Spencer Howson

Spencer Howson is the "Breakfast" radio presenter on 612 ABC Brisbane, an ABC Local Radio station in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. 2008 is Spencer's eighteenth year in radio and twelfth consecutive year on 612 ABC Brisbane.

Spencer was born in England on March 9, 1972. His family migrated to Australia in 1981, settling in Brisbane. He was educated at Bald Hills State School, Toowong State School, Manly State School (where one of Spencer's friends was Sydney commercial radio shock-jock Kyle Sandilands), Brisbane Grammar School and the Queensland University of Technology.

Spencer's first radio experience was at Brisbane community station 4RPH, part of the Australia-wide Radio Print Handicapped Network, from 1990 to 1993. In 1991, at the age of 19, Spencer was elected Vice President of the 4RPH Board of Directors.

Spencer Howson joined ABC Local Radio in the Queensland city of Rockhampton in 1993. He co-produced programmes presented by Andrew Lofthouse and David Anderson as well as presenting the Friday breakfast shift on 4RK (now re-branded as ABC Capricornia). In 1994, when Andrew Lofthouse moved to Brisbane, Spencer took over 4RK's 8.30am-11am shift. The first 15 minutes was a current affairs round-up, networked across regional Queensland.

In 1995 and 1996, Spencer fronted the regional statewide 2-4pm shift. The programme emanated from Rockhampton until the end of June 1995. Spencer then moved back to Brisbane, whence he continued to present the statewide regional 2-4pm shift. From 1997 to 2000, Spencer Howson presented the 4QR (now re-branded 612 ABC Brisbane) Breakfast Show. In 2001, he returned to his afternoon slot, this time broadcasting into Brisbane as well as regional Queensland.

In 2004 and 2005, Spencer hosted the 612 ABC Brisbane 4-6pm "Late Afternoon Show". He was named ABC Local Radio "Broadcaster of the Year" 2005 and returned to the 5am-7.45am Breakfast shift from January 2006. By the end of the year, the programme was #1 in Brisbane. It was the first time since 1984 that 612 ABC Brisbane (formerly 612 4QR) had topped the coveted Breakfast ratings.

In September 2006, Spencer Howson co-hosted ABC Local Radio's live national broadcast of the Steve Irwin Memorial Concert from Australia Zoo on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. He and co-anchor John Stokes were the only broadcasters permitted to commentate from inside the venue (known as "The Crocoseum").

In May 2007, Spencer was listed in the inaugural Queensland edition of "Who's Who". The book "recognises and reveres" the 4,000 Queenslanders from the arts, community, business, sports, entertainment, rural, environment, medicine, science, media and politics "who have helped make Queensland what it is today".

In July 2007, Spencer Howson joined a "roster" of fill-in presenters back-filling the maternity leave of Jillian Whiting on the Channel Nine television show "Extra".

Spencer proposed to his girlfriend Nikki at the Eiffel Tower in January 1995. They married on Brisbane's Mount Coot-tha in June 1996. In April 2000, Nikki gave birth to Jack Howson, whose birthweight was 6lb 12oz (an interesting coincidence, considering the frequency of his father's radio station).