Melbourne talkback radio host Neil Mitchell to step down from 3AW Mornings

Veteran Melbourne talkback radio host Neil Mitchell has revealed he will step down from 3AW’s Mornings program, ending weeks of speculation about his future at the broadcaster.

On Friday morning, Mitchell confirmed he would leave the show in December to take up other roles at Nine. Mitchell has hosted the program since 1990.

In a live broadcast from Southern Cross station in the Melbourne CBD, Mitchell told listeners the departure was “entirely” his own decision.

“I’m not doing a [AFL coach] Damien Hardwick, I’m not going to pop up on Radio National next year,” he said.

“It’s not an easy decision. I love this job. Apart from my family, journalism has been my life and radio has been my journalism for all these years.”

Mitchell said after “54 years of journalism and daily deadlines the legs get a little bit tired of pedalling”.

“I can only work one way and that is flat out,” he said.

Mitchell joked that he could hear the “champagne corks popping up at Spring Street” but warned they were premature.

“I’ll still be around,” he said.

Mitchell has been a fierce critic of the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, who has not appeared on 3AW since 2017.

Kos Samaras, a former Victorian Labor strategist turned pollster, said Mitchell has had a significant impact on the state’s political landscape.

“Over the decades he’s had an influence on the body politic of this state,” he said.

“The future impact depends on who replaces Mitchell. I’m confident whoever does will try and fill in Mitchell’s shoes. But whether they are as political, who knows. There is a brand they need to uphold though.”

He said 3AW’s audience was skewed towards an older and more conservative demographic.

“I suspect Daniel [Andrews] didn’t go on because Mitchell’s audience was not Daniel’s target audience.”

“It’s an older audience but a very big audience.”

Mitchell said his future would include a weekly podcast, regular news commentary across 3AW and roles with Nine.

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His show has dominated the morning time slot in Melbourne, with the latest radio survey revealing an audience of 143,000. Mitchell’s show has had a 20.1% share of the morning time slot compared with the ABC Mornings share of 7.5%.

The announcement comes days after rival radio host Virginia Trioli announced she would leave her program on ABC Melbourne next month to become the host of a new prime-time arts interview program for ABC TV. ABC Drive host Rafael Epstein will replace Trioli from 18 September.

Andrews said Mitchell’s announcement marked a “big day”.

“It’s a really significant milestone,” he said.

The opposition leader, John Pesutto, said the departures of Mitchell and Trioli from their respective programs represented a “big loss”.

“They’re very coveted spots in radio and they’re important spots,” he said.

“What happens on 3AW and ABC Melbourne shapes debate in many ways, and Neil Mitchell and Virginia Trioli have been a part of that. I have enormous fondness and respect for both of them.”

Tom Malone, managing director of Nine Radio, praised Mitchell for his 34 years of hosting 3AW Mornings.

“Neil has been at the top of his game and the top of ratings for nearly all of that time. It’s an incredible run,” he said.

“We’d have loved him to stay on, but Neil is adamant it’s time.”

Mitchell’s final broadcast for 3AW will be 1 December. Nine said Mitchell’s replacement would be announced in the coming days. The station’s Drive host, Tom Elliot, is considered the frontrunner.