PAPER ARTICLES

WHAT THE MEDIA HAS TO SAY ON NICK'S SACKING

Doing the business - The Guardian

Kelvin MacKenzie has succeeded in his bid to take over Talk Radio. In his first interview since the news broke, he tells Maggie Brown about his plans.

Kelvin MacKenzie is happy. The budding media tycoon is downing champagne, and I'm trying to keep up with him, in a smartish wine bar called the Rendezvous. We are in the ex-Sun editor's stomping ground - Westerham, a pretty, up-market, period town where antique shops jostle teashops, as near to his opulent Kent home as he's allowing me to get without doorstepping.

It is 24 hours since he formally completed the purchase of ailing Talk Radio and sacked its top management tier, but I also learn he spent the previous evening in the Chinese restaurant opposite the wine bar, fixing up his squash friend with a blind date.

It's pretty obvious that he's mightily relieved. He knows that there are loads of people who hoped that the five months of intricate negotiations would have collapsed, that Talk Radio would be his comeuppance, ending his brash career.

The father of Live TV's News Bunny, who confesses to have taken up (feathered) birdwatching and toning his 52-year-old body in the gym while he sweated it out waiting for the deal to gel, is briefly at play, before hurling himself into his station - he owns 30 per cent - this morning.

Kelvin caused a media sensation when he abruptly quit the Mirror Group in June, leaving plans to relaunch the Sporting Life in tatters, to recast himself as a media entrepreneur.

"I was born to be a journalist, my father was a journalist, my mother's a journalist, my wife's a journalist, my brother's a journalist, my daughter's a journalist, I would die if I stopped being a journalist. However, that does not stop me having a business brain.

"Mr Murdoch has no MBA, the older Lord Rothermere, no MBA, Paul Dacre, no MBA. Why can't journalists be good at business too? You have a passion for what you do, the mistake in media is that financiers think it's all about cutting, cutting. What we don't want is to regulate Rupert Murdoch, we want a country that will allow lots of Rupert Murdochs."

When I tell him that every BBC executive I've met switches the conversation on to what is Kelvin doing, that they're watching, like hawks, his bid to make commercial talk radio work, at a point where Radio 4 is in turmoil, his eyes sparkle with malicious glee.

"Would I like to go for them? Yes I would. Have we got the resources at the moment: no I haven't." Then he lets fly about the terrible, boring state of speech radio: "Because the BBC's dominated speech so much, there are, bizarrely, no broadcasters around, they're all on the one hand this, other hand that.

"What has to change is that the BBC pays so poorly; radio is always the third medium, it's ridiculous. In America it's not like that at all." He's going to shake them up. "Speech jocks will become the great kings of the media. If they turn out to be great there will be untold fame and untold wealth... as you know, a fatal combination. I see that changing: Chris Evans - if he never did TFI Friday, only radio - would be more famous and rich than he is now."

MacKenzie's burning priority is to get lots more listeners. Talk's position has deteriorated. It is losing more than £163.8 million a year. At 2.4 million, its audience is the smallest of the national commercial stations, while at 1.7 per cent, its weekly audience share is half that of Radio 5 Live.

"Nothing will make any sense unless Talk Radio becomes successful. All our energies in the first instance have to be directed towards making Talk great. That's easy to say, not easy to do. You've got against you this huge taxpayer-funded monolith, the BBC, buying sports rights with taxpayers' money, whereas I'm having to buy them with shareholders' money.

"Why should the BBC be involved in sloshing tens of millions out to commercial animals like football clubs? They should stick to what they know, things like gardening." Talk's breakfast show, with less than one million listeners a week, is his first target. "Commercial radio is breakfast or die. We've got to have a great breakfast show, we clearly haven't got that at the moment. You don't have to be a radio critic to know that."

He is vitriolic about the way its star presenter Kirsty Young (signed up with a flourish by former managing director Paul Robinson) hasn't shown up for breakfast for weeks. "She's the invisible woman!" The obvious solution is for Kelvin, master of the one-liner, to do a Chris Evans: front it himself, with a gallery of Norwegian newsreaders, strip-tease traffic flying-eyes, whatever gets tongues wagging.

"There is 10 per cent of me that would love to do it. I've got an ego the size of about 300 watermelons; giving my views on everything, starting news rows - it would be like meat and drink. However [he pauses, and serious businessman MacKenzie pops to the fore], I can't be the talent and the money. You can't do the hours required. The idea of coming streaming out of a breakfast show and sitting down with the sales director... Shame really, I'd love to do it."

He throws out a Kelvin joke: "There are so many gays in the Cabinet, Tony Blair should hold his Cabinet meetings on the Common. Then nobody would be in any position to be blackmailed. Imagine being the first breakfast show to come out of stall number three." He has a clear image of what he wants: "A downmarket Have I Got News For You", off-the-wall humour mixed with the debunking attitude of the Sun.

