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History of Australian Media
Overview:
The
Australian media industry enjoys a history which
is second to none.
Whether
you take TV, radio or print, Australia has produced
some of the best media, and on the rare occasion,
the most controversial, media coverage on the
globe.
Television
has traditionally been the most “entertaining”
of the three main mediums, or should that now
be four, given the advent of the Internet, which
originated in the United States. Some may
well argue that the Internet should not even be
classified as a form of media, given its problems.
Television:
Australia’s
first media broadcast was by way of a news broadcast
presented by Bruce Gyngell on the 16th September
1956, when Bruce said “Hello everyone, and
welcome to television”.
Interestingly,
only 1% of Sydneysiders owned a TV set, while
5% of the Melbournites owned a “box”.
The
first commercial television licences were issued
to the Herald and Weekly Times (Melbourne), General
Television Corporation (Melbourne), Amalgamated
Television Services (Sydney), and Television Corporation
(Sydney).
November
1956 saw TCN9 launch “Bandstand”, hosted
by Brian Henderson, who went on to become a living
legend in Australian television.
In
the same year, TV Week launched its own annual
TV Awards, and GTV9’s Graham Kennedy won
the gold award for most popular TV personality.
1959
saw the Australian Broadcasting Service launch
“Six O' clock” with Johnny O’Keefe.
1963
saw station affiliations change. GTV9 and TCN9
aligned to form the National Television Network,
now known as the Nine Network, along with QTQ9
and NWS9; HS7 and ATN7 align to form the Australian
Television Network, known the Seven Network, along
with BTQ7 and ADS7. TVW7, being the sole
commercial television station in Perth, remains
independent of network affiliation.
In
the same year, the Australian Government invites
applications for new commercial TV licences in
Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth.
In
1968 the Government elected that Australia would
adopt the European standard, PAL, rather than
the United States, NTSC system.
1971
proves to be a huge year, with the launch of Sesame
Street, Young Talent Time, Hey Hey It’s
Saturday and A Current Affair, hosted by Mike
Willesee, on Nine.
1973
saw Number 96 become the most popular programme
on Australian television. It was seen all over
Australia, and delivered a never before seen level
of raunchiness and airing of honest concepts like
homosexuality and explicit sex scenes.
1975
saw Grundy Productions launch its first drama
series, Class of ’74, later becoming Class
of ’75, before it got the chop. The 19th
of October saw test color transmissions by all
networks, and November saw Countdown, with music
legend, Molly Meldrum, begin its amazing 12 year
run on the ABC.
A
huge sports coup occurs in 1977 with Network Seven
going to air with the VFL, and 1978 sees The Melbourne
Cup screened live on Channel 10.
1979
sees SBS screen a series of multi-lingual programs
on the ABC, and 60 Minutes commences, and goes
on to become the most successful current affairs
program in Australian history.
The
1980s were huge, with many new hit shows, and
live television was elevated with telecasted of
the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and 1986 Commonwealth
Games from England.
1990
saw Network Seven and Ten go into receivership,
with both networks later being saved.
1991
sees massive coverage of the Gulf War, Glenn Ridge
replace Tony Barber on Sale of the Century, and
The Simpson’s premier on Channel 10.
Pay
TV commences in 1995 with Galaxy, Foxtel and Optus
Vision.
1999
sees Hey Hey its Saturday get the axe after 28
years on the air.
The
2000s sees Reality TV and games shows become all
the rage with hits like Big Brother, Temptation
Island, The Osborne’s and Who Wants to be
a Millionaire break record numbers.
Radio:
Radio
broadcasting in Australia officially commenced
on evening of 13 November 1923, with a concert.
At
8.00pm on 1 July 1932, the Prime Minister Joseph
Lyons inaugurated the ABC.
The
ABC then controlled twelve stations – 2FC
and 2BL in Sydney, 3AR and 3LO in Melbourne, 4QG
in Brisbane, 5CL in Adelaide, 6WF in Perth, 7ZL
in Hobart and the relay stations 2NC in Newcastle,
2CO at Corowa, 4RK in Rockhampton and 5CK at Crystal
Brook.
Talkback
radio started in 1967, with 3AW Melbourne hitting
the airways.
Radio
has even turned some journalists into broadcasting
legends. Examples include “The Human Headline”
himself, Derryn Hinch and Mike Carlton.
Australia's
best known radio broadcasters are John “Golden
Tonsils” Laws and Alan Jones.
For
many years, the wireless was the most important
and used form of broadcasting for news and entertainment,
and a weekend sitting around the wireless was
all the rage.
Newspapers:
The Sydney Gazette the first newspaper printed
in Australia, one of the earliest pieces of printing
in the colony.
The
key players in Australia’s newspaper publishing
industry were, and in many cases still are, Fairfax,
Murdoch and Packer.
Today,
Australia’s most popular newspapers include
the Sydney Morning Herald, The Daily Telegraph,
and The Herald Sun is the biggest selling daily,
whilst the Sunday Telegraph is the biggest selling
newspaper.
Independent
newspapers are making a small dint in the market;
however the big three will continue to dominate
for decades to come.
Articles
Article:
The Great Aussie Promoters, by Greg Tingle
Article:
The Man They Call Harry M, by Greg Tingle
Article:
Mr PR - Max Markson, by Greg Tingle
Interviews
Interview:
Richard Cashman - Walla Walla Press
Interview:
Doug Mulray - Broadcaster
Interview:
Kevin Jacobsen - Promoter
History
related links
History
of the ABC
ABC:
75 Years of Australian Radio
Journal
of Australian Studies
The
Australian Rock N Roll Appreciation Society
Australian
Newspaper History Group Newsletter (University of
Queensland)
National
Library of Australia
National
Plan for Australian Newspapers Project - History
Personality
websites
more
personality websites
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