6PR crisis: Nine sends in consultant to solve Perth talkback radio station’s chaos

Nine Radio have called in an east coast consultant to run and “re-set” Perth’s 6PR, amid a programming overhaul, staff displeasure and a sluggish advertising market. Former Australian Radio Network chief operations officer Rick Lenarcic has flown to WA following a messy few weeks at the talkback station, where it has lost half its on-air line-up as well as a senior leader. Journalist and afternoons host Julie-anne Sprague and evenings host Tod Johnston were both dumped, while media journeyman Gary Adshead quit to move to the ABC. The station also lost content manager Emily White. In an email from Nine Radio boss Tom Malone to 6PR staff seen by The West, Mr Lenarcic would “help the handover” from White. “As we work to re-set 6PR for 2025, we’ll be getting some help to bridge the gap between Em leaving and her eventual replacement,” Mr Malone wrote. “Rick Lanarcic will be at 6PR for the next six weeks, helping the handover from Em, and assisting as we increase our investment in our Direct Sales team.” Mr Lenarcic, who worked at SCA for a quarter of a century in regional media before taking the senior operations role at Grant Broadcasters, posted on LinkedIn he would be in Perth working with 6PR for six weeks. “Heading West consulting for Nine Entertainment - Radio, and really looking forward to catching up with the 6PR team,” he wrote. Speaking to The West, Mr Lenarcic said he was just in Perth to “meet the team” and that Nine had a long-term investment in 6PR. Mr Lenarcic’s arrival in Perth comes amid a chaotic few weeks for 6PR, after it overhauled programming and then was forced to make further changes after listener blowback. In a shock move last month, 6PR axed its afternoon show and host, Sprague, forcing other programs to fill the vacant timeslot by extending their shifts to four hours. “The advertising market in Perth has been tough, down 16 per cent in the past five years, and rising costs have added extra pressure on our financial performance,” Mr Malone wrote in an email to staff last month. “So to ensure the station’s sustainability, we’re making adjustments that will help us return to profitability over the next 12 months, while still delivering the quality content that our listeners love.” In response to changes, Sprague took to social media saying radio was a “brutal game”, blaming Nine’s east coast bosses for her dumping. “I was only halfway through my contract when Sydney swooped like a nasty Maggie,” she said. But on the first morning of the new programming, listeners responded poorly to the scheduled airing of Nine podcasts at 5am, including one about great Australian cars, instead of breakfast hosts Steve Mills and Karl Langdon, who were set to start at 6am. Following the backlash, the breakfast program started an hour earlier — seeing them host a five-hour program until 10am. “The only reason Millsy and I back is because you’ve complained and the people listen,” Langdon said. “There were so many people that did send in their messages of unhappiness, particularly those who are the early risers.” The changes also saw Adshead relegated to a midday shift between 10am and 2pm. It emerged by the end of his first week in the new timeslot he had quit and was set to host a program on ABC Radio from next year. 6PR insiders told The West the overhaul had left station staff shattered, with some concerned about Nine’s long-term future in Perth radio.