Mike McCluskey takes over as Radio Australia's CEO
Updated
Changes are in place here at Radio Australia, with the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer, Mike McCluskey, who takes up his new role on Monday. He's been with the ABC for 25 years and is not only passionate about radio, but has a keen interest and knowlegde of our broadcast region. Most importantly, he's the man whose been given the task of ensuring the future success of Radio Australia as we continue to rebuild in the Asia Pacific Region. We might be known as Radio Australia, but as many of you know, our content is delivered in many other ways, with access online and via mobile platforms. Rob Sharp spoke to Mike McCluskey to find out about his vision for Radio Australia.
Presenter: Rob Sharp
Speaker: Mike McCluskey, Radio Australia, CEO
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McCLUSKEY: Well, I guess there is a lot to tell. I won't exactly tell you the year I was born. I think that would probably be divulging a little bit too much personal information, but I started in the ABC as a rural reporter in Tasmania back in the early 1980s and had a wonderful time, reporting on the changes that were taking place in agriculture and rural industries in rural communities as Australia evolved from being more people moving from rural areas into, especially the east coast of Australia and the significant change that had on the cultural identity of regional Australia over time. That was particularly interesting, I would have to say. That led me to having a wonderful opportunity to travel around Australia, work as a reporter and journalist and do stories about people and about communities and about activities within Australia. Then I worked as a presenter for morning programs and as an executive producer and producer in Australia and later as station manager for metro stations and I have worked on a lot of projects for the ABC, associated from the more boring, like Occupational Health and Safety, driving that within an organisation like the ABC to things like corporate social responsibility, where I have actually had a very interesting opportunity to look at the way we approach both social and environmental responsibility as a corporation.
SHARP: You'll be carefully watching our water usage then?
McCLUSKEY: And the way we sit on our chairs.
SHARP: Terrific. Apart from your 25 years at the ABC, I also understand that you're very passionate about radio?
McCLUSKEY: Yeah indeed.
SHARP: You would have to be with that sort of a career I guess, wouldn't you?
McCLUSKEY: Well, when you think about it and there are several things about radio that is wonderful. It is a personable media in that when you actually think about it, it's a one-to-one relationship, even though it is Rob to many at the moment. It is actually one-to-one with me as the listener, as the consumer. I feel the personal relationship to you and that is powerful. The second thing that is really important about radio and audio delivery services where there are podcasting or radio, in otherwords, is it real time or is it recorded and at a later time you are consuming it, which means you can do other things while you're consuming that media. Those two things are very powerful when combined. A personal media that allows you to consume it when you're doing other things. There is a fourth element to that and that fourth element that is fundamentally important is that you are in a sense able to deliver it anywhere. One of the things about television and indeed the internet is that requires power, it requires electricity and it requires your full attention, but it also requires you to have the infrastructure, a quite expensive infrastructure in some situations. Radio still offers you the opportunity to be able to deliver the content, to people no matter where they live and through battery operators systems if required during emergency for example, that is particularly important to communities where power can go down very, very easily. And as we know in some sections of our audiences in Asia and the Pacific, power is not as reliable as you might like to think it could be and when the power is down, radio is dead.
SHARP: Mike McCluskey, what is your vision for Radio Australia?
McCLUSKEY: Well, to connect with the audience as much as we possibly can, make it even more connected. I know Radio Australia is, it's a brand that has been in existence for 70 years. Radio Australia has been connecting with people in Asia and the Pacific in a very, very powerful way for a long period of time and at times in crisis, in times of huge stories and just in times when people want a good friend to listen to. Radio Australia has been able to provide that in both English and the language that people are using in the country where they are listening, very often. Well, we want to continue to do that, but strengthening our capacity to deliver in this very dramatically changing world. What is definitely taking place is a change in the way people consume media, there is no doubt about it and that means people are accessing content through radios, through televisions, through the internet via computer, through mobile platforms and in many ways through vodcasting and podcasting type activity, and on demand. So audiences are changing and they are changing in Asia and the Pacific just as they are changing elsewhere. What we have to understand is how our audiences are consuming the media and then also start to say how are we going to deliver it to those people in a way that is meaningful to them, no matter where they live.
SHARP: It's a big challenge for you, in Asia, in particular, the technology is sensational in many regards, where they can get content on their mobile very quickly, but of course there are challenges for our audience in the Pacific, where the internet connectivity is not there in many places. How do we overcome something like that or is that something that you might look at down the track?
McCLUSKEY: Well, I think we have to continue to provide content in a traditional form, where people have not been able to change and adapt to new technologies and in the most modern form. But that is not abnormal for a modern media organisation to actually be able to provide content in multiple platforms, in a multiple form of ways so that people can access the content no matter where they are, whether they are using a mobile phone type device or whether they are using a sophisticated computer. What's important though is not just the technology, it is what we deliver, so we have to refocus on our content continuously so that we think, we know what we are delivering has power and meaning to the people no matter where they are, in otherwords it's relevant and it matters to me no matter where I live.
SHARP: Is branding a problem, is is a problem calling us Radio Australia? Do you see in the future if we are going to be delivering online, through television sets, radio through TV as you mentioned and mobile phones? Will it always be Radio Australia do you think or is it something we have to look at in the way of a name change?
McCLUSKEY: I think always is probably a term that one should never use. Let me just say that Radio Australia has a very powerful existing brand image in the region, or the regions of Asia and the Pacific and there's nothing wrong with keeping that brand image. We know that what we mean when we say Radio Australia is the delivery of audio and online services and mobile platform services to the audience no matter where they are and we're in partnership with our sister network, Australia Network, and that network concentrates on delivering television content. But it also delivers multi-platform content. And so really what matters is people understand that underneath, this is the ABC, the trusted brand of the ABC that delivers reliable, trusted content reflecting the interest and aspirations of Australia and also reflecting the diverse and wonderful stories that are taking place within the community of the communities of Asia and the Pacific.
SHARP: You have a strong association I guess to Papua New Guinea. You've been there, you've worked there?
McCLUSKEY: Yeah, well worked is probably pushing it a bit too far, but I have certainly worked with the New Guinea Broadcasting Corporation as part of the media development initiative project that's underway there and I found that to be a wonderful experience. I realise that capacity-building and development opportunities that we can deliver and assist our the countries that are our closest neighbours, that is a really wonderful thing for us to be doing and it does give all of us an opportunity to understand, that not only that the Australian culture complex, we have complex cultures as our closest neighbours as well.
SHARP: And Bhutan, you have an association also with Asia?
McCLUSKEY: Yeah, I was fortunate to be able to do some work with the Bhutan Broadcasting Service in terms of the delivery of learning opportunities prior to the first election, the first democratic election that Bhutan had in 2008. They were doing some development work for media and journalism and I was over there with them for that process. That was a really wonderful experience as well and I also did some research while I was there in relation to how television has influenced the society of Bhutan, from the perspective of Bhutanese people and that led to luckily for me a PhD being awarded.
SHARP: So you come to Radio Australia, not only passion for radio, but a knowledge of the region as well? So we wish you best of luck from the 31st. May.
McCLUSKEY: Thank you. I am really looking forward to it.
