LISTEN HERE: The first Paul Holmes Breakfast Show on Newstalk ZB

Happy Birthday to us. Newstalk ZB is 35 today. 

It came out of the 1ZB, 2ZB etc network, a group of stations owned by the state, and a set of stations that was a sort of all things to all people sort of model. 

The realisation was that the radio market was changing, FM was here, licences were sold, and a myriad of different operators were entering the field. There was choice everywhere, and as a result of that choice, being everything to everyone was never going to be a recipe to survive, far less succeed. 

So Newstalk ZB it was, and what a stroke of genius it turned out to be. 

This country has had, and still has as far as I know, the largest number of radio stations per head in the world. We are spoiled for choice. The market has changed over the years, owners have come and gone, small operators are few and far between, and the bulk of the operators now are owned by a couple of major players. One of which is NZME, which owns ZB. 

I've worked for ZB when it was owned by the Government as Radio New Zealand, when the commercial arm of the company was split, when the commercial arm was sold, when it was floated, when it got into a world of financial pain, and when it flourished. 

I arrived at 4ZB in Dunedin from 4XO, a station no longer in existence. I was doing the drive show. Some chat, some music, and some calls. 

In the first week they had a form they sent round asking, what did you want to achieve at ZB in the next twelve months? I didn’t want to achieve anything, I had only just turned up, so I said I'd do 9am to 12pm. It made me look ambitious, and it turns out the bloke went on holiday, I filled in, they liked me, and decades later here I am. 

Part of the success of this place is quite simple. Hire well, work hard and keep turning up. This station has had two Breakfast hosts in its 35 years. Sir Paul Holmes and me. 

If you value the audience, and that’s another of our secrets that we do, you don't muck with success, you don’t chop and change, you don’t panic, and you don't fiddle. I think, with the exception of one short period in Sir Paul's tenure, we have been number 1 for all of the 35 years. 

We've never taken it for granted, we've always worked for it, and we've always appreciated it. We have evolved but stayed consistent, we have seen the competitors come, and a lot of them go. 

Competition is a good thing. That's another reason we have succeeded. We like competition, we rise to it, and we beat it. 

This place is a big part of the New Zealand media landscape. Was then, is now, and if we get our way always will be. 

Hope you are enjoying the ride. 35 years in, Newstalk ZB is still looking good.