CATEGORIES

As a media academic who teaches students wishing to enter the radio sector, I can affirm the claims made in the preface that this is the first comprehensive overview and examination of the history of the commercial radio sector in Australia and is a most welcome addition to this much neglected medium. This very readable, impeccably researched and superbly referenced book is presented in two parts. Part One: The Industry–provides the overarching narrative of regulation and technological advances of the medium amongst the political imperatives of the time. Part Two: The Programs–examines the origins of contemporary programming formats from ‘Uncle Frank’ in the 1920s through to important role of talkback within contemporary democracy and party politics. Although I was reading this book from the perspective of a media lecturer it’s certainly not only for a pure academic audience. Peppered with anecdotes, what makes this a great contribution to Australian cultural history is Griffen-Foley’s ability to articulate the complexity of issues surrounding the sector in an approachable and succinct manner. As Australia finally catches up with the rest of the developed world with the implementation of digital radio, the timing of this book could not be better.

This review from Australian Bookseller & Publisher magazine (October 2009, Vol 89, No. 3) is reproduced by kind permission of Thorpe-Bowker, a division of R R Bowker LLC. © Copyright 2009, Thorpe-Bowker.

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