History of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Encyclopedia
The history of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
spans from its origins as regulatory body to its expansion as a content provider in radio
, television
and new media
.
on 13 November 1923 under the call sign 2SB. Other stations in Melbourne
, Brisbane
, Adelaide
, Perth
and Hobart
followed. A licensing, scheme administered by the Postmaster-General's Department
, was soon established allowing certain stations government funding, albeit with restrictions placed on their advertising content.
In 1924 the licencing system was changed. The Postmaster-General's Department
collected all licence fees and broadcasters were funded as either A-Class or B-Class stations. A-Class stations received government funding and were able to take limited advertising, while B-Class stations received no government funding but could carry more advertising. By 1925 many of the A-Class stations were in financial difficulty.
A 1927 Royal Commission
into wireless broadcasting recommended that radio licence fees be pooled to fund larger A-Class stations. The government established the National Broadcasting Service to take over the 12 A-Class licences as they came up for renewal from 1928. The original legislation permitted advertising, but this was removed from the Act before it came into effect. At the same time, the government created the Australian Broadcasting Company
to supply programs to the new national broadcaster.
Initially the Postmaster-General's Department
, which operated postal and telephone services, was responsible for operating the National Broadcasting Service, although this arrangement did not have universal political support. As a result, the Australian Broadcasting Commission was established on 1 July 1932 to take over the Australian Broadcasting Company and run the National Broadcasting Service.
The ABC was to be based on the BBC
model, funded primarily from listener license fees with some direct government grants.
The Australian Broadcasting Commission's original twelve radio stations were:
These formed the basis for the present-day ABC Local Radio
and Radio National
networks.
At its conception, the Commission was headed by five commissioners appointed by the Governor-General
. From these five commissioners, one was appointed to the office of chairperson and another to the office of vice-chairperson. This board of directors then appointed a General Manager that did not have the office of commissioner. International broadcaster Radio Australia
was incorporated into the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932.
The opening-day program included the first ‘Children's Session’ with ‘Bobby Bluegum’, the first sports program, ‘Racing Notes’, with WA Ferry calling the Randwick races, ‘British Wireless News’, received by cable from London
, weather
, stock exchange
and shipping news
, the ABC Women's Association session (on ‘commonsense housekeeping’ and needlecraft), a talk on goldfish
and their care, as well as ‘Morning Devotions
’ and music. Conductor Sir Bernard Heinze
was appointed part-time musical adviser to the ABC in 1934, while in 1937, the network was further expanded with the purchase of Brisbane’s 4 BC. Two years later, the Commission began publishing the ABC Weekly - a radio magazine promoting the ABC's local radio, and later television, programs.
Over the next four years the stations were reformed into a cohesive broadcasting organisation through regular program relays, coordinated by a centralised bureaucracy. The Australian broadcast radio spectrum at the time was made up of the ABC and the commercial sector.
During the broadcaster's first decades, programs generally consisted of music, news and current affairs, sport, drama, children's educational supplements and school broadcasts. Because recording technology was still relatively primitive, all ABC programs (including music) were broadcast live until 1935, when the first disc-based recorder was installed at the Commission's Sydney studios. For this purpose, the ABC established broadcasting orchestras in each state
, and in some centres employed choruses and dance bands.
Amongst the other early programs were the stations' famous 'synthetic' cricket
broadcasts - when tests were played in England, commentators in the ABC's Sydney
studios used cables from London
and sound effects to recreate the match in play. In addition, all 38 of Shakespeare
's plays were performed live between 1936 and 1938. Local drama was also produced, with a competition for plays and sketches from Australian authors held in 1934. Talks from prominent figures of the time such as King George V
, Pope Pius XI
, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler
and H.G. Wells were also broadcast.
By 1933 regular program relays were in place between the ABC's stations in Sydney
, Melbourne
, Brisbane
, Adelaide
and Perth
- it was not until 1936 that Hobart
was connected with the mainland, through a cable under the Bass Strait
. News bulletins, however, continued to be read in each state from local newspapers (by agreement with the Newspaper Proprietors Association). It was not until 1934 that the ABC hired its first journalist
- the service continued to be expanded, with the appointment of a Federal News Editor in 1936, and in 1939 a Canberra
correspondent to cover national politics.
, the ABC continued to recruit staff, including a greater proportion of women to replace men who had joined the armed forces. The organisation established reporting and recording facilities in a number of overseas locations, including the Middle East
, Greece
and around the Asia-Pacific
region. An early challenge to its independence came in June, 1940 when wartime censorship was imposed, meaning that the Department of Information (headed by Sir Keith Murdoch
) took control of the ABC’s 7 p.m. nightly national news bulletin. This lasted until September, when control of the news was returned to the ABC after listeners expressed a preference for independent news presented by the Commission.
During the war, the ABC's news bulletins
attained a reputation for authority and independence, and from 1942 onwards, were broadcast three times daily through all national and most commercial transmitters. During and after the war, the ABC was given statutory powers that reinforced its independence from the government and enhanced its news-gathering role. From 1946, the ABC was required to broadcast selected parliamentary sessions live, despite the disruption this caused to regular programming.
On 7 January 1941 the ABC revived the Children's Session as a national program, including the "Argonauts Club
", which was first broadcast in 1933-34 in Melbourne. The Argonauts Club proved hugely popular with young Australians - by 1950 there were over 50,000 members, with 10,000 new members joining each year through 1950s. The Club encouraged children's contributions of writing, music, poetry and art, and became one of the ABC's most popular programs, running six days a week for 28 years.
In 1942 The Australian Broadcasting Act was passed, giving the ABC the power to decide when, and in what circumstances, political speeches should be broadcast. Directions from the Minister about whether or not to broadcast any matter now had to be made in writing, and any exercise of the power had to be mentioned in the Commission's Annual Report. It was used only once, in 1963. In the same year, "Kindergarten of the Air" began on ABC Radio in Perth. It was later broadcast nationally and became one of the ABC’s most popular programs.
Another Act passed in the same year required that one of the commissioners be a woman. In 1948, another was passed increasing the number of commissioners to seven and specifying that two must be public servants - one each from the Treasury departments and the Postmaster-General's department. Although the requirement for public servants was dropped in the Broadcasting and Television Act of 1956, the need for seven commissioners was retained - this allowed for each state and territory to be represented.
Around the same time, Prime Minister Ben Chifley
pledged that his government would aim to introduce television
to the country as soon as possible. Changes to the ABC's funding structure took place in 1948 - amendments were made to the Broadcasting Act with the effect that the ABC would no longer receive its finances from licenses, but from a government appropriation.
Changes made in the post-war moved 'serious' programming such as news, current affairs, and features — early forms of what became known as documentaries
to the Commission's national network, with lighter entertainment programming left for the metropolitan stations. A Light Entertainment department was formed, to produce programs such as ABC Hit Parade, The Wilfrid Thomas Show, Bob Dyer
's Dude Ranch and The Village Glee.
Long-running regional affairs program The Country Hour began in December, 1945. The ABC's coverage of rural affairs was significantly enhanced by the deployment of journalists and 'extension officers' to major country areas. The increasing availability of landline
s and teleprinter
s allowed the organisation to gather and broadcast news and other program material with much greater efficiency than in the previous two decades. By this time, as many as 13 national news bulletins were broadcast daily.
In 1956 the ABC had three international bueraux in London
, New York
and Port Moresby
. In the same year, a new office opened in Singapore
.
In 1953, the federal Television Act was passed, providing the initial regulatory framework for both the ABC and commercial television networks. Over the next three years, planning for the introduction of a national television service was put in place - land for studios and transmitters in Sydney
and Melbourne
was acquired, and overseas tutors were brought to Australia to assist with training.
