Published 3 August 2009 · Main Posts radio in Melbourne and radio in Sydney Jeff Sparrow The vile antics of Kyle and Jackie O raise the question: is there a difference in the culture of radio in Sydney compared to elsewhere in Australia? As far as I know, there’s no-one comparable to that horrid pair on Melbourne FM radio. There also seems to be a difference in the talk hosts. Melbourne has its demagogues but there’s no real equivalent to Alan Jones or John Laws or the rest of them. Moreover, attempts to transplant Sydney shock jocks seem to have failed. So what’s the explanation? OK, I get that these things foster a race to the bottom, that a single successful shock jock necessarily leads to an infestation. But that still isn’t an answer. Is there, perhaps, any connection with the success of public radio in Melbourne, so that the culture that allows a RRR to thrive is less likely to provide room for a Kyle Whateverhisname? Anyone have any better suggestions? Jeff Sparrow Jeff Sparrow is a Walkley Award-winning writer, broadcaster and former editor of Overland. More by Jeff Sparrow › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 28 March 20249 April 2024 · Main Posts Why we should value not only lived experience, but also lived expertise Sukhmani Khorana In the wake of this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, I want to extend the central idea of El Gibbs’s 2022 essay on 'lived expertise' and argue that in media accounts of racism, analytical expertise and lived experience ought to be valued together and even in the same body. 5 March 2024 · Main Posts Andrew Charlton’s school assignment Alex McKinnon Australia's Pivot to India exists for three reasons: so that when Andrew Charlton is interviewed on the radio or introduced on Q+A, his bio includes the phrase "he has written a book about Indian-Australian relations"; to fend off accusations that he is another Kristina Keneally engaging in electoral colonialism in western Sydney; and to help the Albanese government strengthen economic and military ties with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.