ABC Radio’s PM program celebrated 40 years on air this week (see our earlier story). John Highfield was the first presenter on PM, by a toss of the coin from the EP Tim Bowden. He recalls his time with PM this week for radioinfo.

Highfield says:

Lawrie Bryant (co-Presenter) and I alternated the presentation. A few months after the inaugural program I was assigned to a long trip to Southern Africa (my first overseas assignment).

I’d come to the ABC about 18 months before to work as a casual in News and then AM for News/Talks (as Radio Current Affairs was first called).

I had done my cadetship at 2SM which implemented the first big news format in 1960 using electronic news gathering, a format imported following a visit to the U.S.A by station GM Bill Stephenson and Manager Kevin O’Donohue.

We had a fleet of radio equipped cars, helicopter and fixed wing Cessna for Traffic and Shark Patrol, plus a boat on Harbour Patrol at weekends. This gave me lots of experience with ‘live ‘ radio journalism – a first for Australia.

The ABC was very slow to adapt to the new journalism. Tim Bowden insisted that journalists rather than staff announcers handle PM.

It was not until the terrorist incident at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972 that ABC Radio News allowed the first ‘live’ journalist voice report into a News bulletin. It was me who did it, in a 2FC 0715 bulletin, transmitted by landline from the ABC Sport studio in the Munich Media Centre, giving the world the first news that the Palestinian group and their hostages were on the way to the Felstenfeldbrook Military Airport.

Pictures and highlights from 40 years of the ground breaking ABC current affairs program are at the link below.