Commercial station TCN-9
Sydney was the first to broadcast in Australia, soon followed by the ABC's own ABN-2 Sydney and later ABV-2 in Melbourne. Six stations, three in Melbourne and three in Sydney, were in operation in time to cover the 1956 Summer Olympics
in Melbourne
. The ABC's first television broadcast was inaugurated by Prime Minister Robert Menzies
on 5 November, at the Gore Hill
studios in Sydney
, followed two weeks later by transmission in Melbourne
.
Although radio programs could be broadcast nationally by landline
, television relay facilities were not put in place until the early 1960s. This meant that news bulletins had to be sent to each capital city by teleprinter
, to be prepared and presented separately in each city, with filmed materials copied manually and sent to each state.
A purpose-built television studio
was built in Sydney
, and opened on 29 January 1958 - replacing temporary sound studios used since the ABC's television services launched in 1956. In the same year, technical equipment was also moved to permanent locations, while main transmitters were introduced to Melbourne and Sydney in 1957 and 1958, respectively.
and Melbourne
, as well as Canberra
, were also established in 1961, replacing temporary microwave relays as a means of simultaneously airing programs across multiple stations. Videotape equipment, allowing the sharing of footage with much greater ease and speed, was installed in each state capital by 1962.
The ABC was one of the first television networks to embrace the rock'n'roll revolution of the late 1950s, most notably with Six O'Clock Rock
, hosted by Johnny O'Keefe
. During the 60s and early 70s the ABC continued to produce programs on popular music, including the pop show Hitscene, performance specials by groups such as Tully
and Max Merritt & The Meteors
, as well as the magazine-style program GTK
, which premiered in 1969 and screened for 10 minutes, four nights per week at 6.30pm, immediately prior to Bellbird
and the 7.00pm news bulletin.
Although it was long thought that most of this priceless material had been erased - much like the BBC
, an "economy drive" undertaken in the late 1970s led to the erasure of large amounts of videotaped material, including most of the first two years of Countdown. However, extensive archival research within the ABC following the recent closure of the old Gore Hill studios in Sydney has revealed that, although some early videotape-only content was erased, much of the primary footage had (fortunately) been shot on film and most of this was retained. It is believed that approximately 80% of GTK has survived.
In the early years of television, the ABC had been using Lissajous
figures as fillers in-between programs. A staff competition was conducted in 1963 to create a new logo for use on television, stationery, publications, microphone badges and ABC vehicles. Graphic designer, Bill Kennard, who had been experimenting with telerecording of the Cathode Ray Oscillograph displays, submitted a design in 1965 which was part of the waveform of an oscilloscope. The letters A-B-C were added to the wavelength design and it was adopted as the ABC's official logo. Mr Kennard was paid twenty five pounds for his design.
In 1967, the weeknightly television current affairs program, This Day Tonight
, and its counterpart on radio, PM, were introduced. The ABC also focused on producing radio and television talk programs that explored a wide range of national and international issues. Prominent among these was The Science Show, which began in 1975, hosted by Robyn Williams
. In the same year radio program, Coming out ready or not (later known simply as The Coming Out Show), produced by the Australian Women's Broadcasting Cooperative, launched, dealing with women's issues.
The ABC also opened a number of new overseas news bureaux - new offices were opened in Jakarta
and Kuala Lumpur
in 1964, New Delhi
and Tokyo
in 1966, Washington
in 1967, and Bangkok
in 1972. Radio Australia
also broadcast special news bulletins to Australian and New Zealand armed forces in Vietnam
, with 20 correspondents covering the conflict between 1965 and 1972.
The number of commissioners was increased once again in 1967 to nine. In 1975 the Whitlam
government introduced, without legislation, a staff elected commissioner position, subsequently discontinued by the Fraser
government. Another Act was passed in 1976, further rasing the number of commissioners to eleven. In addition to mandating a commissioner from each state, it required two women to be on the Commission.
In 1975, colour television was introduced in Australia. Within a decade, the ABC had moved into satellite
broadcasting, enhancing its ability to distribute content nationally. In the same year, the ABC introduced a 24 hour-a-day AM rock station in Sydney, 2JJ (Double Jay), which was eventually expanded into the national Triple J
FM network. A classical music network was established a year later on the FM
band, broadcasting from Adelaide. It was initially known as ABC-FM - referring both to its 'fine music' programming and radio frequency.
The first ABC Shop opened in 1974.
resigned as General Manager in 1982, the same year that the Commission was host broadcaster for the Commonwealth Games
, held in Brisbane
. 1982 was also the Australian Broadcasting Commission's fiftieth anniversary, an event celebrated around the country.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 changed the name of the organisation from the "Australian Broadcasting Commission" to the "Australian Broadcasting Corporation" effective 1 July 1983. At the same time, the newly-formed Corporation underwent significant restructuring - program production in indigenous affairs, comedy, social history and current affairs was significantly expanded, while the Corporation's output of drama was boosted. Local production trebled from 1986-91 with the assistance of co-production, co-financing, and pre-sales arrangements.
The changes also resulted in the split of television and radio operations into two separate divisions, with an overhaul of management, finance, property and engineering undertaken. Geoffrey Whitehead
was the initial Managing Director, however following his resignation in 1986, David Hill
(at the time chair of the ABC Board) took over his position.
In 1981 ABC Radio began carrying Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander
broadcasts in Alice Springs and later Northern Queensland
, while at the same time comedy and social history units were set up, and news and current affairs output expanded.
Teletext services were introduced to ABC-TV
in 1983 to allow hearing impaired viewers access to closed captions. Nationwide, successer to This Day Tonight, was replaced in turn by a new, hour-long, national news program called The National. Having proved unsuccessful, it reverted to a state ABC News
bulletin at , with a state-based edition of The 7.30 Report
following afterwards. Lateline
and Media Watch also launched in the 1980s.
New guidelines passed by the ABC Board in 1984 led to increased Australian content on ABC-TV, particularly in prime time. New programs such as The Investigators, Quantum, and Bush Tucker Man were launched to large audiences. Other popular programs included The D Generation, Australia You're Standing In It
, The Big Gig
, and long-running music program Rage
.
A new Concert Music department was formed in 1985 to coordinate the corporation's six symphony orchestras, which in turn received a greater level of autonomy in order to better respond to local needs. Open-air free concerts and tours, educational activities, and joint ventures with other music groups were undertaken at the time to expand the Orchestras' audience reach.
ABC Radio was restructured significantly in 1985 - Radio One became the Metropolitan network, while Radio 2 became known as Radio National
(callsigns, however, were not standardised until 1990). New programs such as The World Today, Australia All Over, and The Coodabeen Champions were introduced, while ABC-FM
established an Australian Music Unit in 1989. Radio Australia
began to focus on the Asia-Pacific
region, with coverage targeted at the south west and central Pacific, south-east Asia, and north Asia. Radio Australia also carried more news coverage, with special broadcasts during the 1988 Fiji
coup, Tianmen Square massacre, and the First Gulf War.
A government initiative undertaken in 1987 known as the Second Regional Radio Network established nineteen new studios in regional areas (with an additional sixteen upgraded), as well as approximately 300 additional transmitters. At the same time, Radio National and ABC-FM were expanded into these areas. A year later, the Parliamentary and News Network
was established to carry the ABC's mandatory Parliamentary broadcasts on eight transmitters in each state capital as well as Newcastle
, Canberra
, and Darwin
.
