Jim Wilson has conducted his final on-air shift as host of 2GB’s drive show in Sydney.
He told listeners on Wednesday that he would be moving into a television role with the Nine Network, which also owns and operates 2GB.
He said he was a bit sad, but super excited, for what was ahead on the work front, and spent a while thanking the show’s listeners.
“What matters to me is integrity and being true to myself and to you. And I’ve given this gig my all over two and a half years, and I’m not into self-indulgent sort of carry-on, hence why [Thursday] will be my last show. I don’t want a farewell tour of sorts, and my biggest priority in making this decision was making certain I could tell you first. You have been so supportive since I took on this role, and it was so important to me – and I made this very clear to management – that I didn’t want you hearing my decision second hand or reading it in the paper. I’m so bloody lucky to have been given this opportunity. It’s been a privilege to laugh, at times cry, and to chat with you every single day,” he said.
He also thanked Nine Radios’s Tom Malone, Greg Byrnes and Luke Davis for the opportunity to sit in the drive chair.
“I want to say a big thank you to my colleagues here at 2GB who mad em feel so welcome when I made the move after 28 happy years at the Seven Network. It was a really difficult decision to leave Seven, but I wanted to give this a crack and I’ve got absolute no regrets,” he added.
Wilson also mentioned main on-air rival Richard Glover at ABC 702, who beat him in the most recent radio ratings, noting he had the utmost respect for Glover as both a broadcaster and a person.
He insisted his sudden departure had nothing to do with the ratings decline, saying it was the “honest truth” that the decision was made prior to the ratings release.
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%.
Malone said: “I want to thank Jim for his hard work, professionalism and passion over the past two and a half years. He is a person of the highest integrity and he’s championed so many great causes for our listeners during his tenure. I look forward to seeing Jim back on our TV screens, and he leaves radio with our good will and best wishes.”
