Section 3 ABC Divisions Sue Howard Director of Radio and Regional Content Sue Howard joined the ABC in 1986. She has presented programs on three ABC Radio networks. Sue has achieved some notable firsts for the ABC, including pioneering ABC Radio’s midnight-to-dawn shift, becoming the first woman to present an ABC Breakfast program (in 1993) and the first female Local Radio Manager, taking on the combined metropolitan and regional management responsibilities in Victoria in 1996. Sue became Head of Regional Services in 1996, Director of Radio in 2000 and Director of Radio and Regional Content in 2007. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Monash University and a Diploma of Education. ABC Radio and Regional Content In 2007–08, ABC Radio and Regional Content built The emphasis on developing cross-media on its investment in cross-media initiatives and production skills continued in both local and intensified its preparation for the introduction of national content areas. In addition, the Division digital radio on 1 January 2009. undertook a comprehensive program of craft skills training and launched the first two in a series of The launch of ABC Local (formerly The Backyard) craft skills books—Talk Radio: The ABC of Writing in March 2008, provided Australian communities and Talk Radio: The ABC of Interviewing. with enhanced local coverage of their regions as well as a gateway to ABC Online. Communities and Emergency Services National ABC Radio networks increased their ABC Radio, especially the ABC Local Radio network connection with regional audiences, with added of 60 stations across Australia, continued to impetus provided by the extension of ABC provide support and opportunities for community NewsRadio to regional Australian communities in engagement throughout metropolitan and New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South regional centres. As detailed elsewhere in this Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. The Annual Report—ABC in the Community, page extension of this service to regional Australia will 50—ABC Local Radio strengthened further its continue in 2008–09. role as Australia’s emergency broadcaster during floods, cyclones and fires. It provided not only ABC Local Radio upheld its reputation as the essential information but also a conduit for local primary provider of emergency broadcasts and communities to keep in touch with each other via information in Australia during community crises talkback, SMS and email. and continued the development of its 60 local stations as digital content hubs for cross-platform ABC Local Radio, triple j, ABC Radio National delivery. and ABC Classic FM mounted or participated in community events to support Australian and 76 ABC DIVISIONS SECTION 3 Brisbane, Hobart and Adelaide. The concerts, broadcast live on ABC Classic FM, will also be televised later in 2008 on ABC1’s Sunday Arts. This annual event, jointly managed with Symphony Services, rewards young musicians with an introduction to a performing career, access to an ABC studio recording and a professional concert- giving orchestra, the latter an experience which is otherwise impossible to obtain. triplejunearthed.com launched Unearthed High—a quest to discover Australia’s hottest high school band of any genre with original material. The three piece band called [is], from McDonald Secondary College in Strathfield, New South Wales, was chosen from six finalists and will be professionally recorded by triple j’s live music production team for airplay on triple j. The band will also be featured on triple j tv and in jmag. ABC Classic FM launched the Orpheus Remix Local Radio Newcastle Drive presenter, Awards to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Simone Thurtell, at an outside broadcast Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo—the world’s first opera. on Newcastle Beach. The competition invited listeners to compose their own responses to both the Orpheus myth and the notion of “opera” in the form of original four-minute works for radio. Entrants had to use international emergency relief campaigns and in at least one of five samples of the original L’Orfeo initiatives to promote Australian music. provided by ABC Classic FM to remix their own composition. The best entries were produced Australian Content for broadcast on ABC Classic FM and ABC ABC Local Radio and ABC Television joined Radio National. forces to develop The Comedy Hour launched in Sport Coverage Melbourne by Spicks and Specks host Adam Hills and 936 ABC Hobart’s Andy Muirhead. The project ABC Local Radio, through its Grandstand aims to identify new and emerging comic talent programming, maintains a strong commitment to to contribute to Australian content across ABC broadcasting a full range of major national and services. It attracted about 500 comedy scripts international sporting events. from the public which will be used to produce ten, The new ABC Cricket website was launched in one hour programs, including a mix of comedic time for the First Test against Sri Lanka and traffic formats for broadcast on ABC