over. Mr Johnson said that a third new announcer would be appointed soon. Kennedy said yesterday he was looking forward to coming to work at Avon, which has languished at third and fourth place in the Christchurch audience ratings this year. Y ‘lt will be a challenge. Christchurch is an interesting and exciting city—l’m looking forward to it,” he said.

After beginning announcing at Wellington’s Radio Windy in 1978, Kennedy has worked at stations in Dunedin,. Auckland, and Christchurch — he was a night announcer at 3ZM for a few months in 1979 and 1980. For the last three years he has been breakfast announcer at Auckland’s IZM, which has recently converted to FM.

Kennedy made the finals of the Australian Pater Radio Awards this year for a song he wrote and produced called “Nukebusters,” a parody on Mr Lange’s handling of the A.N.Z.U.S. row. However, Kennedy’s breakfast show on IZM has

not rated well- in Auckland recently. The latest Broadcasting Corporation survey gave it 4.2 per cent of the audience aged 10 and over. The top-rating breakfast show was on IZB, presented by Merv Smith, which drew 24 per cent; followed by Radio Hauraki (15 per cent); Radio I (14 per cent); Magic 91 FM (10 per cent); and Radio Pacific (10 per. cent).