Ben Fordham driven to face thrills and spills of talkback

Why Ben Fordham thrives in the ferocious arena that is talkback radio.

2GB radio drive presenter Ben Fordham in the Macquarie Media radio studios in Sydney. Picture: John Feder

Scott Morrison can call Ben Fordham directly any time between the hours of 3pm and 6pm — without notice.

It’s an offer that also has been extended to Bill Shorten, who has not been on air with Fordham for a while, but it’s something Fordham believes is beneficial to all parties. The 2GB drive show host, who fondly recalls listening as a five-year-old to breakfast talkback alongside his parents’ cassette tape of the Beatles, typically finds prepared interviews boring.

“I’ve got to back myself at being able to question him at a moment’s notice,” Fordham tells The Australian.

“The more I prepare for an interview with the PM, the more boring it is.

“It works better than a formal interview because neither of us know what’s going to happen.”

Fordham is one of the biggest champions of talkback radio, starting as a work experience kid for 2GB’s controversial star and radio ratings king Alan Jones.

He is the son of talent agent John Fordham, who recently returned to work after a battle with cancer, and the brother of Nick Fordham, who runs the family business, and he is often described as the man who could take over the mantle from Jones one day.

His interview style and on-air demeanour are different from those of his 2GB colleagues. He steers away from a detailed discussion of Jones’s ongoing contract negotiations and bullying allegations surrounding Ray Hadley, instead saying he is foc­used on what he’s “employed to do” — and praising Jones for his consistently high radio ratings, which Fordham says helps the drive timeslot.

“I don’t kid myself. I know the important role Alan plays in setting up the day for all of us because when we are lucky enough to win the ratings in drive I know that is thanks in a large part to the head start that Alan sets up in breakfast,” he says.

Based on GfK data from the 3pm to 6pm slot, Fordham has led Sydney drive or has run close to Nova 96.9’s Kate Ritchie, Tim Blackwell and Marty Sheargold.

In the last survey he had a 10.7 per cent share of audience, leading the drivetime slot.

He has dominated two of the past four surveys.

Talkback radio is part of Fordham’s DNA. He thrives on the adrenalin of a live broadcast and gets nervous after returning from a long summer break or during an on-air confrontation.

He has thought about quitting almost every summer but quickly rejects those thoughts after 30 seconds back on air when he gets the “rush of blood”.

Unsurprisingly, he’s a longstanding 2GB listener — but he also is a station flicker for most of the day, dividing his time between 2GB and other stations.

At night he enjoys comedy podcasts. Of course his favourite podcast was The Teacher’s Pet, created by The Australian.

On weekends he loves listening to Richard Wilkins on Smooth FM in his car. But, most important, he believes there is nothing in the world like talkback radio.

“It leaves the rest for dead and you’ve only got to do a day of it and you quickly realise that most people who have experienced it once want to keep going for the rest of their lives.

“This might be a bit unkind to television, which I love, but at the amusement park television is the Ferris wheel and radio’s the rollercoaster. Don’t get me wrong, the Ferris wheel is a great ride, but if you want the daylights scared out of you and you want that white-knuckle ride you find it on radio.”

In the lead-up to the federal election next month Fordham and his team will play a crucial role working through the political spin and trying to get listeners the best information possible. He believes many of his listeners are still on the fence.

He won’t be playing by the book ahead of the May 18 election, preferring to avoid “boring” politicians who lack humour.

“I know who is the real deal and I know who the pretenders are. I can tell you this — if you're boring you’re not getting a start on my show,” he says.

There are a number of former politicians, journalists and commentators Fordham has up his sleeve for coverage: Peta Credlin, Graham Richardson, Ross Cameron, Mark Latham, Craig Kelly, David Speers, Sharri Markson, Samantha Maiden and Chris Uhlmann, to name a few.

“I tend to go for people who are no longer in politics more than those who are in it because they’re not as restrained as the current crop of politicians,” he says.

“I mean, it’s something that frustrates the hell out of me that there are people who dedicate their lives to wanting to get into politics and make a difference and then when it comes to the moments that really matter they just have to parrot whatever the hell their boss thinks.

“The other great thing about radio is being able to talk to the best of the best from all different fields. When you’re working on a radio show like mine you can have the best of both.”

But Fordham prefers not to fill the ears of his listeners with politics for the full three hours, describing the show as a balance between informative and entertaining. A good example of this is the day this interview took place, which was the morning of the day the federal election was called.

“We’ll be covering the federal election today but I’ll also be handing over a $40,000 cheque to a family with a little boy called Archie who is blind and has a whole range of other medical problems,” he tells me.

In this election there is no guarantee who his audience will be voting for. Listeners increasingly are looking at options, especially the minor parties.

He says the election is too close to call: “I’m not a gambler and I’m not as convinced as everyone else that Bill Shorten has got it in the bag. Equally, I’m not suggesting to my listeners they should be refin­ancing their house and putting it all on Scott Morrison.

“I’ve got splinters in my backside on the outcome of the election, like most people, because I find it too hard to call.”