By Diana R. Combe, B. Soc. Stud. (Hons), University of Sydney
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The Radio Serial Industry in Australia. An historical study of the production of serials in Australia, and the influence of the industry in the development of commercial radio. By Diana R. Combe, B. Soc. Stud. (Hons), University of Sydney. Thesis in fulfilment of Doctor of Philosophy Degree, 1992. Department of History, Philosophy and Politics, Macquarie University. MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY HIGHER DEGREE THESIS (PhD) AUTHOR^S CONSENT This is to certify that I , ... ................................. being a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy am aware of the policy of the University relating to the retention and use of higher degree theses as contained in the University’s PhD Regulations generally, and in particular. Regulation 21(2). In the light of this policy and the provisions of the above Regulations, I agree to allow a copy of my thesis to be deposited in the University Library for consultation, loan and photocopying forthwith. ; ------------ Signature of I^Wtaess Signature of Candidate Dated this day of . ^ The Academic Senate on 30 November 1993 resolved that the candidate had satisfied requirements for admission to this degree. This thesis represents a major part of the prescribed program of study. DeclaraHon. I hereby declare that this thesis is all my own work and has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other university or institution. Diana Combe 28 September 1992 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 1 Synopsis 2 Abbreviations 3 Introduction 4 Chapter 1. The Development of Serial Drama: 24 The beginning of radio drama: Britain and the USA; Radio drama in Australia; Plays, variety and serial drama; What the sponsors sought; The 'real' serial; Australian radio drama; A federal network; Creating a station image. Chapter 2: Influences in Programming: 56 Selling 'spots' and sponsorships; New networks; Enter the serials; George Edwards and his impact on radio drama; Advertising agencies: Goldberg and J.Walter Thompson; Program Distribution; The agency threat. Chapter 3: Influences on Programming: 84 Power and coverage; Broadcasting and the press; Competition for imported programs; Chains and networks; Independent producers; The networks expand; BSA: promises and problems; Reorganisation under MBS; Recruiting network stations; MBS: structure and control. Chapter 4: Networks: Operations and Effects: 117 The effects of recording; Organisation of production for MacQuarie; Diverging interests for 2GB and 2\JE!Sun; Effects on serial production; Repercussions of the war; The live-audience shows; Time-blocks for national advertisers; Complaints against networks; Decline of local drama. Chapter 5: Producers and Production: ISO Broadcaster/producers; Independent producers; Producer/directors; Production by the ABC; Imported transcriptions; Coping with shortages. Chapter 6: Sales and Program Control: 180 Serials as property; Local sales; Despatch; Overseas sales; Forecasting for MacQuarie: the '40s; The COLGATE-PALMOLIVE 'affair'; A troubled time for radio. Chapter 7: Radio Actors: 203 Acting for radio; Calculating numbers; Actors Equity; Conditions of employment; The 1944 award; Organising time; Recording: all in a day's work; Contracts for freelancers; Forced anonymity. Chapter 8: Radio Writers: 231 What and how to write for radio; The development of scriptwriting in Australia; Conditions of employment; Earning a living by freelancing; Sources of income; Competition from imported scripts; Writers in Equity; Faults of 'the system'; A question of quality. Chapter 9: The Serials: Style and Content: 260 Decency in broadcasting; Moral codes in Australian serials; Ratings; Views of the audience; Identification and commitment; The value of stereotypes; Sex, politics, and religion; Serials and the war effort. Chapter 10: The Effect of Television on Radio Drama: 295 American and British television; Preparing for television: Australia; Radio digs in Television programs; The decline of radio drama; Television and employment; Employment of artists; Epilogue for radio. Conclusion 327 Appendix 1. Wireless Technology 350 Appendix 2. Technology of Recording 355 Appendix 3. Australian Production Houses 364 Appendix 4. Biographies 372 Appendix 5. Dates of Serials 378 Bibliography 380 Acknowledgements The mention of names in the Bibliography does not begin to acknowledge my gratitude to the individuals and institutions whose help made this work possible. The early days of commercial radio in Australia are not well documented, so information about the production of serials for broadcasting - about how and why decisions were made, and what it was like to work in the industry - is largely in the memories of the people who actually made the serials, or whose