This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first radio broadcast in Australia on 23 November 1923. Since that time, radio has been celebrated as a defender of democracy, a vehicle for public debate and an essential service in emergencies. More broadly, radio has been a source of entertainment, information, and companionship to generations of people.
Radio has a track record of reinventing itself, but in the face of decreasing listener numbers and growing online competition, what might its future sound like? What factors could change the identity of radio and help it engage and sustain future audiences? This discussion will reflect on radio in its diversity - from the commercial sector to government-funded broadcasting, and from community radio to more recent entrepreneurial re-imaginings.
Join us to hear from media experts and radio practitioners in a frank exchange about radio’s future and the wider implications for public engagement in a changing media environment.
Chair:
Jonathan Green, ABC presenter and writer
Panel:
Pilar Aguilera, Chairperson, 3CR Community Radio
Prue Bentley, Editor, ABC Ballarat and Southwest Victoria
Professor Jock Given, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology
An ABC Friends Victoria event presented in collaboration with the Eureka Centre Ballarat.
Special thanks to Radio Info Australia.
Image: ‘18-year-old Patricia Delaney, Australian Broadcasting Corporation’ 1944 (detail), Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales. Reference code 9581263. Courtesy ACP Magazines Ltd.
