The Power 50: Zan Rowe

Zan Rowe kicked off her radio career with a stint at student station SRA FM (now SYN) in Melbourne before heading up to Sydney. Rowe began working full time with ABC in 2005 as triple j’s weekend lunch host. For 11 years, she was at the helm of the Mornings program before moving over to sister station Double J in 2018, where she also brought along her Take 5 segment (which has featured guests over the years like Sir Paul McCartney, Tool, Kacey Musgraves, Mark Ronson and more). Rowe was also promoted to ABC’s National Music Correspondent the same year. She has co-hosted Bang On - a podcast with fellow ABC music journalist Myf Warhurst - since March 2017.

2019 really saw Zan Rowe become the face of music for ABC. With her weekly appearances on the network’s high rating breakfast program, Rowe continued to cover breaking stories and offer industry analysis. There was also another big year of Double J Mornings and Rowe’s Take 5 program, with a live audience session taking place at Dark Mofo with Warren Ellis. The Bang On podcast also grew in 2019, with the first-ever live show selling out within days.

Rowe was the first Australian to be an official jury member for the ANCHOR – Hamburg's Reeperbahn Festival International Music Award, joining producers Tony Visconti and Bob Rock as well as musicians Peaches and Kate Nash on the panel. The year wrapped with Rowe once again hosting ABC TV’s New Year’s Eve coverage, which also raised over $1M for bushfire relief on the night, as well as hitting more than $20M in the days after.

"On the last day of 2019, as many around Australia suffered through the worst bushfires in living memory, we turned our ABC TV New Year's Eve celebration into a fundraiser. We helped the nation rally, with a huge fundraising outcome, all while being entertained by some of our best musicians. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding broadcast days of my life."