The ensuing crushing debt burden has made management excessively cautious. But there is sensible caution, and then there is silliness. Think about it. And this is a market in which there is no competition at all. Any attempt to enter this market would have to be fair dinkum.
Children are a tough audience.
They demand imagination, high production values, and the input of talented people. They want radio to listen to, not just to have in the background. Australia has a proud record in children's entertainment, right back to the days of Norman Lindsay. And in the under-twelves, a clever commercial radio station just might find its Magic Pudding. Bruce Shearer is a policy researcher with a long standing interest in children's broadcasting at the Communications Law Centre, Melbourne.