The 1990s also saw the expansion of the ABC's network of ABC shops, which sell a wide range of program-related merchandise, including books, CDs and DVD
s. During the same decade, ABC Online
was established as a complement to the organisation's broadcasting endeavours, providing transcripts, podcasts
, and other related material. Triple J
, meanwhile, had grown to cover all state capitals in addition to Darwin
, Canberra
, and Newcastle.
Increasing pressure throughout the 1980s led the ABC to divest its orchestras in 1990. They formed Symphony Australia
, an umbrella organisation that coordinates the now independent state-based orchestras (still owned by the ABC). The Sydney Symphony Orchestra
was the first to be corporatised in 1996 when Sydney Symphony Orchestra Holdings Pty Ltd was formed.
During this period he ABC set in motion plans to consolidate its properties and buildings in Sydney and Melbourne into single sites in each city. It was not until 1991, however that the Corporation's Sydney radio and orchestral operations moved to a new building built by Leighton Holdings
on a single site in the inner-city suburb of Ultimo
. In Melbourne, the ABC Southbank Centre was completed in 1994, and now houses the radio division in Victoria as well as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
The ABC Multimedia Unit was established in July, 1995, to manage the new ABC website (launched in August). Funding was allocated later that year specifically for online content, as opposed to reliance on funding for television and radio content. The first online election coverage was put together in 1996, and included news, electorate maps, candidate information and live results.
By the early 1990s, all major ABC broadcasting outlets moved to 24 hour-a-day operation, while regional radio coverage in Australia was extended with 80 new transmitters. Live television broadcasts of selected parliamentary sessions started in 1990. ABC NewsRadio
, a continuous news network broadcast on the Parliamentary and News Network
when parliament is not sitting, was launched on 5 October 1996.
Trials for digital radio
began in the 1990s, using the popular Eureka 147 standard. At the same time, the majority of operations were upgraded to fully digitised systems for program playout and storage, as well as a word processing system adapted specifically for the needs of the division's news services.
International television service Australia Television International was established in 1993, while at the same Radio Australia
increased its international reach. Reduced funding in 1997 for Radio Australia
resulted in staff and programming cuts.
ABC-FM relaunched in 1994 as ABC Classic FM
, accompanied by major changes to the station's music and programming. In 1995, D-Cart digital technology developed by ABC Radio attracted worldwide interest and was sold to European, North American and Asian markets. The ABC used D-Radio, the first fully digital audio system, for Triple J
.
Australia Television was sold to the Seven Network
in 1998, however the service continued to show content from ABC News up until its closure in 2001.
were drama series Something in the Air, Grass Roots and In the Mind of the Architect.
At the same time, the ABC's Multimedia division was renamed 'ABC New Media', becoming an output division of the ABC alongside Television and Radio. Legislation allowed the ABC to provide 'multichannels' - additional, digital-only, television services managed by the New Media division. Soon after the introduction of digial television in 2001, Fly TV
and the ABC Kids Channel
launched, showing a mix of programming aimed at teenagers and children. The division also experimented with interactive television
in 2001, on the Optus Television
subscription platform.
In July 2002, to celebrate ABC's 70th anniversary, the corporation launched a new logo across all media. Also, 3 new television idents are created for ABC TV
to feature a silver ring transforming to the ABC logo.
In 2002, the ABC launched ABC Asia Pacific
- the replacement for the defunct Australia Television channel operated previously by the Seven Network. Much like its predecessor, and companion radio network Radio Australia
, the service provided a mix of programming targeted at audiences throughout the Asia-Pacific
region. Funding cuts in 2003, meanwhile, led to the closure of Fly and the ABC Kid's Channel.
Meanwhile, ABC Radio continued to upgrade its studio and transmitter facilities. The ABC attracted large audiences for its non-commercial radio coverage of the 2000 Summer Olympics
, with a range of programming across its various networks. All networks celebrated 100 years of radio in 2001 with special broadcasts marking the event and a limited edition CD released, with highlights of the ABC's output since 1932.
ABC NewsRadio
began to continue its news programming online while its radio network broadcast parliament in 2002 - amongst the first of the Corporation's radio networks to offer live, exclusive, streaming online. The service also expanded into the Gold Coast
- the first new coverage area for the network in five years.
In 2003, former Communications Minister Senator Richard Alston
lodged sixty-eight complaints with the Independent Complaints Review Panel against ABC's AM radio program for its coverage of the US-led invasion of Iraq. The panel upheld seventeen of the lodged complaints, overall finding no evidence of biased and anti-Coalition coverage. Of the seventeen complaints by the Minister that were upheld, twelve displayed serious bias on the part of the reporters or the program's presenter Linda Mottram.
ABC2
, a second attempt at a digital-only television channel, launched on 7 March 2005. Unlike its predecessors the new service was not dependent on government funding, instead running on a budget of $3 million per year. Minister for Communications Helen Coonan
inaugurated the channel at Parliament House
three days later. Genre restrictions limiting the types of programming the channel could carry were lifted in October, 2006 - ABC2 was henceforth able to carry programming classified as comedy
, drama
, national news, sport and entertainment.
A 2006 restructure of the ABC board, undertaken by the Howard
government, abolished the position of staff elected director. The elected director was previously nominated and elected by employees of the ABC. Nominees for this director office were to have been employed at least 24 hours a week by the ABC and the term of office was two years with eligibility for re-election to a second term. An elected director was not eligible for a third term of office. This move drew criticism from the Labor Party, Australian Greens
, and the Democrats
, who saw it as a 'revenge measure' taken against the Corporation.
In the same year, Managing Director Mark Scott
formally released a new set of editorial guidelines covering news and current affairs, opinion programs, factual programs and performance pieces. The ABC must express "a full range of views in opinion-based programs and ensure that when an opinion is expressed, it is clearly marked as an opinion." The guidelines came into effect in March 2007.
A high incidence of breast cancer
in female staff working at the ABC's offices in Brisbane
led to the closure of the site, based in Toowong
, on 21 December 2006. Fourteen women were diagnosed with the disease in a period spanning 1994 to 2007. A progress report released in March, 2007, by an independent panel formed to investigate the occurrences found that the rate of occurrence for breast cancer at the offices was 11 times higher than elsewhere.
Since the closure of the site, the ABC's Brisbane television and radio operations were moved to alternate locations around the city, including Ten Brisbane
's studios at Mt Coot-tha. The ABC's Managing Director, Mark Scott
, announced in August, 2007 that new studios would be built on the site, following the final release of the Review and Scientific Investigation Panel's report.
In the lead up to the 2007 federal election, the Australian Government endorsed a proposal submitted to the Australian Communications and Media Authority
by the ABC to launch a second digital channel targeted at children. The new channel, titled ABC3
would aim to provide at least 50% Australian-made content.
In January, 2008 The Australian
reported that the 43-year-old Lissajous curve
logo was to disappear completely with the rebranding of the ABC TV channel as ABC1, complementing the existing ABC2 digital-only channel and the anticipated ABC3 children's channel. ABC management denied it, stating that it would remain in use by the corporation.
ABC iView
, an online video-on-demand service, officially launched in July, 2008. Originally known as ABC Playback, it allows viewers to watch shows from ABC1
and ABC2
, as well as news updates and previews from the ABC Shop
. The service offers full-screen video through a Flash
-based interface, building on the 55 shows already podcasted or released online.
ABC3
and ABC News 24
was currently on two new digital channels since 2009.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
spans from its origins as regulatory body to its expansion as a content provider in radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
.
