Cirrus@Austlit

'This article charts the early stages of the Australian Broadcasting Commission's engagement with reporting from Asia. It argues that, in the absence of regular reports from foreign correspondents, something that did not start to occur until the late 1950s, the ABC took reports from an enterprising travel writer, Frank Clune. While Clune's 'on-the-spot' reports were presented as scripts once he returned and his reportage was compromised by the commercial arrangements he undertook as part of his 'assignments', he nonetheless established an audience for international reportage on the ABC. Clune's popular style and commercial aspirations eventually led to an end to his ABC broadcasts. However, the tensions that arose tell us as much about the development of the ABC's cultural mission as they do about Frank Clune's enterprise. (p. 95)