2GB is a
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
radio station in
Sydney, Australia
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...
owned by parent company
Nine Radio
Nine Radio (formerly Macquarie Media Limited) is an Australian media company, owned by parent company Nine Entertainment Co. and headquartered in North Sydney, New South Wales, the company operates radio stations nationally in the capital cit ...
, a division of
Nine Entertainment Co., who also own sister station
2UE.
2GB broadcasts on 873
kHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...
,
AM.
In 2010, 2GB held 14.7% of the total radio ratings share, making it the one of the most widely listened-to radio stations in Sydney.
History
2GB commenced intermittent broadcasting in August 1926. The operator, Theosophical Broadcasting Station Pty Ltd, owned by interests associated with the local branch of
Theosophical Society Adyar
The Theosophy Society was founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. The designation 'Adyar' is sometimes added to the name to make it clear that this is the Theosophical Society headquartered there, after the American section ...
, was granted a radio broadcasting licence for the Sydney area.
George A. Saunders, previously with 2BL, became 2GB's first station manager and (as "Uncle George") on-air personality in 1927.
2GB became the first Australian station to play transcription records by 1933, holding the world's largest transcribed record library at the time.
The controlling interest in the station was purchased by Denison Estates Ltd in 1936. A new board of directors was appointed under chairman Sir
Hugh Denison
Sir Hugh Robert Denison, originally Hugh Robert Dixson (11 November 1865 – 25 November 1940) was a businessman, parliamentarian and philanthropist in South Australia and later New South Wales. He was a member of the South Australian House ...
and included Frederick Daniell and A. E. Bennett, who continued as station manager.
In what radio historian and writer
Richard Lane termed "The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama", Denison and his media adviser Daniell inaugurated the
Broadcasting Service Association
Nine Radio (formerly Macquarie Media Limited) is an Australian media company, owned by parent company Nine Entertainment Co. and headquartered in North Sydney, New South Wales, the company operates radio stations nationally in the capital ci ...
Players, renamed the Macquarie Players in 1938.
2GB produced locals weekly serials such as ''Dolly and Dan'' and ''Doctor Mac'', and presented a full-length drama on Sunday afternoons. Writers included
John E. C. Appleton
John Edward Corby Appleton (20 October 1905 – 13 September 1990) was an Australian theatre and radio director and actor prominent in the 1950s.
Early life
Born in Walham Green, England the oldest of eight children of an English father and an ...
,
Lynn Foster
Lynn Foster (1914-1985), was a playwright, radio producer and writer, a script editor and television writer. She was the first woman in Australia both to direct and write a major national radio show, this being the serial " Big Sister".
In ...
, E. Mason Wood, William L. Power (who dramatised
Helen de Guerry Simpson
Helen de Guerry Simpson (1 December 1897 – 14 October 1940) was an Australian novelist and British Liberal Party politician.
Youth and education
Simpson was born in Sydney into a family that had been settled in New South Wales for over 100 ...
's ''Boomerang'', a series on "Famous Escapes", and ''Tales Told to Peter and Pam'', a popular children's series),
E. V. Timms and Ken Pawley.
Actors included
James Raglan
James Raglan (6 January 1901 – 15 November 1961) was a British stage, film and television actor.
In Australia
Early in 1935 he was brought out to Australia with the Gabriel Toyne company by J. C. Williamson, playing ''Laburnum Grove'' and ...
,
Lou Vernon
Lou Vernon (26 June 1888, Brisbane – 22 December 1971, Sydney) was an Australian actor of stage, radio and screen and producer. He started his career in musical comedy, and was particularly noted for his versatility and ability as a character a ...
,
Peter Finch
Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio.
Born in London, he emigrated to Australia as a teenager and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudeville ...
, Betty Suttor and Harry Dearth.
The station launched the Macquarie Radio Network, in February 1938, in competition with the Major Network, started by fellow Sydney station
2UE.
In 1940, the station became the largest producer of radio drama programs in the Southern Hemisphere.
During World War II, 2GB provided transcription records to the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...
's network of radio stations in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
and the
Pacific Islands
Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...
.