"Getting politicians on, things like getting people to invade France, banning French apples, getting big rows going... Horoscopes? We definitely will. But it's not L!ve TV on Talk. Mediums don't cross. No News Bunny. However, we need the mixture, it's got to be serious, but not everyone wants serious all day long. They're not all bloody Guardian-readers out there.

"They're ordinary men and women, going to work, wanting to smile. If we can get that it would be terrific, great business. People turning to us for 20 minutes... information, injection of humour... The John Birt Show, wouldn't that be wonderful?

"Remember that line, we were all going to have so much leisure, get up at 11am? Now it's turned out everybody has to be up at about 5.50am, houses haven't gone up in value in 10 years, and the great thing is, they're all travelling to work by car, so they're all sitting there. Why listen to this crappy old music in the morning when you can get some information and have a laugh?

To revamp Talk, MacKenzie has turned to old tabloid friends. Mike Parry, who worked with him on the Sun, and has recently done 'a really bang-up job as the executive editor of the Press Association', will be programme director. He's never worked in radio, but "Mike's an 18-hours-a-day guy. Doesn't matter where you come from, I think he'll come in with ideas, spot who to get on, what issues to follow."

He's not signed up his great bosom mate Richard Littlejohn, the Sun columnist, as presenter: he'd love to have him, but he's under contract to Radio 5 Live. "Every time an article appears, they ring up making sure he's happy. Richard has so many Harrods hampers that he's thinking of ringing up a charity shop. [Controller] Roger Mosey, though, has done a bang-up job at 5 Live."

Of what he's inherited at Talk, MacKenzie says it would be "mad to throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are some terrible things in the schedule and some great things." Is Anna Raeburn staying? "I very much hope so." He plans to put more sport on, but will he be helped by Sky? News International now has a 20 per cent stake and MacKenzie's pitch to chairman Les Hinton, and chief executive Mark Booth, last May really set him on his way.

"Sports rights-holders are far too cute for people to come in and act as one. The point you're trying to make is that there is some form of News Corp conspiracy in this deal. I promise you there is not. But if you're saying: 'If Sky Sport has an entree which I could use, would I use it?' the answer is yes. I'm not going to shut the door on myself."

Which sports will he chase? "I'd rather not say. Cricket's attractive, football's attractive, the question is what price is it?" What sort of budget has he got to spend on rights? "I'm not going to say."

MacKenzie has now landed the prize for which he plotted for two years. He's thrilled Murdoch is behind him. "I wish he'd come in every day. Wouldn't that be fantastic?" He has two other shareholders besides himself and News International to keep sweet, MVI and TCI's Flextech.

The deal is structured into interest-bearing preference shares and ordinary shares, the latter weighted towards MacKenzie. To make serious money himself, he will have to "raise the valuation of the company".

There are key opportunities: push-button digital radio, extra digital channels. "No one can be sure of the way things are going, so it pays for Talk to look at all options - Internet, satellite, no end to it."

With such partners, it's obvious that the Talk Radio operation could be the vehicle for further multi-media development. "Radio will survive a recession a lot better than some other forms of media," he argues. And Kelvin MacKenzie, you feel, can survive just about anything.

Gotcha! Ex-Sun boss puts
Boycott on radio - Daily Telegraph

KELVIN MacKENZIE, the ebullient former editor of the Sun, proved yesterday that he had lost none of his flair for headlines by hiring Geoffrey Boycott as chief cricket correspondent for his latest venture, Talk Radio.

Just three days after a French judge upheld Boycott’s conviction for assaulting his girlfriend, Mr MacKenzie stepped in to rescue the former England and Yorkshire batsman’s foundering broadcasting career.

Meanwhile, Mr MacKenzie continued his purge of staff at the ailing radio station by sacking Kirsty Young, its star presenter.

Boycott, 58, who was deserted by the BBC, Sky and Channel 4 following the verdict, will commentate and analyse play for the all-speech radio station during the five-week Ashes tour in Australia.

Mr MacKenzie, who took over as the station’s managing director two weeks ago, said yesterday: “Geoff is a cricketing legend and his views on the sport are greatly valued. In my opinion, French justice stinks.”

The station said it had not decided whether he would be asked to stay after the tour.  Boycott’s appointment is the first to be made by Mr MacKenzie, who has promised to inject some of his tabloid energy into the station.

Given Mr MacKenzie’s record, it was hardly a coincidence that it was the Sun that sacked Boycott as a columnist as soon as the French verdict was announced.

Max Clifford, Boycott’s agent, said yesterday that his client would not be paid “any vast sum” by Talk Radio.  He said: “It wasn’t about money but about rehabilitation. The most important thing was. to get him back doing something.”

