March 2015 archive

Obituary: Stuart Wagstaff

Stuart Wagstaff, veteran entertainer and showbiz identity, has died in a Sydney hospital at the age of 90. English-born Wagstaff first came to Australia in the 1950s to star in the JC Williamson production Not In The Book. This was followed by starring roles in stage productions of My Fair Lady and The Sound Of …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2015/03/obituary-stuart-wagstaff.html

Obituary: Brian Cahill

Brian Cahill, one of the pioneers of Brisbane television, has died at the age of 84. With a background in radio, Cahill’s television career began on the night Brisbane’s BTQ7 launched on Sunday, 1 November 1959. He was the station’s first newsreader. In an era when on-air talent were often required to fill multiple roles, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2015/03/obituary-brian-cahill.html

Television and the Greater 3UZ

This website doesn’t often acknowledge the history of radio but today is an exception. Radio station 3UZ, Melbourne’s first commercial radio station, turns 90 years old today. The station has had many links to television over the decades — even years before television began. 3UZ and rival station 3DB were partners in experimental television transmissions as far back …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2015/03/television-and-the-greater-3uz.html

ABC2 turns 10

ABC‘s secondary channel ABC2 turns 10 years old today. The new channel came two years after ABC had been forced to axe its previous digital channels ABC Kids and Fly TV due to budget cuts. ABC2 launched in a rather low key manner on the morning of Monday, 7 March 2005. Anyone watching to see the …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2015/03/abc2-turns-10.html

The National, ABC’s $25m news gamble

It was a brave — or, in hindsight, perhaps foolish — ABC that decided 30 years ago to cut through decades of tradition in order to ‘refresh’ its news portfolio. Swept away in the reshuffle was the traditional 7.00pm ABC News and the Majestic Fanfare that went with it (and is still used today on …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2015/03/the-national-abcs-25m-news-gamble.html