Peter Hand
Encyclopedia
Peter Hand is an Australian radio personality and journalist, known for campaigning for reform in Australian radio, particularly commercial talk stations.
, he furthered his education at Macquarie University
and the University of Wollongong
. Hand worked at 2GB
for 15 years in the roles of presenter, producer
, and reporter including election nights, Royal visits, disasters and celebrations.
on the New South Wales
south coast
. His unconventional style was no less controversial there and brought a new high in audience numbers.
Often compared in style to American author Kurt Vonnegut
, Hand often confounds critics and station managements yet his forthright larrikin persona builds seemingly unshakable audience loyalty.
Hand is known for his courage in tough examination of issues and merciless pursuit of answers in meticulously researched interviews that win him enmity from both sides of politics. His willingness to criticise the media industry and especially radio has made him a broadcaster people rarely agree on.
talkback host, Hand is known for his extravagant lifestyle and constant advice to listeners to "start your own business and work for yourself so no other bastard is your boss". He is steadfast in his insistence on social justice
but also a constant advocate of market economics.
Hand also exposed Alan Jones
nearly ten years before Chris Masters
' Jonestown: The Power and the Myth of Alan Jones
resulting in an unsuccessful campaign by Jones to remove him from 2GB. Hand survived despite devoting large slabs of his programs to critiquing what he calls the "talkback maniacs" like Stan Zemanek
, Alan Jones, John Laws
and even people on his own station such as Clive Robertson. With a barrister's understanding of defamation laws, Hand has never hesitated to name names as part of his journalism.
Early life
Hand began working at Channel Seven as a trainee at age seventeen. Schooled in SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, he furthered his education at Macquarie University
Macquarie University
Macquarie University is an Australian public teaching and research university located in Sydney, with its main campus situated in Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of Sydney...
and the University of Wollongong
University of Wollongong
The University of Wollongong is a public university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney...
. Hand worked at 2GB
2GB
2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia broadcasting on 873 kHz, AM. It is one of Australia's most popular talk-back radio stations, and is the number one station in Sydney.-History:The station commenced broadcasting in August 1926...
for 15 years in the roles of presenter, producer
Radio producer
A radio producer oversees the making of a radio show. There are two main types of producer. An audio or creative producer and a content producer. Audio producers create sounds and audio specifically, content producers oversee and orchestrate a radio show or feature...
, and reporter including election nights, Royal visits, disasters and celebrations.
Move to Illawarra
Hand's satirical approach to the talk radio genre made him a top-rating cult figure at Sydney's 2GB though the 1980s and 90s until he appeared to 'drop out' of the limelight to join 97.3 ABC Illawarra97.3 ABC Illawarra
97.3 ABC Illawarra is an ABC Local Radio station based in Wollongong and broadcasting to the Illawarra region in New South Wales. This includes the towns of Nowra, Shellharbour, Kiama, and Bowral....
on the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
south coast
South Coast, New South Wales
The South Coast refers to the narrow coastal belt from Sydney in the north to the border with Victoria in the south in the south-eastern part of the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is bordered to the west by the coastal escarpment of the Southern Tablelands, which is largely covered by a...
. His unconventional style was no less controversial there and brought a new high in audience numbers.
Often compared in style to American author Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
, Hand often confounds critics and station managements yet his forthright larrikin persona builds seemingly unshakable audience loyalty.
Hand is known for his courage in tough examination of issues and merciless pursuit of answers in meticulously researched interviews that win him enmity from both sides of politics. His willingness to criticise the media industry and especially radio has made him a broadcaster people rarely agree on.
Politics
Probably Australia's only rabid liberalLiberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
talkback host, Hand is known for his extravagant lifestyle and constant advice to listeners to "start your own business and work for yourself so no other bastard is your boss". He is steadfast in his insistence on social justice
Social justice
Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights, and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. The term and modern concept of "social justice" was coined by...
but also a constant advocate of market economics.
Hand also exposed Alan Jones
Alan Jones (radio broadcaster)
Alan Belford Jones AO is an Australian radio broadcaster, former rugby union and rugby league coach and administrator.Jones hosts Sydney's most popular breakfast radio program, on radio station 2GB...
nearly ten years before Chris Masters
Chris Masters (writer)
Christopher "Chris" Wayne Masters PSM is a multi-Walkley Award winning and Logie Award winning Australian journalist and author.-Life:Chris Masters was born in Grafton, New South Wales...
' Jonestown: The Power and the Myth of Alan Jones
Jonestown: The Power and the Myth of Alan Jones
Jonestown: The Power and The Myth of Alan Jones is a controversial 2006 biography of radio personality Alan Jones by Chris Masters. The biography deals in part with Jones's sexuality; Masters asserts that Jones is homosexual, something that Jones does not self-identify with...
resulting in an unsuccessful campaign by Jones to remove him from 2GB. Hand survived despite devoting large slabs of his programs to critiquing what he calls the "talkback maniacs" like Stan Zemanek
Stan Zemanek
Stan Zemanek was an Australian radio broadcaster who presented a popular night time show on 2UE Sydney and which was networked across parts of Australia via Southern Cross....
, Alan Jones, John Laws
John Laws
Richard John Sinclair "John" Laws, CBE , an Australian radio presenter, sometimes known as Lawsie, was from the 1970s until his retirement in 2007, the host of a hugely successful morning radio program, which mixed music with interviews, opinion, live advertising readings and listener talkback...
and even people on his own station such as Clive Robertson. With a barrister's understanding of defamation laws, Hand has never hesitated to name names as part of his journalism.