Kirsty Young, 29, had been hired on a £200,000 12-month contract in January to present the station’s breakfast show but had failed to turn up since July because of television commitments wit Channel 5, which had “first call” on her time.

Her future at Talk Radio looked doomed earlier this week when Mr MacKenzie was described in an interview as being “vitriolic about her failure to turn u for work. “She’s the invisible woman,” he said.

Young was said to hay enjoyed working at the station but found it hard to cope with the 6.30am to 9am slot as her workload with Channel 5, where she presents the evening news increased.

Mr MacKenzie has also sacked two other presenters Nick Abbott and Tommy Boyd, but yesterday announced two new names to the station’s roster. From next week, Alan Parry, a Sky TV football commentator, and Gary Newbon, a Central Television sports presenter, will present a two-hour weekday sports show.

Mr MacKenzie, 52, dismissed three senior executives within days of taking over the radio station and is understood to be planning to axe more jobs amid ambitious plans for the station which has only 2.4 million listeners — the smallest of the national commercial stations.

Heads roll at Talk as MacKenzie moves in - Newstide

The arrival of former Sun Editor Kelvin Mackenzie at Talk Radio as the new owner resulted in an instant management reshuffle.

As expected, Managing Director Paul Robinson, who had fought against the Mackenzie/News International takeover was told to go, and given 30 minutes to clear his desk. Also turfed out onto the pavement at Oxford Street was Head of Programming John Simons, and Commercial Director Stan Park.

Kelvin Mackenzie will fill the roles of Chief Executive and Chairman, while Mike Parry (former executive editor of The Express) is the new Programme Controller, and Jonathan Goodwin becomes Chief Operating Officer.

Mackenzie, who told journalists that "Our immediate priority os to motivate the staff and sort out the programming. We have set out a programming group which will completely review scheduling and content in the coming weeks." is said to be looking at replacing breakfast presenter Kirsty Young, who has not been on air for several weeks.

Kirsty young chopped in Talk Radio boss
MacKenzie's monster clear-out - The Mirror

New Talk radio boss Kelvin MacKenzie was poised last night to axe HALF the stations presenters - including golden girl Kirsty Young. Former Mirror chief Mr Mackenzie plans to make the shock announcement today after telling Kirsty that her £150,000 contract is being terminated. The station's reeling staff are already dubbing Mr MacKenzie Kelvin Kruger after Nightmare on Elm street character Freddy Kruger played by Robert Englund. One senior insider said "It is Nightmare on Kelv Street here".

His hit list is believed to include Scott Chisholm, Tommy boyd, Peter Deely, Bill Overton and Nick Abbot - who joined the station from vrgin Radio earlier this year.  Night-time host Ian Collins is also likely to be ditched.  And there is also a dark cloud hanging over the future of GMTV's Lorraine Kelly, who hosts the 11am-1pm show.

But Mr MacKenzie has told three presenters their jobs are safe.  They are the station's resident agony aunt Anna Raeburn, Danny Baker - who has a football phone-in and Talk's controversial chat show presenter James Whale.

Last night Mr MacKenzie refused to comment on the sweeping on-air changes. But and insider revealed, "After months of pent-up anticipation, Kelvin is finally walking round the building with his calws out looking for people to axe. The staff are petrified. It's like a huge massacre and they just do not know who he's going to turn on to next. But he has to get rid of them if talk has got any plans of succeding".

Mr MacKezie plans to transform the station's image by bringing in fresh faces.  The BBC's Lowri Turner is among those who have already been approached by the hardman and his new programming team. Earlier this week he revealed that he wanted Talk to have "a downmarket Have I Got News For You off-the-wall-humour" alongside intelligent, thought provoking programming. Mr MacKenzie said, "We need the mixture. It's also got to be serious but not everbody wants to be serious all day long". Among his plans he listed; "Getting politicians on things like getting people to invade France, banning French apples, getting big rows gong".

His decision to scrap Kirsty Young's Breakfast show will come as no surprise to her.  She has failed to turn up to present the high-profile programme since September blamming "TV commitments" for her absence.  And with earnings around £750,000 a year the 29 year-old star can afford the axe. As channel 5's glamourous news anchorwoman she has become on of TV's most sought-after presenters.  ITV and BBC bosses have desperately been trying to lure her with several multi-million pound "golden handcuff" deals.  But she has so far resisted the offers, throwing herself into a hectic social life instead.

The Mirror revealed how she ended her three-year romance with rugby Kenny Logan three months ago. Weeks later she met millionare club boss Nick Jones, 35.  The pair have just returned from a US holiday. Kirsty's agent is Anne Diamond's estranged husband Mike Hollingworth, who is due to appear in court later this month charged with failing to provide a breath test. He refused to comment on Mr MacKenzie's Plans last night.