Melbourne ABC radio 774 was taking “live auditions” this morning from
would-be presenters for the afternoon drive slot, vacated this month by
Virginia Trioli. Station manager Ian Mannix and morning host Jon Faine
“auditioned” keen listeners for the job, which Mannix has made clear
will be filled by a woman.

The would-be shock jocks won tickets to next month’s Royal Show – which
is as much as they should have expected, because we hear Mannix has all
but decided his replacement for Trioli.

And expect a name from left-field; a Melbourne woman with a local
business background and very little recent radio experience has emerged
as the leading contender, according to sources close to the selection
process. The next drivetime voice on 774 is more accustomed to the
board room than the radio studio.

Although we hear the successful candidate has appeared on ABC radio in
the past, she is definitely not a conventional media choice. So
hopefuls like Jennifer Keyte, Age footy writer Caroline Wilson and
current fill-in Tracey Curro will be disappointed.

Mannix has made it clear he isn’t locked into a journalist to take over
from Trioli, a former Age reporter and columnist. So other candidates
like Canberra newsreader Virginia Haussegger and Stateline reporter
Josephine Cafagna will also have to stick to their day jobs.

ABC radio listeners, however, are a resourceful bunch, even in the face
of a politically-correct determination that the new presenter will not
be a bloke. The best candidate from this morning’s bunch of wannabes
was “Christopher”, who told Mannix and Faine: “I can be whatever
kind of woman you want for the drive program… Do you mind one with a
deep voice?”