3AW’s new breakfast co-host Russel Howcroft eyes ABC audience

3AW’s newest radio broadcaster Russel Howcroft is looking to lure some of ABC’s audience to his breakfast show with veteran broadcaster Ross Stevenson.

3AW morning show co-presenter Russel Howcroft. Picture: David Caird

With big shoes to fill, Russel Howcroft is hoping to lure some of ABC’s audience to his new 3AW radio breakfast show with veteran broadcaster Ross Stevenson.

The former television and advertising boss has taken over from John Burns, who co-hosted Melbourne’s top-rating 3AW breakfast show with Stevenson since 2001 until his retirement last Friday.

Given the big job at hand, Howcroft say he plans to follow Stevenson’s lead on the show when he debuts on Monday morning. Howcroft is also hoping to attract new listeners, including those that watch ABC’s long-running ad-focused TV show Gruen, on which he is a panellist.

“It would be wonderful if some new listeners gave it a try, and as a result they could hear the radio genius of Ross Stevenson,” Howcroft told The Australian.

“Gruen has been the number one show on the ABC for 11 years. Three of the top five shows ever on the ABC are Gruen shows. So, there is an audience there that are used to me, they’ve seen me and are used to me, and hopefully they give the radio show a try.”

Howcroft, who first tried his hand at radio when he filled in on 3AW’s Weekend Break program in 2011, is the latest hosting change by 3AW’s parent company Nine Entertainment since taking control of its radio business last November.

The departure of veteran broadcaster Alan Jones from Nine’s No 1 radio breakfast show on Sydney’s 2GB and Brisbane’s 4BC at the end of May paved the way for Ben Fordham and Neil Breen to fill the gap in the respective cities. The audience and ad revenue impact from the changes won’t be publicly known until radio ratings survey six on September 29.

Before quitting radio, Jones recorded the biggest audience jump in Sydney during the coronavirus crisis, extending his grip on the country’s biggest radio market. His breakfast audience share jumped 3.1 per cent points to 17.9 per cent, according to GfK’s second radio ratings survey of the year, which was released in April.

Stevenson and Burns also picked up listeners, up 1.4 points to 17.3 per cent.

Howcroft has spent a couple of weeks training with Stevenson, who he has known for around 20 years, and the “amazing production team”, led by executive producer Kate Stevenson.

The overwhelming advice that Howcroft, who grew up in Melbourne listening to 3AW, has received from people who know Stevenson has been to let him lead on the show. “The overriding theme is ‘when you’re on the dance floor with Ross Stevenson let him take the lead’, and I’ve got no intention of doing otherwise,” Howcroft said.

Howcroft has 30 years of experience in the business world, including working at accounting and advisory firm PwC as chief creative officer, executive general manager of free-to-air TV network Ten, and boss of advertising agency Young & Rubicam Brands.

“I‘ve worked in many parts of the world, I’ve worked on many different businesses, I’ve been involved and engaged in many industries. So, hopefully I can bring some of them to the show as well.”

On whether Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Prime Minister Scott Morrison have done enough on COVID-19, Howcroft said “all the politicians are dealing with an incredibly wicked problem”. “This is wicked whichever way you look at it. It’s wicked in a health sense, it’s wicked in a social sense, it’s wicked in a business sense. And I think they’ve done a brilliant job of not making it wicked in a political sense,” he said.

Howcroft believes the government should keep up its regular public briefings on COVID-19, plus “relentless, consistent communication” around the country.

“There is no such thing as communicating too much.”