Steve Ahern

Steve Ahern is a media executive, strategist, trainer and international consultant in modern broadcast media.

In 2009 he was awarded an Order of Australia medal for his contributions to the radio industry and education in Australia.[1][2]

Ahern has been active in training radio and television industry organisations for the transition to digital radio, digital television, and new OTT services. He lectures about the future of media in Australia and internationally,[2][3] and in 2020 joined the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) to Head the organisation's Media Academy.

As the CEO of AMT Pty Ltd and IMBA, before joining the ABU, Ahern consulted as a media futurist, advising broadcasters how to adapt to the new smartphone, smart speaker and social media environments, as well as advising on how to restructure media companies in the new media era. His presentations and articles include how media can be useful in fighting fake news,[4] radio in media-dark countries[5] journalism in dangerous environments[6] and media reform in Australia.[7] He works with TV, Radio and new media broadcasters to modernize their news gathering and broadcasting techniques[8] and consults on organizational change for various international broadcasting organisations.

Ahern founded the radioinfo.com.au website, and his company publishes several trade journals. He was the Director of Radio at the Australian Film Television and Radio School[9][10] for ten years and the manager of three ABC Radio stations: 3LO Melbourne, 2CN Canberra and 2NC Newcastle.

He has commented in the media about the radio industry in Australia.[10][11] He is the editor of the book Making Radio: A practical guide to working in radio,[12] published in 2006, (2nd Edition 2011, 3rd Edition 2013).[13][14] a novel, Harbour Terror, published in 2008,[15] and an article about the first Director of AFTRS, Jerzy Toeplitz, for the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

Ahern has published articles and conference papers on the future of media, including the importance of media in developing countries.[16]

Ahern lectures radio professionals through his firm, Ahern Media and Training and was the CEO of the International Media & Broadcasting Academy (IMBA) [17][18] before joining the ABU. He is a board member of the Community Broadcasting Foundation of Australia.[19]

In 2000 he was the founding consultant and curriculum developer for the National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA) and in 2012 was founding interim CEO of Nai Media Institute, the first professional media training organization in Afghanistan.[1] In 2014 Ahern and business partner Peter Saxon bought AsiaRadioToday.com[20] and in 2015 he was the first to launch a 'catch-up radio' product called Rewind Radio, which was later sold.