Origins
The first public radio station in Australia opened in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on 13 November 1923 under the call sign 2SB. Other stations in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
and Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
followed. A licensing, scheme administered by the Postmaster-General's Department
Postmaster-General's Department
The Postmaster-General's Department was created at Federation in 1901 to control all postal services within Australia. Its minister was the Postmaster-General. In mid-1975 it was disaggregated into the Australian Telecommunications Commission and the Australian Postal Commission...
, was soon established allowing certain stations government funding, albeit with restrictions placed on their advertising content.
Postmaster-General's Department
The Postmaster-General's Department was created at Federation in 1901 to control all postal services within Australia. Its minister was the Postmaster-General. In mid-1975 it was disaggregated into the Australian Telecommunications Commission and the Australian Postal Commission...
collected all licence fees and broadcasters were funded as either A-Class or B-Class stations. A-Class stations received government funding and were able to take limited advertising, while B-Class stations received no government funding but could carry more advertising. By 1925 many of the A-Class stations were in financial difficulty.
A 1927 Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
into wireless broadcasting recommended that radio licence fees be pooled to fund larger A-Class stations. The government established the National Broadcasting Service to take over the 12 A-Class licences as they came up for renewal from 1928. The original legislation permitted advertising, but this was removed from the Act before it came into effect. At the same time, the government created the Australian Broadcasting Company
Australian Broadcasting Company
The Australian Broadcasting Company was a consortium of entertainment interests formed in 1929 to supply radio programs for broadcast on the former "A-class" transmitters contracted to the Federal Government's National Broadcasting Service...
to supply programs to the new national broadcaster.
Initially the Postmaster-General's Department
Postmaster-General's Department
The Postmaster-General's Department was created at Federation in 1901 to control all postal services within Australia. Its minister was the Postmaster-General. In mid-1975 it was disaggregated into the Australian Telecommunications Commission and the Australian Postal Commission...
, which operated postal and telephone services, was responsible for operating the National Broadcasting Service, although this arrangement did not have universal political support. As a result, the Australian Broadcasting Commission was established on 1 July 1932 to take over the Australian Broadcasting Company and run the National Broadcasting Service.
The ABC was to be based on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
model, funded primarily from listener license fees with some direct government grants.
The Australian Broadcasting Commission's original twelve radio stations were:
- 2FC Sydney
- 2BL2BL2BL may refer to:*2BL , an Australian radio station 702 ABC Sydney*Block 2BL, a Russian rocket stage....
Sydney - 3AR Melbourne
- 3LO Melbourne
- 4QG Brisbane
- 5CL Adelaide
- 6WF Perth
- 7ZL Hobart
- 2NC Newcastle
- 2CO Corowa
- 4RK Rockhampton
- 5CK Crystal Brook
These formed the basis for the present-day ABC Local Radio
ABC Local Radio
ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites...
and Radio National
Radio National
ABC Radio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
networks.
At its conception, the Commission was headed by five commissioners appointed by the Governor-General
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
. From these five commissioners, one was appointed to the office of chairperson and another to the office of vice-chairperson. This board of directors then appointed a General Manager that did not have the office of commissioner. International broadcaster Radio Australia
Radio Australia
Radio Australia is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , Australia's public broadcaster.- History :...
was incorporated into the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932.
The opening-day program included the first ‘Children's Session’ with ‘Bobby Bluegum’, the first sports program, ‘Racing Notes’, with WA Ferry calling the Randwick races, ‘British Wireless News’, received by cable from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
, stock exchange
Stock exchange
A stock exchange is an entity that provides services for stock brokers and traders to trade stocks, bonds, and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for issue and redemption of securities and other financial instruments, and capital events including the payment of income and...
and shipping news
Shipping News
Shipping News is an American post-rock/post-hardcore band. The group formed in the fall of 1996 when members Jason Noble and Jeff Mueller, who were both in Rodan, collaborated to create music for the Chicago-based syndicated National Public Radio program This American Life. Kyle Crabtree was later...
, the ABC Women's Association session (on ‘commonsense housekeeping’ and needlecraft), a talk on goldfish
Goldfish
The goldfish is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish....
and their care, as well as ‘Morning Devotions
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
’ and music. Conductor Sir Bernard Heinze
Bernard Heinze
Sir Bernard Thomas Heinze, AC was an Australian Professor of Music, conductor, and Director of the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music....
was appointed part-time musical adviser to the ABC in 1934, while in 1937, the network was further expanded with the purchase of Brisbane’s 4 BC. Two years later, the Commission began publishing the ABC Weekly - a radio magazine promoting the ABC's local radio, and later television, programs.
Over the next four years the stations were reformed into a cohesive broadcasting organisation through regular program relays, coordinated by a centralised bureaucracy. The Australian broadcast radio spectrum at the time was made up of the ABC and the commercial sector.
During the broadcaster's first decades, programs generally consisted of music, news and current affairs, sport, drama, children's educational supplements and school broadcasts. Because recording technology was still relatively primitive, all ABC programs (including music) were broadcast live until 1935, when the first disc-based recorder was installed at the Commission's Sydney studios. For this purpose, the ABC established broadcasting orchestras in each state
Symphony Australia
- Symphony Services International :Formerly Symphony Services Australia Limited , Symphony Services International has been orchestrating excellence for many years....
, and in some centres employed choruses and dance bands.
Amongst the other early programs were the stations' famous 'synthetic' cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
broadcasts - when tests were played in England, commentators in the ABC's Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
studios used cables from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and sound effects to recreate the match in play. In addition, all 38 of Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's plays were performed live between 1936 and 1938. Local drama was also produced, with a competition for plays and sketches from Australian authors held in 1934. Talks from prominent figures of the time such as King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
, Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and H.G. Wells were also broadcast.
By 1933 regular program relays were in place between the ABC's stations in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
- it was not until 1936 that Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
was connected with the mainland, through a cable under the Bass Strait
Bass Strait
Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...
. News bulletins, however, continued to be read in each state from local newspapers (by agreement with the Newspaper Proprietors Association). It was not until 1934 that the ABC hired its first journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
- the service continued to be expanded, with the appointment of a Federal News Editor in 1936, and in 1939 a Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
correspondent to cover national politics.
World War II
During the Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the ABC continued to recruit staff, including a greater proportion of women to replace men who had joined the armed forces. The organisation established reporting and recording facilities in a number of overseas locations, including the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and around the Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...
region. An early challenge to its independence came in June, 1940 when wartime censorship was imposed, meaning that the Department of Information (headed by Sir Keith Murdoch
Keith Murdoch
Sir Keith Arthur Murdoch was an Australian journalist and the father of Rupert Murdoch, the CEO and Chairman of News Corp.-Life and career:Murdoch was born in Melbourne in 1885, the son of Annie and the Rev...
) took control of the ABC’s 7 p.m. nightly national news bulletin. This lasted until September, when control of the news was returned to the ABC after listeners expressed a preference for independent news presented by the Commission.
During the war, the ABC's news bulletins
News program
A news program, news programme, news show, or newscast is a regularly scheduled radio or television program that reports current events. News is typically reported in a series of individual stories that are presented by one or more anchors...
attained a reputation for authority and independence, and from 1942 onwards, were broadcast three times daily through all national and most commercial transmitters. During and after the war, the ABC was given statutory powers that reinforced its independence from the government and enhanced its news-gathering role. From 1946, the ABC was required to broadcast selected parliamentary sessions live, despite the disruption this caused to regular programming.
On 7 January 1941 the ABC revived the Children's Session as a national program, including the "Argonauts Club
Argonauts Club
The Argonauts Club was an Australian children's radio program, first broadcast in 1933 on ABC Radio in Melbourne. Its format was devised by Nina Murdoch who had run the station's Children's Hour on 3LO and stayed on when that station was taken over by the Australian Broadcasting Commission...
