Howard Sattler (23 February 1945 – 11 June 2021) was an Australian talk back radio host. Sattler began his career as a cadet journalist for the

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

before performing

national service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, during which he completed officer training and moved to Perth in a public relations position with the

Australian Department of Defence Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

. From there he moved into broadcast radio, although he also was a newspaper editor and columnist. He was considered to have introduced the shock-jock style of radio to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. Although well known in his state of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

after a 30 year long career on radio, he gained national notoriety in 2013 when he was fired from radio station

6PR 6PR, known as 882 6PR, is a commercial radio station based in Perth, Western Australia. Owned by Nine Entertainment, its focus is on news, talk and sport, and is Perth's only commercial talkback radio station. It commenced broadcasting on 14 Oc ...

over a controversial interview with former Prime Minister

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

, in which he asked her whether her partner

Tim Mathieson Timothy Raymond Mathieson (born 1957) is an Australian hairdresser and the former partner of Julia Gillard, former Prime Minister of Australia. He entered the public spotlight in 2006 when they became partners. Gillard was Deputy Leader of the ...

was gay. In 2018, Sattler was inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame. In his later years he developed multiple health conditions, including throat cancer, and was diagnosed with PSB Steele Richardson syndrome (from which he eventually died), which so affected his speech that listeners would often call in thinking he was drunk. He became a vocal advocate for voluntary euthanasia laws.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sattler, Howard 1945 births 2021 deaths Australian radio personalities