Bill Caralis’s save-a-dollar-to-make-even-less style of radio ownership has claimed a few more scalps this week at the Sandgate headquarters of 2HD and NEWFM.

2HD drive announcer Richard King has been unceremoniously sacked from 2HD for the second time in his career from the drive time program. He will be replaced by the syndicated Talkin’ Sport program out of Caralis’s 2SM in Sydney, ensuring even less local content on Newcastle’s first ever radio station.

King was told of his immediate dismissal on Sunday at a local shopping center by station manager Guy Ashford and NEWFM program director / breakfast announcer Steve St John.

Caralis waited until the day before Talkin Sport recommenced on air before dismissing King so that he could have him fill in as many spots as possible over the Summer break. With the Sydney-based sport show back on air today, King was no longer required.

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Originally uploaded by kate e. did

Ever so slowly they are starting to emerge. Businesses, media and agencies in the Newcastle area are starting to toy with the idea of using social media in their marketing and communications.

When Gordon and I started exploring social media on behalf of Sticky 2 years ago it was barely heard of in Newcastle. Mid way though 2008 we struggled to find many people in the region on Twitter, and still very few blogs were emanating from the corporate world.

But now they are emerging. And I think 2009 might see rapid growth of the Newcastle corporate social media community.

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What is it? The Age of Conversation is a series of books discussing the social media paradigm

Who wrote it? The latest one has 237 authors actually. Some of the best marketing minds from around the world have collaborated to create an amazing collection of thoughts and observations.

Where do I buy it? The book is for sale online at lulu.com.

Where does the money go? All proceeds go to Variety, the Childrens Charity. Last year we raised over $15,000USD.

Who are these so-called ‘marketing geniuses’? Glad you asked, check out the following list and visit their sites:

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originally uploaded by capn madd matt

The last 6 months of 2008 were dominated by talk of recession, economic woes and the continue transition in media consumption from traditional to new media. If all the talk is true, that this year is going to be a tough one for business and that traditional media might be seriously under siege, then what are marketers doing about it? How are you going to tackle the task of marketing your business during tough times and a changing media landscape?

What is your media mix in 2009? Will it be the same as last year or will you be reassessing your marketing options? I’d really like to know, so please comment below.

Certainly, the media mix that our agency considers for our clients is considerably different than it was 3 or 4 years ago. While an integrated campaign once started at TV and traveled through press, radio and maybe outdoor, in 2009 the mix appears to be very different.

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