", which was first broadcast in 1933-34 in Melbourne. The Argonauts Club proved hugely popular with young Australians - by 1950 there were over 50,000 members, with 10,000 new members joining each year through 1950s. The Club encouraged children's contributions of writing, music, poetry and art, and became one of the ABC's most popular programs, running six days a week for 28 years.
In 1942 The Australian Broadcasting Act was passed, giving the ABC the power to decide when, and in what circumstances, political speeches should be broadcast. Directions from the Minister about whether or not to broadcast any matter now had to be made in writing, and any exercise of the power had to be mentioned in the Commission's Annual Report. It was used only once, in 1963. In the same year, "Kindergarten of the Air" began on ABC Radio in Perth. It was later broadcast nationally and became one of the ABC’s most popular programs.
Another Act passed in the same year required that one of the commissioners be a woman. In 1948, another was passed increasing the number of commissioners to seven and specifying that two must be public servants - one each from the Treasury departments and the Postmaster-General's department. Although the requirement for public servants was dropped in the Broadcasting and Television Act of 1956, the need for seven commissioners was retained - this allowed for each state and territory to be represented.
Post-War
In December, 1945 rural affairs program "The Country Hour" premiered. Legislation passed in 1946 requiring the ABC to broadcast Parliament when in session - the broadcasts were put onto the interstate network, however the Commission frequently commented on the disruption this caused to its programming in its annual reports. The ABC was also required to 'secure its news for broadcasting purposes within the Commonwealth by its own staff, and abroad through such overseas news agencies and other overseas sources as it desired' (along with its own foreign correspondents). The news department continued to expand, and was inaugurated on 1 June 1947.Around the same time, Prime Minister Ben Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
pledged that his government would aim to introduce television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
to the country as soon as possible. Changes to the ABC's funding structure took place in 1948 - amendments were made to the Broadcasting Act with the effect that the ABC would no longer receive its finances from licenses, but from a government appropriation.
Changes made in the post-war moved 'serious' programming such as news, current affairs, and features — early forms of what became known as documentaries
Radio documentary
A radio documentary or feature is a purely acoustic performance devoted to covering a particular topic in some depth, usually with a mixture of commentary and sound pictures. It is broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD...
to the Commission's national network, with lighter entertainment programming left for the metropolitan stations. A Light Entertainment department was formed, to produce programs such as ABC Hit Parade, The Wilfrid Thomas Show, Bob Dyer
Bob Dyer
Robert "Bob" Dies OBE , who took the stage name of Bob Dyer, was an American-born vaudeville entertainer, radio personality, and radio and television quiz show host who made his name in Australia. Dyer is best known for the long-running radio and then television quiz show, Pick a Box...
's Dude Ranch and The Village Glee.
Long-running regional affairs program The Country Hour began in December, 1945. The ABC's coverage of rural affairs was significantly enhanced by the deployment of journalists and 'extension officers' to major country areas. The increasing availability of landline
Landline
A landline was originally an overland telegraph wire, as opposed to an undersea cable. Currently, landline refers to a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre, as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where transmission is via radio waves...
s and teleprinter
Teleprinter
A teleprinter is a electromechanical typewriter that can be used to communicate typed messages from point to point and point to multipoint over a variety of communication channels that range from a simple electrical connection, such as a pair of wires, to the use of radio and microwave as the...
s allowed the organisation to gather and broadcast news and other program material with much greater efficiency than in the previous two decades. By this time, as many as 13 national news bulletins were broadcast daily.
In 1956 the ABC had three international bueraux in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Port Moresby
Port Moresby
Port Moresby , or Pot Mosbi in Tok Pisin, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea . It is located on the shores of the Gulf of Papua, on the southeastern coast of the island of New Guinea, which made it a prime objective for conquest by the Imperial Japanese forces during 1942–43...
. In the same year, a new office opened in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.
In 1953, the federal Television Act was passed, providing the initial regulatory framework for both the ABC and commercial television networks. Over the next three years, planning for the introduction of a national television service was put in place - land for studios and transmitters in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
was acquired, and overseas tutors were brought to Australia to assist with training.
Commercial station TCN-9
TCN-9
TCN is the Sydney flagship television station of the Nine Network in Australia and is located at Willoughby. The licence, issued to a company named Television Corporation Ltd headed by Frank Packer, was one of the first four licences to be issued for commercial television stations in...
Sydney was the first to broadcast in Australia, soon followed by the ABC's own ABN-2 Sydney and later ABV-2 in Melbourne. Six stations, three in Melbourne and three in Sydney, were in operation in time to cover the 1956 Summer Olympics
1956 Summer Olympics
The 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. The ABC's first television broadcast was inaugurated by Prime Minister Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
on 5 November, at the Gore Hill
Gore Hill, New South Wales
Gore Hill is an urban locality on the North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Gore Hill is located in the western part of the suburb of St Leonards....
studios in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, followed two weeks later by transmission in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
Although radio programs could be broadcast nationally by landline
Landline
A landline was originally an overland telegraph wire, as opposed to an undersea cable. Currently, landline refers to a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre, as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where transmission is via radio waves...
, television relay facilities were not put in place until the early 1960s. This meant that news bulletins had to be sent to each capital city by teleprinter
Teleprinter
A teleprinter is a electromechanical typewriter that can be used to communicate typed messages from point to point and point to multipoint over a variety of communication channels that range from a simple electrical connection, such as a pair of wires, to the use of radio and microwave as the...
, to be prepared and presented separately in each city, with filmed materials copied manually and sent to each state.
A purpose-built television studio
Television studio
A television studio is an installation in which a video productions take place, either for the recording of live television to video tape, or for the acquisition of raw footage for post-production. The design of a studio is similar to, and derived from, movie studios, with a few amendments for the...
was built in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, and opened on 29 January 1958 - replacing temporary sound studios used since the ABC's television services launched in 1956. In the same year, technical equipment was also moved to permanent locations, while main transmitters were introduced to Melbourne and Sydney in 1957 and 1958, respectively.
1960s and 1970s
Weekly current affairs program Four Corners began in 1961, followed in the same year by Profiles of Power, a series of interviews with prominent Australians. Direct relays between SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, as well as Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, were also established in 1961, replacing temporary microwave relays as a means of simultaneously airing programs across multiple stations. Videotape equipment, allowing the sharing of footage with much greater ease and speed, was installed in each state capital by 1962.
The ABC was one of the first television networks to embrace the rock'n'roll revolution of the late 1950s, most notably with Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock
Six O'Clock Rock was an Australian Rock and Roll television show which showed on ABC Television from 28 February 1959 to 1962 and was broadcast at 6PM on Saturday evenings....
, hosted by Johnny O'Keefe
Johnny O'Keefe
John Michael O'Keefe, known as Johnny O'Keefe was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include "Wild One" , "Shout!" and "She's My Baby"...
. During the 60s and early 70s the ABC continued to produce programs on popular music, including the pop show Hitscene, performance specials by groups such as Tully
Tully (band)
Tully was an Australian progressive rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s which had a close association with the Sydney-based film/lightshow collective Ubu.-Formation:...
and Max Merritt & The Meteors
Max Merritt
Max Merritt is a New Zealand-born singer-songwriter and guitarist who is renowned as an interpreter of soul music and R&B...
, as well as the magazine-style program GTK
GTK (TV show)
GTK was an Australian popular music TV series produced and broadcast by ABC Television.-History:The series title was an abbreviation of the phrase "Get To Know"...
