Radio Wars: Truth, Propaganda and the Struggle for Radio Australia

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.