The controversial history of commercial radio in Australia
From rock 'n' roll to cash-for-comment and the recent saga of Jonestown, ARC Queen Elizabeth II Fellow (and Macquarie alumnus) Dr Bridget Griffen-Foley is unpacking the exciting and often controversial history of commercial radio in Australia.
After writing books about the Packer dynasty and, most recently, the relationship between politicians and the media, Griffen-Foley set her sights on writing the first full scale history of Australian commercial radio from the 1920s until the contemporary era.
"There has been remarkably little written about the history of Australian radio" says Griffen-Foley. "Radio is the most intimate, pervasive and portable medium in Australia. There has been some fine work about the history of the ABC and community radio, but very little on the commercial industry which has the biggest audience share. I'm now completing the first economic, political and cultural history of the sector."
Why commercial radio?
Griffen-Foley's interest in commercial radio stems in part from the public's fascination with the medium and its personalities, and debates about talkback radio's role in political and social agenda-setting. "Some of the biggest media stories and controversies of recent years have focused on commercial radio," explains Griffen-Foley. "Cash-for-comment was the most significant example of that."
Issues being addressed by Griffen-Foley include radio's political influences, its role in the professionalisation of sport, its adaptations to the new medium of television, changes in music trends, and public perceptions of commercial radio. "This is really designed as a synoptic study which I hope will inspire more work in the field."
Conducting research
A full-time research fellow, Griffen-Foley has been travelling the country in search of material.
"One of the challenges of writing about the commercial media is the lack of a centralised source of material," says Griffen-Foley. "The print and audio record is actually vast, but it is scattered in national and state libraries and archives, at individual radio stations and even in people's garden sheds. The research trail is taking me to Bathurst, Orange, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Maryborough, Hobart, Launceston and the UK."
Interesting finds
Griffen-Foley has discovered the first female cricket broadcaster in the British empire, the American origins of John Laws' 'Keeping the Dream Alive' manifesto, and journalistic and regulatory disquiet with 'payola' that pre-dated cash-for-comment by decades.
"I have also recently come across evidence of a Liberal MP in the 1970s, who was later to become a federal minister, making his services available to the Federation of Australian Radio Broadcasters to air questions in parliament."
The book
There will be two sections to Griffen-Foley's ambitious book, which should be published in early 2008. The first section will include chapters addressing the structural issues of ownership, regulation and advertising. The second section will deal with programming genres - news, politics, talkback, sport, religion, drama, comedy and music.
For further information contact Bridget Griffen-Foley bridget.griffen-foley@mq.edu.au