, which premiered in 1969 and screened for 10 minutes, four nights per week at 6.30pm, immediately prior to Bellbird
Bellbird (TV series)
Bellbird was an Australian soap opera set in a small Victorian rural township. The series was produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation at its Ripponlea TV studios in Elsternwick, Melbourne, Victoria. The series was produced between 28 August 1967 and December 1977...
and the 7.00pm news bulletin.
Although it was long thought that most of this priceless material had been erased - much like the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, an "economy drive" undertaken in the late 1970s led to the erasure of large amounts of videotaped material, including most of the first two years of Countdown. However, extensive archival research within the ABC following the recent closure of the old Gore Hill studios in Sydney has revealed that, although some early videotape-only content was erased, much of the primary footage had (fortunately) been shot on film and most of this was retained. It is believed that approximately 80% of GTK has survived.
In the early years of television, the ABC had been using Lissajous
Lissajous
Lissajous may refer to* Jules Antoine Lissajous , French mathematician.* Lissajous curve , a mathematical figure showing a type of harmonic motion.* Lissajous orbit, an orbital trajectory resembling a Lissajous curve....
figures as fillers in-between programs. A staff competition was conducted in 1963 to create a new logo for use on television, stationery, publications, microphone badges and ABC vehicles. Graphic designer, Bill Kennard, who had been experimenting with telerecording of the Cathode Ray Oscillograph displays, submitted a design in 1965 which was part of the waveform of an oscilloscope. The letters A-B-C were added to the wavelength design and it was adopted as the ABC's official logo. Mr Kennard was paid twenty five pounds for his design.
In 1967, the weeknightly television current affairs program, This Day Tonight
This Day Tonight
This Day Tonight was an Australian Broadcasting Corporation current affairs program of the late 1960s and early 1970s.- Overview :...
, and its counterpart on radio, PM, were introduced. The ABC also focused on producing radio and television talk programs that explored a wide range of national and international issues. Prominent among these was The Science Show, which began in 1975, hosted by Robyn Williams
Robyn Williams
Robyn Williams AM is a science journalist and broadcaster resident in Australia who has hosted the Science Show on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 1975, Ockham's Razor and In Conversation .-Background:Robyn Williams was born in Buckinghamshire, England, and educated in Vienna and...
. In the same year radio program, Coming out ready or not (later known simply as The Coming Out Show), produced by the Australian Women's Broadcasting Cooperative, launched, dealing with women's issues.
The ABC also opened a number of new overseas news bureaux - new offices were opened in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
and Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
in 1964, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
in 1966, Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1967, and Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
in 1972. Radio Australia
Radio Australia
Radio Australia is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , Australia's public broadcaster.- History :...
also broadcast special news bulletins to Australian and New Zealand armed forces in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, with 20 correspondents covering the conflict between 1965 and 1972.
The number of commissioners was increased once again in 1967 to nine. In 1975 the Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
government introduced, without legislation, a staff elected commissioner position, subsequently discontinued by the Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
government. Another Act was passed in 1976, further rasing the number of commissioners to eleven. In addition to mandating a commissioner from each state, it required two women to be on the Commission.
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
broadcasting, enhancing its ability to distribute content nationally. In the same year, the ABC introduced a 24 hour-a-day AM rock station in Sydney, 2JJ (Double Jay), which was eventually expanded into the national Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
FM network. A classical music network was established a year later on the FM
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
band, broadcasting from Adelaide. It was initially known as ABC-FM - referring both to its 'fine music' programming and radio frequency.
The first ABC Shop opened in 1974.
1980s
The 1980s saw a number of major landmarks for the ABC. Sir Talbot DuckmantonTalbot Duckmanton
Sir Talbot Sidney Duckmanton CBE was an Australian broadcaster and radio and television administrator. As General Manager of the Australian Broadcasting Commission he oversaw the advent of colour television, ABC Classic FM and Triple J.-Early life:The son of Sidney James Duckmanton and Rita...
resigned as General Manager in 1982, the same year that the Commission was host broadcaster for the Commonwealth Games
1982 Commonwealth Games
The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September–9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium , in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the venue which was used for the athletics and archery competitions during the...
, held in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. 1982 was also the Australian Broadcasting Commission's fiftieth anniversary, an event celebrated around the country.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 changed the name of the organisation from the "Australian Broadcasting Commission" to the "Australian Broadcasting Corporation" effective 1 July 1983. At the same time, the newly-formed Corporation underwent significant restructuring - program production in indigenous affairs, comedy, social history and current affairs was significantly expanded, while the Corporation's output of drama was boosted. Local production trebled from 1986-91 with the assistance of co-production, co-financing, and pre-sales arrangements.
The changes also resulted in the split of television and radio operations into two separate divisions, with an overhaul of management, finance, property and engineering undertaken. Geoffrey Whitehead
Geoffrey Whitehead
Geoffrey Whitehead is an English actor. He has appeared in a huge range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at the Shakespeare Globe, St...
was the initial Managing Director, however following his resignation in 1986, David Hill
David Hill
-Politicians:* David B. Hill , Governor of the U.S. state of New York, 1885–1891, U.S. Senator from New York, 1892–1897* David Jayne Hill , politician from New York, United States Assistant Secretary of State, 1898–1903...
(at the time chair of the ABC Board) took over his position.
In 1981 ABC Radio began carrying Aboriginal
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
and Torres Strait Islander
Torres Strait Islands
The Torres Strait Islands are a group of at least 274 small islands which lie in Torres Strait, the waterway separating far northern continental Australia's Cape York Peninsula and the island of New Guinea but Torres Strait Island known and Recognize as Nyumaria.The islands are mostly part of...
broadcasts in Alice Springs and later Northern Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, while at the same time comedy and social history units were set up, and news and current affairs output expanded.
Teletext services were introduced to ABC-TV
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
in 1983 to allow hearing impaired viewers access to closed captions. Nationwide, successer to This Day Tonight, was replaced in turn by a new, hour-long, national news program called The National. Having proved unsuccessful, it reverted to a state ABC News
ABC News (Australia)
ABC News is a national news service produced by the News and Current Affairs division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation - the division is responsible for all newsgathering and production of news output for ABC television, radio and online services...
bulletin at , with a state-based edition of The 7.30 Report
The 7.30 Report
The 7.30 Report is an Australian nightly television current affairs program, that was shown on ABC1 and ABC News 24 at , Mondays–Thursdays...
following afterwards. Lateline
Lateline
Lateline is an Australian television news and current affairs program produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, airing weeknights at on ABC1. The program has developed a reputation for head-to-head debates on current issues and political interviews. Lateline is followed by its sister...
and Media Watch also launched in the 1980s.
New guidelines passed by the ABC Board in 1984 led to increased Australian content on ABC-TV, particularly in prime time. New programs such as The Investigators, Quantum, and Bush Tucker Man were launched to large audiences. Other popular programs included The D Generation, Australia You're Standing In It
Australia You're Standing In It
Australia You're Standing In It was an Australian sketch comedy series produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, first screened in 1983 with a second series made in 1984.-Cast:...
, The Big Gig
The Big Gig
The Big Gig was a popular Australian television comedy series based on the British TV series Saturday Live. It was produced and broadcast by the ABC in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was produced and directed by Ted Robinson, who started his career as the director of the second series of the...
, and long-running music program Rage
Rage (TV program)
Rage is a popular all-night Australian music video program broadcast on ABC1 on Friday nights, Saturday mornings and Saturday nights. It was first screened on the weekend of Friday, 17 April 1987. With Soul Train no longer being produced, it is the oldest music television program currently still...
.
