State Symphony Orchestra Chairmen express collective disappointment at station’s less talk, more music direction.

Margaret Throsby’s Midday Interview is the major casualty in a shakeup of ABC Classic FM announced yesterday. A staple for many radio listener, Throsby’s popular, long-running weekday programme will be replaced by a single three-hour show, Saturday Morning with Margaret Throsby. “The decission was entirley mine, and sought by me in the middle of this year,” Throsby told Limelight. “The move is being made with the ABC’s blessing.”

“I feel the time is right to say goodbye to the Midday Interview and for me to take on new challenges,” she said in the ABC press release. “I’m really excited and looking forward to the new programme format and timeslot, where I’ll [be] co-presenting with a guest who will share stories about their love of classical music. I’d like to invite my loyal weekday listeners to spend their Saturday mornings with me.”

However, in a rapidly mustered group statement, the Chairmen of the Adelaide, Melbourne, Queensland, Sydney, Tasmanian and West Australian Symphony Orchestras took a swipe at ABC Classic FM for an apparent reduction in quality content. Acknowledging the “outstanding and sustained contribution” that Throsby has made...