Talkback Radio in Australia
In Australia, talk radio is known as "talkback radio". The most popular talkback radio station historically was Sydney's 2UE, whose populist programs like The John Laws Morning Show, are widely syndicated across the continent. In recent years though, 2UE been eclipsed by its Sydney rival 2GB after the defection of 2UE most popular talkback host, Alan Jones. In Melbourne, 3AW is the highest rating talkback radio station, and has also been the highest rating Melbourne radio station for several decades in a row.
6PR personality Garry Meadows was the first announcer to use talkback radio in early 1967. 'Talkback' radio, using a seven-second time lapse mechanism, began in Australia in April 1967, simultaneously on 2SM, Sydney (with Mike Walsh) and 3DB, Melbourne (with Barry Jones).
In the 1990s and 2000s, "Talkback" on FM has been attempted. The Spoonman was a program hosted by Brian Carlton on the triple m network in the late 1990s and returned in 2005 for 3 and a half years, the show wrapping up in 2008. It was a show which covered many topics, but the 'Hot Talk' format in the USA would probably be the best way to describe the program.
Talkback radio has historically been an important political forum in Australia and functions much like the cable news televisions in the United States, with live and 'saturated' coverage of political issues.
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