Station announcer
Ted Harris, aided by American
Ted Schroeder
Frederick Rudolph "Ted" Schroeder (July 20, 1921 – May 26, 2006) was an American tennis player who won the two most prestigious amateur tennis titles, Wimbledon and the U.S. National. He was the No. 1-ranked American amateur player in 1942; ...
, became the first man to give a direct ball-by-ball description of the
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...
from
Forest Hills to Australia on August 27, 1995 Two years later, 2GB became the first Australian station to air news bulletins on the hour, every hour during its broadcast day.
Prior to 1964, the controlling interest (45%) was held by Broadcasting Associates Pty Ltd., with 14% owned by the
John Fairfax
John Fairfax (24 October 1804 – 16 June 1877) was an English-born journalist, company director, politician, librarian and newspaper owner, known for the incorporation of the major newspapers of modern-day Australia.
Early life
Fairfax was bo ...
group of companies, and the balance owned by various smaller shareholders. Broadcasting Associates was owned by A.T.V. (Australia) Pty. Ltd., the Australian subsidiary of
ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
company
Associated Television
Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and ...
.
In 1964, Fairfax purchased ATV's Australian assets, including the 45% share in 2GB.
Although the ownership of the station has subsequently passed to strictly commercial interests, the Theosophical Society was still presenting programmes on the station as late as 1975.
Ray Hadley
Raymond Morris Hadley OAM (born 27 September 1954) is an Australian talkback radio broadcaster and a rugby league football commentator for Channel Nine. He presents 2GB Sydney's Monday to Friday morning show, and leads the Continuous Call T ...
, previously with
2UE, became a presenter at the station in 2001.
2GB had a standby mast and its original 873 AM transmitter tower at
Wentworth Point
Wentworth Point is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, on the eastern edge of the local government area of City of Parramatta. It is on t ...
at
Homebush Bay
Homebush Bay is a bay on the south bank of the Parramatta River, in the west of Sydney, Australia. The name is also sometimes used to refer to an area to the west and south of the bay itself, which was formerly an official suburb of Sydney, a ...
. Its location was visible via the Ryde Bridge, and also via the train line to Rhodes and Concord train stations. Due to a redevelopment occurring on the same land, the tower was brought down on Friday 11 September 2015. A month or two before, a new tower was erected for 2GB and is now situated at the 2KY transmitter site, also in Homebush.
In October 2012, following the
Alan Jones "died of shame" controversy, 2GB suspended advertising on the Alan Jones show. This decision was reversed in October 2012, but many advertisers declined to return to sponsoring the program.
In June 2014, Michael Smith was fired as fill-in commentator for calling
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
a
paedophile
Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...
; Program Director David Kidd referred to Muhammad as a deity.
Merger
On 1 April 2015 The Macquarie Radio Network merged with the Fairfax Radio Network of
Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The Sydney Morning Herald' ...
. The news teams of 2UE and 2GB are being merged with "significant job cuts." Consequently, on 9 April 2015 the 2UE newsroom was closed.
Callsign and frequency
The number 2 of the callsign refers to the state of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, which also has
postcode
A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...
s starting with 2. The two letters GB indicate an
AM station, and were chosen to honour the Italian philosopher
Giordano Bruno
Giordano Bruno (; ; la, Iordanus Brunus Nolanus; born Filippo Bruno, January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, mathematician, poet, cosmological theorist, and Hermetic occultist. He is known for his cosmologic ...
, who was much admired by Theosophists. Its original frequency allocation was 950 kHz and moved to 870 kHz in 1935,
Wavelengths and Frequencies
''The Argus (Melbourne)'' 16 February 1935 Retrieved 16 September 2011 then to 873 on 23 November 1978, when channel separation was reduced from 10 kHz to 9 kHz as a result of an international medium wave frequency realignment.
Former presenters
References
External links
Brief History
– transcript of talk by Alan Jones on the early history of this station and others
Talkback Radio 2GB 873 AM
Macquarie National News
{{DEFAULTSORT:2gb
Radio stations in Sydney
Radio stations established in 1926
News and talk radio stations in Australia
Nine Radio
Giordano Bruno