Neil Mitchell to retire: Influential 3AW host to be moved in favour of Tom Elliott by end of this year
Neil Mitchell to retire: Influential 3AW host to be moved in favor of Tom Elliott by the end of this year
- Radio heavyweight Neil Mitchel leaves 3AW
- He rules the airwaves for three decades
- Melbourne station 3AW has recently been purchased by Nine
Influential talkback radio presenter Neil Mitchell is reportedly stepping away from the mic on his top-rated show after decades with Melbourne radio station 3AW.
His departure would lead to a major reshuffling in the radio booths with Drive host Tom Elliot and new addition to the station’s lineup, Jacqui Felgate, tipped for timeslot promotions.
Mitchell, 71, a member of the Melbourne Press Club’s Hall of Fame, entered the newspapers straight out of high school and soon became editor of The Herald Sun.
He made the part-time move to radio in 1987, continuing to work for rival newspaper The Age as a reporter, columnist and director well into the 2000s.
He has worked for all three commercial television networks, but during his stint as the host of 3AW’s Mornings, he made his biggest cultural mark, gaining a reputation for watching out for the “little guy” and regularly leading the national debate.
Radio royalty Neil Mitchell (pictured) will reportedly end his 33-year career with 3AW after failing to sign a new multimillion-dollar contract
He broke the story that Ford would shut down their Australian production operations, earning him a Walkley Award, and forced the Victorian government to pay back $26 million in illegal fines by exposing faulty speed cameras.
This week, his hour-long interview set the agenda for national headlines when Anthony Albanese revealed that the prime minister had not read the entire Uluru statement despite “fully endorsing it.”
The Prime Minister also told him about his divorce and revealed that he almost quit politics in 2019 in a bid to salvage his crumbling marriage to Carmel Tebbutt.
Mitchell is known for being private about his own personal life, but has been happily married to Selina since the 1980s and has an adult son and daughter. He only sold their Malvern East family home of 40 years in 2019, despite his earnings being in the millions.
Mitchell had a contract with the station until June 30, but instead of signing a new deal, his deal was extended through the end of the year to give him room to make up his mind about his next move, reports The Herald Sun.
The current host of 3AW’s Drive program from 3-6 p.m. weekdays, Tom Elliot, is Mitchell’s likely replacement in his 8:30-12 a.m. weekday mornings.
Elliot is an Oxford-educated former hedge fund manager and has hosted Drive since 2013, before acting as a fill-in for Mitchell.
Taking over Elliot’s Drive spot could be popular former TV newsreader Jacqui Felgate, who stepped into radio after leaving Channel Seven in April 2022 and was a huge hit with listeners and bosses as part of 3AW Football and on the timeslot of the afternoon.
The switch will be the biggest shake-up at 3AW since Mitchell joined the station 33 years ago in 1990 and helped cement both of their places as Melbourne radio royalty.
Former 3AW colleague and The project regular Steve Price wrote on Saturday that the new owners of 3AW, the Nine Network based in Sydney, are looking to target a younger audience for the station.
Price claimed the change of direction would sink the station and the decision was ‘laughable’ as half of the listeners were, according to the most recent radio survey, ‘at or near retirement age’.
Tom Elliot (right) is tipped to move from Drive to Mornings to replace Mitchell, while Jacqui Felgate (left) will take over the Drive timeslot
Price related how Mitchell was promoted to the morning slot in 1989 as one of several major changes.
“Within 18 months we went – I was the program director at the time – from the number six rated station in Melbourne to number 1,” he wrote in The Herald Sun.
Since then, Mitchell has consistently scored at the top of his timeslot.
Price said Mitchell had the “work ethic of an ox” and Melbourne newspapers relied on him for breaking stories.
“People like Neil are trusted guests in their audience’s homes and cars… 3AW has to be very careful, thinking that it could simply change the name on the door of Neil’s office and presuppose continued success,” he said.
According to the most recent GFK radio survey, 3AW tops the airwaves in Melbourne with an audience share of 14.6 percent, with Gold second with 11.1 percent and smoothfm third with 9.7 percent.
Nova and KIIS target a younger demo that ranks fourth with 7.3 percent each and Triple M rounds out the top five with a 5.3 percent audience share.