Michael Hing and Lewis Hobba are departing Triple J after three years of hosting the Drive show, marking the end of an era for the youth broadcaster.
Lewis Hobba has been a regular in the Drive slot since 2015, previously hosting alongside Veronica Milsom. Following Milsom’s departure in 2020, Hing joined the show as co-host, having previously hosted ABC series Good Game: Pocket Edition and Good Game Well Played, as well as SBS show The Feed.
Triple J Drive hosts Michael Hing (L) and Lewis Hobba have called it a day after three years hosting the Drive slot.Credit: Instagram
Announcing their departure, Hobba and Hing, both 38, pointed to the desire to give new voices an opportunity at the youth network.
“It was time to hand it on,” Hobba said. “Hing and I were only meant to be a stop-gap for nine months after Veronica Milsom left.”
“We’ve been open to the idea of leaving for a while and passing the baton on to the next generation,” Hing said. “This year we did four days a week, and we gave that Friday slot to other young broadcasters who can have a go at doing the drive show, so they can get some flying hours under their belt.”
“It makes sense, we’re in our mid to late thirties, and the audience is different. That being said, for all the criticism that has been levelled against us, listeners have never made age an issue.”
The shake up in Drive is the latest in a long line of recent personnel changes at Triple J.
Ebony Boadu (right) departed Triple J Breakfast at the end of 2022, with host Bryce Mills now presenting alongside Concetta Caristo.Credit: Sam Mooy
At the start of the year, Ebony Boadu departed Breakfast, with Concetta Caristo stepping in to co-host alongside Bryce Mills. Good Nights host Bridget Hustwaite was replaced by Latifa Tee, and Home & Hosed host Declan Byrne left Triple J after a decade, with Ash McGregor taking his place.
While wholesale change is often seen as a symptom of a wider issue, Hobba, who has been with Triple J for eight years, doesn’t see it as a problem.
“You’d struggle to find a year when a bunch of people didn’t leave. A few years ago, almost everyone from 6am to Drive left within a three-month period,” he said.
“Our decision to leave certainly has not been informed by anyone else’s decision - we have regularly checked in to see how we’re feeling.”
Triple J has yet to confirm who will replace the pair, though the front-runners include regular fill-ins Jordan Barr and Luka Muller, or Tyrone Pynor and Abby Butler. Dee Salmin and Pip Rasmussin from ABC’s The Hook Up may also be in contention.
“Any of those six people would make for great successors, and they’ve all had experience in Drive,” said Hing. “Taking over a show at Triple J can be hard, so it was important to us that they had some kind of run-in.”
Despite leaving the Drive slot, Hing and Hobba will continue to work together, announcing a new ABC podcast, Silver Bullet, as well as plans for a national farewell tour.
“The podcast is our way of refusing to go away,” laughs Hobba.
“It’s called Silver Bullet because each week we get on a guest who tells us a weird or wacky wellness thing they do, then Hing and I give it a go, and we all review it.”
“We have Grace Tame showing us hot yoga, Abbie Chatfield introducing us to jaw massages and Kiwi comedian Chris Parker taking us into a flotation device.”
Hing will also continue to co-host Network Ten’s The Project.
“I am contracted to do two days a week at The Project, and I am happy with that, but stepping away will free me up to do more, but that is not a discussion I’ve had with Ten.”
It was on The Project earlier this year that Hing weighed into the conversation regarding ABC’s handling of Stan Grant’s high-profile exit from the national broadcaster.
“I’ve also thought about leaving [the ABC] because of racial abuse, and when you’re bringing an issue to the bosses, and sometimes they are an all-white group, it’s difficult for them to understand exactly what it’s like to be called racial names or vilified in that way, so it can be a struggle,” Hing said at the time.
Given he is now leaving ABC in a full-time capacity, does Hing believe the organisation is moving in the right direction?
“I feel positive about the direction the company is headed, the Stan Grant moment was big for ABC, and people acknowledged that things had to change, and since then, they’ve released the Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Plan, which is a good step,” said Hing.
“But change takes a while, it’s a big organisation, and things move slowly. It’s not a criticism, but things haven’t been revolutionised in a few months, though you can see efforts being made.”
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2023-07-12 05:05:04Z
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