Kim Hill moves to Saturday morning radio spot

By LOUISA CLEAVE

Broadcaster Kim Hill is leaving her morning programme after almost 10 years to take over National Radio's Saturday morning show from John Campbell.

Hill said she would miss her Nine to Noon slot but it was time to move on and she was looking forward to the change.

Radio New Zealand chief executive Sharon Crosbie said she expected some listeners would be disappointed that Hill was moving to Saturday, and she would be greatly missed.

It is expected that Sean Plunket, who co-hosts Morning Report, will move into Hill's chair.

Hill would have notched up 10 years on her morning show in May and said the thought of entering double figures spurred her to approach Ms Crosbie about Campbell's job.

Hill said she still got a "huge buzz" from her weekday show, where she has built her reputation as one of New Zealand's best interviewers.

"However, after nine years, I feel it's time to move on.

"I have been thinking about it for a couple of months."

Hill said she was not planning any radical format changes but would bring "some of the listeners' favourite things from Nine to Noon over to Saturday mornings".

Campbell is leaving the lifestyle show after less than two years to focus on his work commitments at TV3.

He is the second high-profile host to quit the show.

Brian Edwards left after a disagreement with Ms Crosbie.

RNZ has refused to release audience numbers for its shows since the end of 1999, when it pulled out of the national survey of radio stations.

In the last survey, for the second half of 1999, the Saturday morning slot had 183,300 listeners a week and Kim Hill was attracting up to 124,700 listeners a day, figures from Research International show.

RNZ released limited details of a survey by ACNielsen to Parliament's commerce committee last November.

They showed that the Saturday morning show lost 11 per cent of its audience between 2000 and last year, although Campbell said he reclaimed the audience.

Hill's audience increased by 1.5 per cent in the same period.

Campbell finishes on March 30 and Hill makes her Saturday debut on April 20.

The two weekends without a host will be filled by Garrison Keillor's American Public Radio show, A Prairie Home Companion.