One of my earliest childhood memories is hearing the ABC news theme down the hallway of my grandmother’s house and falling to sleep with the crackle of AM bandwidth.
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I also have vivid images of sun-drenched Sunday afternoon barbecues in the backyard with Grandstand blaring out across our makeshift sporting arena and going around the grounds for all the latest score updates.
And not a summer goes by when I don’t get lost in the romanticism of listening to cricket on the radio.
In more recent times I have had the absolute honour and privilege of working with the very same organisation I have grown up with, hold dearly and respect so much.
It is also the very same organisation that has recently been subject to a politically motivated punch from the Abbott government with $254 million worth of budget cuts impacting around 400 jobs, or 10 per cent of the work force.
The hits have been felt around the country across all mediums, but none more so than my second family at 1233 ABC Newcastle.
The Wood Street studio has been reduced from metropolitan to regional in status and lost at least nine positions, or one third of the station, with potentially more on the way.
Essentially, the heart has been ripped out of the place.
Presenters, producers, promotions, marketing, online, news, technicians and front desk – hardly anyone has been spared.
It is a devastating blow delivered with little notice and strikes at the very core of what ABC does best – local radio for the local community.
And the Hunter – one of the largest, diverse and vibrant regions in Australia – deserves much better than what has been dished up.
This Aunty hasn’t disappeared, but it has been dramatically diminished.
* Josh Callinan is a Mercury sports reporter.
