‘Stay on the Line …’: An Analysis of Callers to Talkback Radio in Australia

Abstract

This paper considers the question: who is calling talkback radio in Australia and why? It suggests that callers should not be regarded as one large homogenous group. Instead, it argues that talkback callers pick up their phones for a number of reasons, from genuinely seeking information to seeking company and, since September 11, to make sense of their world. In doing so, this paper looks at the ways in which callers are integrated into programs and the ways in which they contribute to the creation of radio content and public debate. Finally, this paper analyses the small group of repeat callers who, like ‘Sylvia of Turner’, become, as Todd Gitlin calls them, familiar strangers, and analyses the role of producers and announcers in the construction of the celebrity talkback caller.