'Radio Australia, the multilingual overseas radio service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, was launched in 1939 as an instrument of war propaganda. Ever since, it has been caught uncomfortably between those who would continue to use it as an instrument of Australian foreign policy and those who would have it an icon of journalistic integrity. In a covert war, broadcasters, bureaucrats and politicians have struggled for the editorial control of Radio Australia. From the Second World War to the Dili massacre, Radio Australia's news coverage and commentary has been affected by politics and internal conflict. This book raises important questions about journalism, censorship, foreign policy and cultural imperialism. Errol Hodge's exhaustive research has produced this comprehensive, insightful and entertaining book. Radio Wars is a fascinating history of an important but unexplored aspect of Australia's outreach.' (Introduction)
Table of Contents:
Radio Australia at war, 1939-49
A Cold War weapon, 1950-53
Moses: a gutless wonder, 1953-64
Hasluck's push for power, 1965-72
News commentaries: a Cold War battleground, 1950-72
Vietnam: one of the chief agencies for radio propaganda, 1956-73
Indonesian honeymoon, 1945-74
The coming of detente, 1970-91
Indonesian massacre, 1991-93
Voice of Australia
A future for Radio Australia?
'Radio Australia, Australia’s equivalent of the BBC’s External Services, may not sound a promising subject for a book, but Errol Hodge, a former editor of Radio Australia turned don, has written an instructive history of this obscure operation, now fifty-five-years old. At the heart of the story is an unending dilemma. Broadcasts to foreign countries conducted strictly under the thumb of the Minister and Department of External Affairs may well be distrusted by listeners. The alternative, which is to allow the journalists and broadcasters a decent measure of independence, inevitably means that sometimes the station will broadcast items that ministers and civil servants believe to be damaging to the conduct of the nation’s foreign policy. Which method best serves the national interest?' (Introduction)
'Radio Australia, Australia’s equivalent of the BBC’s External Services, may not sound a promising subject for a book, but Errol Hodge, a former editor of Radio Australia turned don, has written an instructive history of this obscure operation, now fifty-five-years old. At the heart of the story is an unending dilemma. Broadcasts to foreign countries conducted strictly under the thumb of the Minister and Department of External Affairs may well be distrusted by listeners. The alternative, which is to allow the journalists and broadcasters a decent measure of independence, inevitably means that sometimes the station will broadcast items that ministers and civil servants believe to be damaging to the conduct of the nation’s foreign policy. Which method best serves the national interest?' (Introduction)
