This article explores the intersections between Australian party politics and commercial talkback radio from 1967 to 1983. It considers the eagerness of individual politicians such as John Gorton and R.W. Askin to exploit the possibilities of ‘dial-in’ radio, addresses how political parties came to view the usefulness (and the dangers) of talkback radio, and assesses the political interventions of Brian White, Ormsby Wilkins and John Laws. In doing so, the article traces the radio industry's campaign against the ban on pre-election comment, the evolution of the Fairness Code for Broadcasters, and the relationship between media monitoring and talkback radio.
References
1.
Age, 13 April 1967, 24 April 1969, 23 May 1990.
2.
AllenPeter2004, Media Monitors Australia 1904–2004, Media Monitors, Sydney.
3.
Australian, 19 August 1969, 28 April 2005.
4.
Australian Broadcasting Tribunal1988, Annual Report, AGPS, Canberra.
5.
Australian Financial Review (AFR), 18 July 1979.
6.
B&T, 27 April 1967.
7.
BlewettNeal1973, ‘Labor 1968–72: Planning for Victory’ in MayerHenry (ed.), Labor to Power: Australia's 1972 Election, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, pp. 6–16.
8.
Commonwealth Parliamentary Debates (CPD)1973, House of Representatives, vol. 86, pp. 3244–49.
9.
Courier-Mail, 14 May 1974.
10.
EdwardsJohnHawkinsTrevor1975, ‘How the “Backlash” Came Through on Talkback and TV’, National Times, 27 October–1 November, pp. 12, 15–16, 30.
11.
Griffen-FoleyBridget2003, Party Games: Australian Politicians and the Media from War to Dismissal, Text Publishing, Melbourne.
12.
Griffen-FoleyBridget2005, ‘First Lady of the Airwaves’, Eureka Street, vol. 15, no. 5, June, pp. 22–23.
13.
HancockIan2002, John Gorton: He Did It His Way, Hodder, Sydney.
14.
Herald (Melbourne), 29 December 1967.
15.
HinchDerryn2004, The Fall and Rise of Derryn Hinch, Hardie Grant Books, Melbourne.
16.
John Fairfax Archives (JFAa) 1966, Box 200.27/3, File: 2GB–Macquarie General 1952–68, report by D.L. Foster.
John Oxley Library, ALP Queensland Branch Papers, OMR/11, 28th Labor-in-Politics Convention, 1974, Press and Public Relations Report.
19.
KellyPaul2000, Paradise Divided, Allen & Unwin, Sydney.
20.
LawsJohn2005, interviewed by Bridget Griffen-Foley, 5 May.
21.
LloydC.J.2002, ‘Donald Kilgour Rodgers’, Australian Dictionary of Biography, vol. 16, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, pp. 118–19.
22.
LyonsJohn1991, Laws: A Life of Power, Random House, Sydney.
23.
Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales: MSS 2083, ALP NSW Branch Papers, Box 127, Item 292, letters from J.A. Mulvihill to J.A. McNamara, 3 January and 16 February 1968 and McNamara to Mulvihill, 19 March 1968; Box 88, Item 194, letter from Mulvihill to W.R. Colbourne, 31 March 1969.
24.
MundayRosemary1974–75, ‘How to Succeed in the Open Line Business’, National Times, 30 December–4 January, p. 13.
25.
National Film and Sound Archive (NFSAa), Federation of Australian Radio Broadcasters Records, Items 167–8, 287, 542, 569, 584, 644, 871.
26.
NFSAb1995, 319341, Jeff Medwell interviewed by Paul Linkson, 24 August.
27.
National Library of Australia (NLAa)1971, MS 4985, ALP Federal Secretariat Papers, Box 116, Folder 12, ALP Platform, Constitution and Rules as approved by the 29th Commonwealth Conference, Launceston.
28.
NLAb1972: MS 4985, ALP Federal Secretariat Papers, Box 174, Folder: Radio, letter from S.R.I. Clark to E.G. Whitlam, 14 April.
29.
NLAc1973, MS 6216, Sir Billy Snedden Papers, Series 7, Folder 90, confidential memo from ‘Geoff’ to Snedden, 7 April.
30.
NLAd1979, MS 4985, ALP Federal Secretariat Papers, Box 374, ‘Communications Unit’, n.d. (c. early 1979); Box 523, ALP Campaign Manual.
31.
NLAe, MS4985, ALP Federal Secretariat Papers, Box 508, File: Media contracts 1977–1982, Media Monitors proposal.
32.
Newspaper News, 21 March 1969.
33.
OakesLaurieSolomonDavid1973, The Making of an Australian Prime Minister, Cheshire, Melbourne.
34.
PryorGeoff1981, ‘Media Monitoring by the Public’, Media Information Australia, no. 21, August, pp. 13–19.
35.
ReynoldsPaul L.1983, ‘Political Chronicle: The Commonwealth’, Australian Journal of Politics and History, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 505–16.
36.
RichardsonGraham1994, Whatever It Takes, Bantam Books, Sydney.
37.
State Library of Victoria (SLVa) c. 1972, MS 10389, Democratic Labor Party Records, Box C/1/22, File: Radio Talkback, ‘Ratings for Radio Programs’, n.d.
38.
SLVb: PA02/07, Norman Banks Papers, Box 13, ‘Fun’ reminiscence.
39.
StoneGerald2002, Singo: A Biography of John Singleton, HarperCollins, Sydney.
40.
Summers, Anne1983, Gamble for Power, Nelson, Melbourne.
41.
Sun, 8 May 1974.
42.
Sun-Herald, 20 January 1985.
43.
Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), 31 January 1969, 14 October 1969, 8 May 1974, 26 November 1975, 28 November 1975, 4 May 1979, 17 August 1979, 23 May 1990.
44.
WhiteBrian1975, White on the Media, Cassell Australia, Sydney.
45.
WhiteBrian1980, ‘Report from the Towers of Babel’, National Times, 10–16 August, pp. 37–38.