Local Radio in eclipsed previous records with over 15 million late 2008. accesses for the first two Tests in November 2007. ABC Radio’s Regional Production Fund launched Cricket coverage dominated in summer, featuring the sixth annual Short Story Project, in July 2007, Jim Maxwell and Glenn Mitchell, with Kerry encouraging emerging writers from regional O’Keeffe and Damien Fleming providing expert Australia to reflect the diversity of communities commentary. The highlight was the controversial through their storytelling. Winning entries were Test series against India broadcast in full on ABC produced for broadcast on ABC Radio National Local Radio and streamed online. and ABC Local Radio. Radio and online coverage was provided of the In June 2008, ABC Classic FM hosted the state Rugby Union World Cup in France, the 2008 finals of the ABC Young Performers’ Award in National Rugby League, Rugby Union and the ABC DIVISIONS 77 ABC Radio and Regional Content continued Australian Football League (AFL) seasons, World Cup Football qualifying matches between Australia and Iraq and Australia and China, the Super 14 Rugby Union final between New South Wales and the Canterbury Crusaders, and the Rugby Union Test matches involving the Wallabies against Ireland and France. In 2007–08, ABC Radio Sport attained rights to deliver coverage of a range of sports to audiences across Australia in coming years. Commissioned by the ABC Radio’s Regional Production Fund, local Goulburn Murray Agreement was reached to cover the 2008 Rugby playwright, John Walker’s Flight of the League World Cup in Australia, the Australian Uiver was performed and broadcast at the Open Tennis in 2008, 2009 and 2010, the 2009 Albury Performing Arts Centre. Women’s World Cup Cricket in Australia, the 2009 20/20 World Cricket Championship in England and the 2011 World Cup Cricket in India. ABC Radio National launched its first blogs for All Agreement was also reached to broadcast in the Mind and The Saturday Extra programs, all soccer matches in Australia involving the as well as Movietime reviews produced for Australian Socceroos over the next two years. This delivery on mobile phones which attracted 6 125 included matches against Argentina and China in downloads in the first nine days. 2008 and a series of World Cup qualifying games A new feature designed to support user in 2009. contributions was added to the website of ABC Radio Sport has also secured the exclusive the regional youth initiative, Heywire, to Australian Radio Rights—both digital and AM and enable audience upload of images and video, FM—to the Australian Cricket Team’s Ashes Tour encouraging users to see ABC Online as part of to England in 2009. This is the first time digital their own personal digital space. radio rights have been secured for such content. ABC Classic FM commenced video streaming of All Test, One Day Internationals and 20/20 concerts live on its website and podcasts of the matches will be broadcast on ABC Local Radio Morning show. and potentially on ABC Digital Radio, continuing the tradition of ABC Radio coverage of Ashes Tour triplejunearthed.com celebrated its first birthday, since 1934. with music uploaded to the site from 10 400 artists, 80 000 registered users, 1.6 million tracks Digital Media Initiatives downloaded and 3.9 million tracks streamed in In 2007–08 ABC Radio and Regional Content that period. The network’s AWOL blog was listed continued to increase production output beyond in the top 10 Australian media blogs by Australian the traditional analog radio services for delivery on blog search engine Gnoos. multiple platforms, including podcast-only series. With the addition this year of 666 ABC Canberra In October 2007, ABC Radio National recorded and 612 ABC Brisbane, all nine ABC Local Radio its 20 millionth download since commencing metropolitan stations are streamed online. podcasting in 2005. This demonstrated the The network also launched two podcast-only strength of demand for content made available initiatives. The first was The Great Australian Train in a form audiences can consume whenever and Show, a 16-part series presented by former Deputy wherever they choose. Prime Minister, Tim Fischer, covering all aspects The network also launched the RN Shuffle, a of train related history and the role of trains in podcast sampler of excerpts from a range of ABC Australian culture. The second, Multiple Choices, Radio National programs, designed to whet the presented by well-known columnist, Susan appetites of subscribers keen to expand their Maushart, focused on the choices people face in listening range but not sure where to start. their daily lives. 78 ABC DIVISIONS SECTION 3 Former Deputy Prime Minister and presenter of ABC Local Radio’s podcast series, The Great Train Show, Tim Fischer, on the platform at Albury Station, in NSW. On ANZAC Day, ABC Darwin delivered a two Torres Strait Islanders, as well as ANZAC Day, hour streamed program Talking to the Troops, the memorial service for HMAS Sydney and the connecting Australia’s military at home and Olympic Torch Relay in Australia.