A new Concert Music department was formed in 1985 to coordinate the corporation's six symphony orchestras, which in turn received a greater level of autonomy in order to better respond to local needs. Open-air free concerts and tours, educational activities, and joint ventures with other music groups were undertaken at the time to expand the Orchestras' audience reach.
ABC Radio was restructured significantly in 1985 - Radio One became the Metropolitan network, while Radio 2 became known as Radio National
Radio National
ABC Radio National is an Australia-wide non-commercial radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Radio National broadcasts national programming in areas that include news and current affairs, the arts, social issues, science, drama and comedy...
(callsigns, however, were not standardised until 1990). New programs such as The World Today, Australia All Over, and The Coodabeen Champions were introduced, while ABC-FM
ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic FM is a classical music radio station available in Australia, and internationally online. It is operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . It was established in 1976 as "ABC-FM", and later for a short time was known as "ABC Fine Music" , before adopting its current name...
established an Australian Music Unit in 1989. Radio Australia
Radio Australia
Radio Australia is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , Australia's public broadcaster.- History :...
began to focus on the Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...
region, with coverage targeted at the south west and central Pacific, south-east Asia, and north Asia. Radio Australia also carried more news coverage, with special broadcasts during the 1988 Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
coup, Tianmen Square massacre, and the First Gulf War.
A government initiative undertaken in 1987 known as the Second Regional Radio Network established nineteen new studios in regional areas (with an additional sixteen upgraded), as well as approximately 300 additional transmitters. At the same time, Radio National and ABC-FM were expanded into these areas. A year later, the Parliamentary and News Network
Parliamentary and News Network
Parliamentary News Network was an Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio network dedicated to broadcasting the Australian Parliament's "Question Time" sessions. It was established in the 1960s, parliamentary broadcasts previously being carried by contracted stations.It was taken over by the...
was established to carry the ABC's mandatory Parliamentary broadcasts on eight transmitters in each state capital as well as Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, and Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
.
1990s
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s. During the same decade, ABC Online
ABC Online
ABC Online is the brand name in Australia for the online services of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, managed by ABC Innovation. It covers a large network of websites including those for ABC News, television, radio, and video-on-demand through ABC iView.ABC Online is one of Australia's...
was established as a complement to the organisation's broadcasting endeavours, providing transcripts, podcasts
Podcasting
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
, and other related material. Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
, meanwhile, had grown to cover all state capitals in addition to Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, and Newcastle.
Increasing pressure throughout the 1980s led the ABC to divest its orchestras in 1990. They formed Symphony Australia
Symphony Australia
- Symphony Services International :Formerly Symphony Services Australia Limited , Symphony Services International has been orchestrating excellence for many years....
, an umbrella organisation that coordinates the now independent state-based orchestras (still owned by the ABC). The Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
The Sydney Symphony Orchestra , commonly known as the Sydney Symphony, is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney...
was the first to be corporatised in 1996 when Sydney Symphony Orchestra Holdings Pty Ltd was formed.
During this period he ABC set in motion plans to consolidate its properties and buildings in Sydney and Melbourne into single sites in each city. It was not until 1991, however that the Corporation's Sydney radio and orchestral operations moved to a new building built by Leighton Holdings
Leighton Holdings
Leighton Holdings is Australia's largest project development and contracting group. It is active in the telecommunications, engineering and infrastructure, building and property, mining and resources, and environmental services industries...
on a single site in the inner-city suburb of Ultimo
Ultimo, New South Wales
Ultimo is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ultimo is located 2 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney....
. In Melbourne, the ABC Southbank Centre was completed in 1994, and now houses the radio division in Victoria as well as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
The ABC Multimedia Unit was established in July, 1995, to manage the new ABC website (launched in August). Funding was allocated later that year specifically for online content, as opposed to reliance on funding for television and radio content. The first online election coverage was put together in 1996, and included news, electorate maps, candidate information and live results.
By the early 1990s, all major ABC broadcasting outlets moved to 24 hour-a-day operation, while regional radio coverage in Australia was extended with 80 new transmitters. Live television broadcasts of selected parliamentary sessions started in 1990. ABC NewsRadio
ABC NewsRadio
ABC NewsRadio is an Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio service devoted to delivering live and 24-hour news updates and information. The service is available on a number of broadcasts right around Australia, including AM/FM radio, some pay-TV platforms and online via the Internet.Originally...
, a continuous news network broadcast on the Parliamentary and News Network
Parliamentary and News Network
Parliamentary News Network was an Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio network dedicated to broadcasting the Australian Parliament's "Question Time" sessions. It was established in the 1960s, parliamentary broadcasts previously being carried by contracted stations.It was taken over by the...
when parliament is not sitting, was launched on 5 October 1996.
Trials for digital radio
Digital radio
Digital radio has several meanings:1. Today the most common meaning is digital radio broadcasting technologies, such as the digital audio broadcasting system, also known as Eureka 147. In these systems, the analog audio signal is digitized into zeros and ones, compressed using formats such as...
began in the 1990s, using the popular Eureka 147 standard. At the same time, the majority of operations were upgraded to fully digitised systems for program playout and storage, as well as a word processing system adapted specifically for the needs of the division's news services.
International television service Australia Television International was established in 1993, while at the same Radio Australia
Radio Australia
Radio Australia is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , Australia's public broadcaster.- History :...
increased its international reach. Reduced funding in 1997 for Radio Australia
Radio Australia
Radio Australia is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , Australia's public broadcaster.- History :...
resulted in staff and programming cuts.
ABC-FM relaunched in 1994 as ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic FM
ABC Classic FM is a classical music radio station available in Australia, and internationally online. It is operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . It was established in 1976 as "ABC-FM", and later for a short time was known as "ABC Fine Music" , before adopting its current name...
, accompanied by major changes to the station's music and programming. In 1995, D-Cart digital technology developed by ABC Radio attracted worldwide interest and was sold to European, North American and Asian markets. The ABC used D-Radio, the first fully digital audio system, for Triple J
Triple J
triple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
.
Australia Television was sold to the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
in 1998, however the service continued to show content from ABC News up until its closure in 2001.
2000s
The ABC's television operations joined its radio and online divisions at the Corporation's Ultimo headquarters in 2000. The 2001 Centenary of Federation was celebrated across a number of outlets on 6 May. In the same year, digital television commenced after four years of preparation. In readiness, the ABC had fully digitised its production, post-production and transmission facilities - heralded at the time as 'the greatest advance in television technology since the introduction of colour'. The first programs to be produced in widescreenWidescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
were drama series Something in the Air, Grass Roots and In the Mind of the Architect.
At the same time, the ABC's Multimedia division was renamed 'ABC New Media', becoming an output division of the ABC alongside Television and Radio. Legislation allowed the ABC to provide 'multichannels' - additional, digital-only, television services managed by the New Media division. Soon after the introduction of digial television in 2001, Fly TV
Fly TV
Fly TV was an ABC Television channel available to viewers of digital terrestrial television in Australia. The channel featured programming aimed towards teenagers and young adults. It was launched nationally on 1 November 2001, and aired alongside the children's-oriented ABC Kids Channel, which...
and the ABC Kids Channel
ABC Kids Channel
The ABC Kids Channel was an ABC Television channel available to viewers of digital terrestrial television in Australia. Launched on 1 August 2001, the channel offered repeats of popular ABC Kids programmes both simulcast and timeshifted....
launched, showing a mix of programming aimed at teenagers and children. The division also experimented with interactive television
Interactive television
Interactive television describes a number of techniques that allow viewers to interact with television content as they view it.- Definitions :...
in 2001, on the Optus Television
Optus Television
Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus.-History:Its immediate predecessor was Optus Vision, a joint venture between, Optus and Continental Cablevision with small shareholdings by media companies Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Seven...
subscription platform.
