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Article Excerpt
In 1959, following agonised deliberations extending over a decade, the Australian Broadcasting Control Board (ABCB) determined that foreign-language broadcasts should be restricted to 2.5 per cent of a station's weekly hours of transmission. The foreign-language material was to be immediately followed by a translation into English; advertisements were to be confined to a maximum of 100 words. As discussed in part I of this paper, many of Australia's commercial radio stations were already broadcasting foreign-language programs. (1) This article focuses on examples of such programs produced since the 1950s, particularly those of 'Mamma Lena' in Sydney. It considers the responses of first- and second-generation immigrants to foreign-language programs, the links between these programs and immigration policies, and the ways in which the programs came to be enthusiastically embraced by many politicians in their pursuit of assimilation and, in time, migrant votes. The article concludes by surveying the decline of foreign-language programming on Australian commercial radio in the years immediately preceding the introduction of community radio in the 1970s, and the early negotiations between the new broadcasters and the commercial radio sector.
In the second half of the 1950s, two of the most successful foreign-language broadcasting endeavours in Australia emerged. One was the initiative of a Melbourne businessman, George Bitsis, who believed that Victorian country radio was the most effective advertising medium for his electrical appliance and continental record store, the Odeon Music House. In late 1957 he travelled 200 miles to Colac to participate in the 90-minute Greek program Pan continental melodies, which he sponsored on 3CS. By the end of the decade, he was also sponsoring programs on 3KZ and 3XY Melbourne and 3UL Warrigal. Bitsis brought in Koula Kostoulas, a young saleswoman and his future wife, as host. After migrating to Melbourne with her family in 1956, Koula had been drawn to Stanley Young's Greek program on 3AK, to which she listened, crying, in the solitude of her bedroom. George Bitsis's programs consisted of Greek music, community service announcements, special appeals and news bulletins; the stations agreed that he could utilise any European news that came through via Reuters and Australian Associated Press. It cost him around 145 [pounds sterling] to buy one hour on 3XY, which he had to recoup through increased custom to the Odeon Music House. Koula received letters of appreciation from people who could hear the program from elsewhere in Australia, including Cooma and Tasmania. Migrant workers in Coober Pedy sent her opals, and the program also proved popular with sailors in port from the merchant navy. (2)
Another broadcaster, who struck a chord with listeners and advertisers, was Lena Gustin, who in 1956 had left Genoa for Sydney with her husband, Dino, and their two children. While they were both well-educated--Lena was a teacher and Dino was a journalist--they were unable to speak English, and at first he could find work only in a factory. Lena threw herself into learning the English language and the Australian customs, and before long was writing for La Fiamma, published in Sydney by the Capuchin order. Gustin contributed two columns, one offering advice--particularly to lonely, young Italian men looking for brides--and the other featuring edited accounts of migrants' lives and experiences. They earned her a wide readership and the name 'Mamma Lena', which led to an invitation to make a broadcast on the Italian Hour on Sydney's Catholic station, 2SM. And so, in November 1956, Gustin found herself hosting the pre-recorded program, with her husband as producer and English translations provided by John Mahon. (3) Italian-Australian listeners now had their own 'Mamma' to take her place among the 'Aunts' and 'Uncles', 'Cousins' and 'Brothers' who had populated the Australian radio 'family' since the 1920s.
In early 1959, the Gustins, wanting more independence and more immediate contact with their audience, transferred to 2CH to host a weekly half-hour program. This station, which was operated in Sydney by Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Ltd (AWA) on behalf of the New South Wales Council of Churches, had been involved in ethnic broadcasting for some years. Hit parade international, featuring recordings in Italian, German, Dutch, French, Polish and Russian, had won a tremendous response and calls for more diverse foreign-language programs. In 1958, 2CH launched an Italian program hosted by Toni Colacino, Pino Bosi and Livia Bosi that was soon drawing hundreds of entries to its competitions. (4) In 1960, Mamma Lena began hosting Arrivederci Roma on Tuesday nights, in addition to her Little Corner of Italy program on Monday nights. (5)
Although her sessions had the enthusiastic support of 2CH's program director, Philip Geeves, they were temporarily pruned in late 1962. With 2CH also broadcasting Greek and Lebanese programs, the station had exceeded the 2.5 per cent quota on hours set down by the ABCB. (6) There were also other limitations on foreign-language programs: for example, political statements in languages other than English during election and referendum campaigns were banned on the grounds that migrants had to have mastered English in order to be naturalised. Early in 1964, after sustained lobbying by 2CH and 3XY, the board relaxed the restriction on hours. 2CH was allowed to broadcast ten per cent of its weekly hours of transmission in foreign languages, and 3XY six per cent. The rationale was that that listeners in Sydney and Melbourne had several other stations from which to choose, and that 2CH's musical offerings were of a higher standard than the 'Top 40' offerings dominating other Sydney stations. From that time on, the ABCB was willing to permit more than 2.5 per cent of a station's hours to be devoted to languages other than English as long as it was one of several stations servicing the same area. (7)
The Gustins made a success of their endeavours by appealing to three groups: listeners, advertisers, and politicians and government departments. Mamma...
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