View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Queensland eSpace Localism in Australian radio 1931-2007: From commercial radio to ‘your’ ABC in Mackay Elizabeth Heather Manning A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in June 2008 School of English, Media Studies and Art History 1 Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly -authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the General Award Rules of The University of Queensland, immediately made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Statement of Contributions to Jointly Authored Works Contained in the Thesis No jointly-authored works. Statement of Contributions by Others to the Thesis as a Whole No contributions by others. Statement of Parts of the Thesis Submitted to Qualify for the Award of Another Degree None Published Works by the Author Incorporated into the Thesis None Additional Published Works by the Author Relevant to the Thesis but not Forming Part of it None. 2 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr Maureen Burns and Professor David Carter, for their advice and assistance. Maureen has been endlessly patient through the final revision stage and provided sound practical advice and good coffee. Thanks to Oliver for the brackets. Lara Clark from the Mackay City Library’s Local History Unit was very helpful in navigating me through the library’s local history collection. A history of Mackay by K.H.Kennedy, Mackay Revisited, other local histories and personal memoirs held in the Library collection, particularly those of 4MK founders the Williams family, provided useful information about significant events, local politics and industry issues that affected the Mackay community during the study period. Former and current radio staff members were also generous in allocating time for interviews. This project was funded by an APA(I) grant supported by the Queensland State Library and the Queensland Museum and I would like to thank Brian Randall from the Queensland State Library and Dr Brian Crozier from the Queensland for their assistance, advice and access to the State Library’s John Oxley Collection and the Museum’s Library and database resources. I would also like to thank the administrative staff of the School of English, Media Studies and Art History for their advice and support, in particular the postgraduate coordinator Ms Angela Tuohy. 3 Abstract Media regulation is not an anachronism; it has a real role in protecting public interests. Localism in radio fulfils a civic function in regional communities. But it cannot operate effectively in commercial radio without a strong policy framework. A study of localism policies in Australian commercial radio reveals the long-term effects of broadcast regulation and deregulation on commercial radio’s programming and practices. For many decades the cultural practice of listening to the radio was a very different experience in rural and urban Australia. Commercial radio stations were an audio ‘parish pump’ for their local communities. Some 80 per cent of the community tuned in to their local station and listeners developed a degree of ‘ownership’ of their sole commercial radio service. Commercial radio is an influential yet underrated medium and a neglected area of research although it attracts Australia’s biggest radio audiences. The sector is dominated by regional commercial radio services which outnumber their metropolitan peers in a ratio of six to one. For close to 70 years government broadcast-localism policies created a unique form of commercial radio in non-metropolitan Australia. A case study of commercial radio from 1931 ─ 2007 in the north Queensland town of Mackay demonstrates radio’s significant impact on community identity formation and reinforcement. Commercial radio exercised considerable social, cultural and political power in regional Australia during a period of government-endorsed broadcast monopolies. In regional Australia, localism regulations displaced advertising as the predominant constituting force of commercial radio’s discourse, programming, practices, profitability and structure. Local ownership and local content were actively supported by successive governments as a support for rural communities and a form of resistance to metropolitanism. Listening to the sole local commercial radio station became a community-defining practice. Radio audiences accord a high level of trust to the medium and this feature was enhanced for rural Australians by localism requirements. Radio remains the key site for broadcast localism in regional Australia. Deregulation in the 1990s catalysed a radio boom with new commercial stations opening across the nation. A consequence of this plurality of services has been a decline in live and local programming as network owners use syndicated, prerecorded and relay programming to cut costs. As a result, in many regional areas ABC local radio became the mainstay of broadcast localism. The opposing forces of globalisation and localisation are at their most apparent in the development trajectory of regional commercial radio in Australia. Commercial radio services no longer reflect distinct communities; local content is minimal and national and global matters predominate. Keywords Localism, Mackay, commercial radio, broadcast policy, radio advertising, regional radio, broadcast deregulation. Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) Media Studies 60 per cent, Globalisation and Culture 20 per cent, Rural Sociology 20 per cent 4 Contents Acknowledgements............................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 1 Commercial radio: The starveling at the scholar’s table.............................................................. 13 Why study commercial radio? Follow the audience................................................................................. 15 ABC Radio: A worthy site for study ........................................................................................................ 18 Regional community radio: Weapon of the weak or jukebox for the retired?.......................................... 19 Commercial radio research....................................................................................................................... 20 But never the bush.................................................................................................................................... 22 Why Mackay?........................................................................................................................................... 23 Key themes and approaches ..................................................................................................................... 26 Community............................................................................................................................................... 26 Radio audience as community.................................................................................................................. 28 Socialisation of place: Why place matters................................................................................................ 30 Everyday radio ......................................................................................................................................... 32 Radio audience ......................................................................................................................................... 35 Industry audience research ....................................................................................................................... 37 International radio studies ........................................................................................................................ 39 Research challenges and sources.............................................................................................................. 40 Chapter 2 Localism: The periphery rules? ....................................................................................................