In July 2002, to celebrate ABC's 70th anniversary, the corporation launched a new logo across all media. Also, 3 new television idents are created for ABC TV
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
to feature a silver ring transforming to the ABC logo.
In 2002, the ABC launched ABC Asia Pacific
Australia Network
Australia Network, originally Australia Television International and later ABC Asia Pacific, is a free-to-air international satellite television service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation since 2006. The television and online service broadcasts 24 hours a day on 7 days a week, to...
- the replacement for the defunct Australia Television channel operated previously by the Seven Network. Much like its predecessor, and companion radio network Radio Australia
Radio Australia
Radio Australia is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , Australia's public broadcaster.- History :...
, the service provided a mix of programming targeted at audiences throughout the Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...
region. Funding cuts in 2003, meanwhile, led to the closure of Fly and the ABC Kid's Channel.
Meanwhile, ABC Radio continued to upgrade its studio and transmitter facilities. The ABC attracted large audiences for its non-commercial radio coverage of the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, with a range of programming across its various networks. All networks celebrated 100 years of radio in 2001 with special broadcasts marking the event and a limited edition CD released, with highlights of the ABC's output since 1932.
ABC NewsRadio
ABC NewsRadio
ABC NewsRadio is an Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio service devoted to delivering live and 24-hour news updates and information. The service is available on a number of broadcasts right around Australia, including AM/FM radio, some pay-TV platforms and online via the Internet.Originally...
began to continue its news programming online while its radio network broadcast parliament in 2002 - amongst the first of the Corporation's radio networks to offer live, exclusive, streaming online. The service also expanded into the Gold Coast
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
- the first new coverage area for the network in five years.
In 2003, former Communications Minister Senator Richard Alston
Richard Alston (politician)
Richard Kenneth Robert Alston was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate from 1986 to 2004, representing the state of Victoria....
lodged sixty-eight complaints with the Independent Complaints Review Panel against ABC's AM radio program for its coverage of the US-led invasion of Iraq. The panel upheld seventeen of the lodged complaints, overall finding no evidence of biased and anti-Coalition coverage. Of the seventeen complaints by the Minister that were upheld, twelve displayed serious bias on the part of the reporters or the program's presenter Linda Mottram.
ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
, a second attempt at a digital-only television channel, launched on 7 March 2005. Unlike its predecessors the new service was not dependent on government funding, instead running on a budget of $3 million per year. Minister for Communications Helen Coonan
Helen Coonan
Helen Lloyd Coonan is a former Australian politician, who was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing New South Wales from July 1996 to August 2011.-Early life:...
inaugurated the channel at Parliament House
Parliament of Australia
The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
three days later. Genre restrictions limiting the types of programming the channel could carry were lifted in October, 2006 - ABC2 was henceforth able to carry programming classified as comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, national news, sport and entertainment.
A 2006 restructure of the ABC board, undertaken by the Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
government, abolished the position of staff elected director. The elected director was previously nominated and elected by employees of the ABC. Nominees for this director office were to have been employed at least 24 hours a week by the ABC and the term of office was two years with eligibility for re-election to a second term. An elected director was not eligible for a third term of office. This move drew criticism from the Labor Party, Australian Greens
Australian Greens
The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
, and the Democrats
Australian Democrats
The Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
, who saw it as a 'revenge measure' taken against the Corporation.
In the same year, Managing Director Mark Scott
Mark Scott (businessman)
Mark Walter Scott AO is the current Managing Director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He took up his position in July 2006, having previously been the Editorial Director at John Fairfax, responsible for the editorial content of the group's major newspapers including The Sydney Morning...
formally released a new set of editorial guidelines covering news and current affairs, opinion programs, factual programs and performance pieces. The ABC must express "a full range of views in opinion-based programs and ensure that when an opinion is expressed, it is clearly marked as an opinion." The guidelines came into effect in March 2007.
A high incidence of breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
in female staff working at the ABC's offices in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
led to the closure of the site, based in Toowong
Toowong, Queensland
Toowong is an inner suburb of Brisbane, Australia which is located 5 km west of the Brisbane CBD. At the centre of Toowong is a commercial precinct including Toowong Village and several office buildings...
, on 21 December 2006. Fourteen women were diagnosed with the disease in a period spanning 1994 to 2007. A progress report released in March, 2007, by an independent panel formed to investigate the occurrences found that the rate of occurrence for breast cancer at the offices was 11 times higher than elsewhere.
Since the closure of the site, the ABC's Brisbane television and radio operations were moved to alternate locations around the city, including Ten Brisbane
TVQ-10
TVQ is the Brisbane television station of Network Ten in Australia.The channel was allocated channel 0 on the VHF band and was launched on 1 July 1965 as TVQ-0...
's studios at Mt Coot-tha. The ABC's Managing Director, Mark Scott
Mark Scott
Mark Scott may refer to:*Mark Scott , semi-finalist of American Idol*Mark Scott , American talk show host*Mark Scott , TV actor and host of the TV series Home Run Derby...
, announced in August, 2007 that new studios would be built on the site, following the final release of the Review and Scientific Investigation Panel's report.
In the lead up to the 2007 federal election, the Australian Government endorsed a proposal submitted to the Australian Communications and Media Authority
Australian Communications and Media Authority
The Australian Communications and Media Authority is an Australian government statutory authority within the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy portfolio...
by the ABC to launch a second digital channel targeted at children. The new channel, titled ABC3
ABC3
-Future shows:Programming confirmed for future broadcast will include:* After School Care * Bindi's Boot Camp * Bushwacked! * Dance Academy * Dancing Down Under...
would aim to provide at least 50% Australian-made content.
In January, 2008 The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
reported that the 43-year-old Lissajous curve
Lissajous curve
In mathematics, a Lissajous curve , also known as Lissajous figure or Bowditch curve, is the graph of a system of parametric equationswhich describe complex harmonic motion...
logo was to disappear completely with the rebranding of the ABC TV channel as ABC1, complementing the existing ABC2 digital-only channel and the anticipated ABC3 children's channel. ABC management denied it, stating that it would remain in use by the corporation.
ABC iView
ABC iView
ABC iview is a video on demand and Catch up TV service run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The service became available on 24 July 2008. This was the next step after the podcasting of programmes since July 2006. Currently, this site is only viewable to users in Australia. The site...
, an online video-on-demand service, officially launched in July, 2008. Originally known as ABC Playback, it allows viewers to watch shows from ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
and ABC2
ABC2
ABC2 is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 7 March 2005, it is the responsibility of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television division, and is available nationally to digital television viewers in Australia...
, as well as news updates and previews from the ABC Shop
ABC Commercial
ABC Commercial is the commercial arm of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It is responsible for making a profit through the creation, marketing and retailing of ABC products and services worldwide.-History:...
. The service offers full-screen video through a Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
-based interface, building on the 55 shows already podcasted or released online.
ABC3
ABC3
-Future shows:Programming confirmed for future broadcast will include:* After School Care * Bindi's Boot Camp * Bushwacked! * Dance Academy * Dancing Down Under...
and ABC News 24
ABC News 24
ABC News 24 is an Australian 24-hour news channel launched and owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The channel replaced the former ABC High Definition simulcast of ABC1 and commenced broadcasting at 7:30pm 5:30 on Thursday, 22 July 2010.-Pre-launch:The ABC announced in January 2010...
was currently on two new digital channels since 2009.
See also
- Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
- ABC TelevisionABC TelevisionABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
- Television in Australia
- Television broadcasting in Australia