Carlton off the air, back in the Herald
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday September 7, 2009
THE broadcaster Mike Carlton will announce on air this morning that he is leaving his 2UE breakfast radio slot to return to the Herald as a Saturday columnist.I'm sad to be leaving 2UE because I've had a fabulous time there," Carlton said. "But I really just can't take the hours any more."It's all very friendly. They want to try some new things and that's fine."By one of those tremendously fortuitous coincidences the Herald said would I like to come back. I jumped at the chance because I'd love to have the column back again."Family considerations made the punishing hours of breakfast radio particularly difficult. I've got a baby son who is just approaching his first birthday. Which is a very strange thing to do at my age: I'm 63 and I have this little boy. I'd like to see him grow up."2UE's station manager, Tim McDermott, said management had expected Carlton's decision. Mike renewed his contract in January and he said in no uncertain terms it would be his last year in breakfast radio ... Getting up at three in the morning is hard at the best of times; when you've got a one-year-old it's really hard."Carlton has presented the Fairfax-owned radio station's breakfast show since 2002, together with Sandy Aloisi since early 2008. He first started at 2UE in late 1997 and his last day on air will be September 18.There was an outpouring of protest from Herald readers after Carlton was fired from the paper a year ago when he declined to file a column in solidarity with striking editorial staff.The paper and I have agreed to let sleeping dogs lie, he said. I'm really looking forward to it."The Fairfax chief executive, Brian McCarthy, said: I'm delighted that he's staying in the Fairfax Media family. He's a journalist who's enjoyed a lot of support in all forms of media and I welcome his return to The Sydney Morning Herald.Mr McDermott said Aloisi would stay on the breakfast show. A replacement for Carlton would be chosen internally.Carlton's first Herald column will be published on October 10.
Β© 2009 Sydney Morning Herald
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