work impinged in some way on it. Their belief in the value of this work led them, not only to give generously of their own time for interviews, and to entrust me with their scrapbooks and other memorabilia, but to suggest other possible informants, and many fruitful lines of investigation. Nor can I speak too highly of the help I have received from the staff of the various organisations holding archival material, company records, and other documentary material. These include the National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra; National Library, Canberra; Mitchell Library, Sydney; LaTrobe Library, State Library of Victoria; Fryer Memorial Library, University of Queensland; Australian Archive, Brisbane; ABC Archives, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide; Trades and Labour Archive, Canberra; Australian War Memorial Library, Canberra; Performing Arts Museum, Adelaide; Federation of Radio Broadcasters; NSW, Victorian and Queensland branches of Actors Equity, and AWA. A work of this kind is not conceived or accomplished without a considerable amount of encouragement, and for this, as well as their practical assistance I must thank, in particular, Peter Burgis (then head of the Sound and Radio Research and Acquisition, NFS A, Canberra); J.M. Rushton, Deputy Federal Director of FARB; Professor Peter Spearritt; and Associate Professor Murray Goot who supported this project through many difficult years. Synopsis Serials were an important element of commercial programming from the 1930s to the 1960s because they performed particular functions for stations and advertisers. Drama was expensive, however, so broadcasters had to organise cooperative production of recorded serials for distribution by networking, a process which continually challenged the Government regulations designed to prevent just that. The success of the broadcasters in popularising broadcast advertising provoked newspapers to involve themselves in broadcasting and stations to seek a reciprocal advantage through association with newspapers. The Government’s response was to restrict the formation of chains of ownership and/or control, but to permit the operation of cooperative networks which made country stations economic inclusions in sponsorship contracts. The demand for serials encouraged the formation of many independent production companies, but competition from cheap American transcriptions depressed their sales and prices. Moreover, the small size of the local market meant that many fmmd it necessary to sell overseas to make a profit, so serials which had already been shaped to appeal to the mass audience in Australia, had to be further modified - 'internationalised' - to make them acces sible to foreign mass audiences. This loss of Australian-ness, plus the circulation of American serials, led to a still-unresolved discussion about the nature of Australian 'culture', whether it should be protected, and if so, how best to do it. During the 1940s and 1950s, the radio serial industry was able to support a great many artists and technicians. The economics of the industry, however, were such that its viability depended on their accepting low fees and onerous working conditions. After 1956, wherever a television station began broadcasting, audiences lost interest in radio drama, and so too did advertisers. Sales of new serials began to fall off, and by 1960 the serial production industry was dead, and most of the artists unemployed. Abbreviations ABC Australian Broadcasting Commission ABCB Australian Broadcasting Control Board ABCo. Australian Broadcasting Company AFCRB Australian Federation of Commercial Radio Broadcasters AGPS Australian Government Publishing Service A.N.U. Australian NAtional University A.N.U.P. Australian University Press Aust. Rad. Pic. Australian Radio Pictorial B&T Broadcasting & Television B.B. Broadcasting Business Com. Br. Commercial Broadcasting C.U.P. Cambridge University Press JWT J. Walter Thompson M.U.P. Melbourne University Press NFSA National Film and Sound Archive N.Y. New York N.Y.U.P. New York University Press O.U.P. Oxford University Press P.M.G. Postmaster General's Dept S.U.P. Sydney University Press U.Q.P. University of Queensland Press W.W. Wireless Weekly Introduction I first became interested in radio serials some years ago when I was examining serials of the 1930s to see how they dealt with the Depression. I soon found that although the serials dealt with history, comedy, adventure, crime, and human relationships, they generally avoided anything to do with politics or economics. It then became a question of 'why not'. The more I found out, the more I became interested in the serials as a remarkable phenomenon in Australian broadcasting. They achieved sudden prominence in the early 1930s, were a major feature of programming during the 'forties and 'fifties, yet by the early 'sixties they