{"product_id":"2026200014346-secondhand-broadcast-and-be-damned-the-abcs-first-two-decades","title":"Broadcast And Be Damned: The Abc's First Two Decades","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: Chipped and worn with some minor damage\u003cbr\u003ePages: Tanning and foxing\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Australia switched on its national broadcaster, few could have predicted the storms of controversy, political interference, and cultural ambition that would define its first two decades — and Broadcast and Be Damned chronicles every turbulent moment with unflinching clarity. Alan Thomas reconstructs the formative years of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC), tracing its origins from the early 1930s through to the 1950s, a period marked by wartime pressures, shifting government agendas, and the fierce internal debates that shaped the voice of a nation. Thomas presents a rich institutional history populated by visionary administrators, embattled journalists, and political operators, all vying to determine what a public broadcaster should — and should not — say.\n\nBeyond the boardroom dramas and legislative battles, this work stands as a compelling meditation on the nature of public media, editorial independence, and the uneasy relationship between government and the press in a democratic society. Thomas writes with the authority of an insider and the analytical precision of a scholar, grounding grand institutional narratives in vivid human detail. A landmark work in Australian media history, Broadcast and Be Damned leaves the reader to ponder a question that remains as urgent today as it was at the ABC's founding: who truly controls the public airwaves?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49161026830555,"sku":"2026200014346-SECONDHAND","price":15.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/86f31de6-71f3-4d8d-9b3e-ea30e4508d30.png?v=1787189374","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200014346-secondhand-broadcast-and-be-damned-the-abcs-first-two-decades","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}