MILESAGO - Media - Radio

Talkback Radio

 

Talk-back Radio evolved from Radio's desire to augment its news bulletins and "Actualities" (the voices of the newsmakers making comment). Whilst the telephone was the most convenient means of contacting such people, the then law prohibited the broadcast of phone conversations.

Radio lobbied successive Federal Governments, firstly being granted the right to broadcast the solus voice of the subject recorded by telephone, ie no interviews were allowed. Later the government relented, allowing both sides of a telephone conversation to be broadcast, so long as the airing of the material was delayed by seven seconds. This was to allow for the aborting of a call before obscenities went to air or to avoid the broadcast of defamatory references or comments likely to attract legal challenge.

In Australia in the Sixties, Talk-back Radio was a popular form of broadcast in the mornings, from 9am to 12 noon, with stations continuing to play popular music for the remainder of the day.

The Talk-back show was often hosted by a lone broadcaster, who may have previously been a Disc Jockey, but some radio stations established panels of experts who would advise callers on their problems or discuss callers points of view.

By the late Seventies a variety of formats had emerged. Commercial Radio Stations were becoming more individually specialised with music programing devoted entirely to "Easy Listening" or "Beautiful Music" or "Country" or "Adult Contemporary" or variations of the original Top 40 format with inclusions of past hits, referred to as "flashbacks", "Golden Oldie’s" and a number of other titles.

The Talk-back programme still remained as a morning programme with music for the remainder of the day.

Later Talk-back was extended to other parts of the day, establishing the format known as News/Talk.

http://www.radioschool.com.au/web6e.htm#TALK-BACK RADIO