Chris O’Keefe will host drive on Nine Radio’s 2GB from Jan. 9 next year, the station has announced.
O’Keefe fills the void left by Jim Wilson, who announced his sudden departure late last week.
The news was announced on 2GB’s breakfast show “Ben Fordham Live” on Monday morning.
“This is a major opportunity… 2GB’s been broadcasting to Sydney for almost a century. I know that’s a privilege and the responsibility of that history. And it’s time for me to step up and hopefully do it justice,” O’Keefe said.
Fordham said O’Keefe had a knack for uncovering stories and information that other people don’t know about.
O’Keefe agreed and flagged this would be the nature of much of his 2GB program next year.
“The politicians don’t seem to like it very much, but I do and so do the people of Sydney,” he said of his penchant for uncovering buried stories. “Because the people of Sydney deserve to know what’s going on in the halls of power and I suppose I’ve set my career up as a news breaker and I think that’s what you’ll hear come January 9 on drive on 2GB. And there’ll be stuff that you’ll hear on my program that you’ll hear and see nowhere else. So that’s the benchmark that I’m setting for myself.
In the most recent radio ratings survey, 2GB had a 7.0% share in drive, as measured from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., a decline of 1.3 points from the survey prior. The ABC had a 9.3% share, up 0.4 points from 8.9%.