Broadcaster Red Symons still no clearer on sacking

VETERAN broadcaster Red Symons has broken his silence over his controversial departure from the ABC, saying has never been offered an explanation for the decision to dump him.

VETERAN broadcaster Red Symons has broken his silence over his controversial departure from the ABC, saying he no longer listens to the station that was his home for 15 years.

Symons, who was dumped from the Melbourne breakfast timeslot last year, told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell he was trying to move on.

“I don’t listen ... but there’s no point in me sitting in judgment on the people who are there now — because it’s actually not about them, it’s about management,” he said.

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Symons was replaced by broadcaster Jacinta Parsons and comedian Sami Shah, who have faced criticism as listeners tune out in droves.

Red Symons says he has never been offered an explanation for his sacking.

The former Hey Hey It’s Saturday host told Mitchell he had never been offered an explanation for the decision to dump him.

“It’s very clear in the commercial environment what the objectives are and what the measure is, but at the ABC it’s intellectual, of some sort,” he said.

“They did a rubber stamp about all the breakfast programs in metros, in Australia, where they had a boy and a girl, a man and a woman together as a duo because for whatever reason they thought that’s how you did it.”

Symons said he suspected cost-cutting was also a factor in his departure.

He told Mitchell he had spent his new-found downtime writing and exercising.

Before the interview wrapped up a cheerful Mitchell asked Symons if he wanted a job.

“Do we have to talk about it on air?” Symons responded.

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