Geelong is once again front and centre on ABC Radio Melbourne, with the national broadcaster holding its third residency at its pop-up studio on the waterfront opposite Cunningham Pier.
The residency launched last Friday (March 1) at Deakin University’s Waterfront campus, ushering in another month of locally held programs from ABC presenters including Sammy J, Raf Epstein, Trevor Chappell, Richelle Hunt, Ali Moore, Jacinta Parson and Brian Nankervis.
Breakfast presenter Sammy J said connecting with the people of Geelong was both important and inspiring.
“Radio is genuinely a conversation; that’s its enduring strength, really, that you’re talking to people wherever they are,” he said.
“The ABC has a charter to represent all Australians, to be out there representing all areas. This is, I think, a really tangible example of making an effort (to do that).
“This is my third year doing it, and each year I’ve started the residency with the breakfast show at the start of the run.
“And it’s actually inspired me; after we’d done a couple of Geelong, last year I was doing the show live from train stations around Melbourne, out in the suburbs, in Preston and Clayton and Box Hill.”
Sammy, who is a lifelong Cats supporter and regularly visited family in Geelong growing up, said Geelong was a significant part of ABC Radio Melbourne’s listener base.
“The brand of our station is Radio Melbourne, that’s what it’s called and Geelong still falls within that,” he said.
“But Geelong is very much its own city, and Geelong does not want to be called Melbourne. So we’ve tried to find that right balance. It’s almost like a family arrangement, where you annoy each other but still love each other.”
He said he enjoyed the direct contact with the people of Geelong.
“Probably the other highlight of doing the show, which is normally in a studio… (is that) in Geelong, people were turning up to watch the show live,; we had a bunch of people getting up at 5.30 in the morning, coming and sitting outside with deck chairs watching the show and that was awesome,” he said.
“So a big thank you to Geelong for having me, long may it continue.”
