About Us
PM is one of the grand institutions of Australian public broadcasting. The program celebrates its 40th anniversary on July 7, 2009 - four decades of reporting Australia and the world.
About Program ProductionMark Colvin
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The presenter of ABC Radio's current affairs program PM, Mark Colvin has almost given his life for his job. An award winning journalist, Mark first joined ABC radio news as a cadet, after graduating from Oxford University with a B.A (Hons) in English.
Mark went to work on the newly-founded 2JJ (the precursor to Triple J) and spent three years presenting news, interviewing and producing current affairs and documentary specials. A year as Television News Producer (Canberra) followed, then a year as one of the first reporters (along with Jenny Brockie, Paul Murphy and Andrew Olle) on Nationwide.
In 1980 at the age of 28, Mark was appointed London correspondent, travelling to cover such major stories as the American hostage crisis in Tehran and the rise of Solidarity in Poland. He returned to Australia in 1983 and was the founding presenter of The World Today on ABC Radio.
The following year, Mark went to Brussels as Europe correspondent, and covered the events right across the continent as the Cold War began to thaw and the Gorbachev era began the process that would lead to the lifting of the Iron Curtain.
From 1988 to 1992, Mark was a reporter for Four Corners, making films on the French massacre of Kanaks in New Caledonia, the extinction of Australia's fauna, and the Cambodian peace process, among many others. His film on the Ethiopian famine won a Gold Medal at the New York Film Festival and was runner-up for an International Emmy Award.
In 1992 Mark was posted to London as TV Current Affairs correspondent, mainly reporting for Foreign Correspondent, The 7.30 Report and Lateline. His language skills and long European experience paid off in stories such as his series on the relationship between Italian organised crime and Government, which culminated in the trial of former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti.
In 1994, after a visit to Rwanda and Zaire, Mark was taken ill with a rare disease of the bloodstream, which nearly took his life. Many months in hospital followed and during his convalescence he suffered a second blow - as a side effect of the treatment, his hip-joints collapsed and both hips had to be replaced.
When Mark could finally throw away his crutches, he spent 18 months back in Europe, before returning to Sydney to take up the position of Presenter for ABC Radio's PM, a position he relishes.
'Radio is fresh, immediate and cheap to make, so there's a chance to go anywhere in the world for a breaking story' says Mark. 'I love PM because it has the space to explore a wide range of the day's issues in more details and with more depth than the soundbite sausage-machine'.
Program Production
Behind the informative airwaves that make up Radio Current Affairs, works an essential mix of editorial and technical talent that together makes sure you hear what you need to hear to stay informed and in touch.
The production process stretches across the country and the production team deals with every stage of that process. A press conference in Melbourne will be patched to Perth to become part of the story there; audio of an event in country Queensland will be sent to Adelaide; staff at archives will provide audio from decades past; a policy announcement in Tasmania will be sent to political correspondents in Canberra; newspaper clippings and press releases will be faxed to correspondents abroad; listeners comments, suggestions and irritations will be received and logged; transcripts and streaming audio will be put out on to the world wide web; and of course the broadcast of the programs themselves from the current affairs studios in Sydney.
As air-time looms, the hub of activity is the current affairs lines room where stories and scripts are filed from around the world and around the country via satellites, internet connections, ISDN and phone lines. The pieces are edited, mixed and checked, often re-edited, re-mixed, and edited again; scripts are then subedited, printed, copied, and finally distributed to the presenter and on-air team.
Focus then shifts to the control room and studio as the on-air team - made up of the Executive Producer, Studio Producer, and Technical Operator - prepare to broadcast the final program. As a medium, radio's greatest asset is its immediacy and nowhere is this more evident than in the studios during broadcast. As stories break and develop the current affairs studio is able to keep pace, letting you stay up to date.
It's the production team that's charged with ensuring that the stories of the day get to your ears quickly and cleanly - and while the technology at our end might constantly change, it's hoped the appreciation at your end won't.
