John Laws speaks to radioinfo

This week radioinfo speaks to John Laws about his 50 years in radio.

Laws began in radio in 1953 and, after 50 years, is the highest paid radio broadcaster in the world. He has worked at country stations 3BO, 4TO, 2PK, 2GZ, 2KO, and metropolitan radio in Sydney at 2UE, 2SM, 2GB and 2UW.

radioinfo: Congratulations on 50 years in the business. If you had to pick one highlight of your 50 years what would it be?

Laws: Next week probably (laughs). In 50 years you can’t pick one highlight. I hope the highlight hasn’t happened yet… There’ve been so many it’s just been a terrific 50 years.

radioinfo: Tell me about a few of them then.

Laws: I suppose having Paul Keating say that we were headed towards a Banana Republic, it got world headlines. Some of the people and international politicians I’ve spoken to, music I’ve played and friends that I’ve made.

I’ve made a lot of those… Roger Miller, Glen Campbell, Col Joy, John Williamson… and people, listeners, I’ve been able to assist.

radioinfo: They’re some of the highlights, what have been some low-lights?

Laws: I don’t see a lot of point talking about them, but I’ll tell you if you want to know… I didn’t really have any until about 3 or 4 years ago.

The first one was a contempt of court charge against me and the radio station, which necessitated going to court, which I don’t particularly like.

Then there’s the ABA enquiry, which I think was farcical, absolutely farcical and a waste of taxpayers money.

And then there was the problem with the juror, when I spoke to a juror when I shouldn’t have … I suppose they were ‘educational moments.’

radioinfo: I guess a lot of what you do is about power, the power of the media and the power you wield in a show, to be able to help people or whatever. What are your thoughts on the power of John Laws?

Laws: I don’t ever think of myself as being a powerful person, I think of myself as being somebody with an awful lot of contacts, and that’s how I’m able to help people, through contacts.

I’m not sure that power’s got a lot to do with it, that’s a decision for somebody else to make. But I just know so many people and I’m able to exercise good from those friendships.

radioinfo: Your 50 year celebration is going to include a series of OBs from towns that broadcast your program.

Laws: Yes, we’re talking about that, but getting it together is proving a little more difficult than we imagined. I’m getting a 45 foot motor home built especially for me, an Australian one called a Swagman, and we’ll certainly be doing a tour of some sort. Whether we’re going to broadcast from that or the stations I don’t know, but we’ll be doing something. There’s an awful lot of mechanics involved as you could imagine.

radioinfo: Think back to 50 years ago and your first experience in a radio station and tell me why you decided to make it your career.

Laws: My first experience in a radio station was in Bendigo and it was taking tea and biscuits to people. And then I finally talked them in to letting me go on the radio, which they did, Saturday nights or something hideous, and I just liked it, it was just good fun.

I’ve never really been ambitious. I didn’t really think, ‘oh this is for me,’ I just kind-of rolled along and loved it. A lot of people outside the radio industry don’t understand that, but I was fortunate. I was young when I started and all I wanted to do was go out with girls and play records, and I may as well have done it and got paid for it, so I did. It all fitted in and I was able to mature with my audience.

radioinfo: Who have been your biggest rivals over the years?

Laws: I don’t really think about that stuff…

radioinfo: Perhaps Bob Rogers in the Sydney market?

Laws: That was early days with Bob, that must have been at the beginning of the 1970s. Look I don’t live radio. I have a life outside of radio and I don’t talk radio with lots of radio people.

It’s not as though I’m one of those people who just lives for radio, I have a lot more in my life than that, you can’t just be living it 24 hours a day and thinking about those sort of things. There are other things. My family is most important to me.

radioinfo: You were sick recently, had a few weeks off. How long are you going to keep up the pace?

Laws: Until I can’t keep it up. I don’ think much about those things either. I love doing it and as long as people want to keep hearing it I’ll keep doing it. I just love the fact that we talk to all of Australia. I love talking to all those rural areas. I’m just having a good time, I’m happy, so I’ll keep doing it while I feel that way.

radioinfo: How many stations do you have and what’s special about broadcasting to the bush?

Laws: We’ve got 63 stations, the biggest audience of any morning radio program in the country. It’s a huge audience, that’s what matters to sponsors like Toyota and Akubra, who want to reach that market. And that’s my job, to sell, and I like that aspect of it, I like doing that.

radioinfo: Let’s talk about the program a little more. Yes, its for selling, and also its an entertainment program mixed with current affairs content. What makes that mix of three very distinct elements – sales, current affairs and entertainment – work for you, that may not work for any number of other radio presenters who are trying to do the same thing?

Laws: I suppose I have an intuition that is beneficial, the thing that is upmost in my mind is to make sure that it is entertaining, because I’m not there to educate or to teach people, I’m there to entertain people, and I keep that foremost in my mind. If we can make news and current affairs a bit of fun, but be serious when necessary, that’s the way I try and balance it.

I think a lot of people went through a stage where they wanted to take the program seriously, but you can’t take three hours of radio seriously, there has to be some levity. I just want people to understand that I don’t have such an inflated opinion of myself that I believe I have a right to dictate or educate. I don’t – I have the same right to express myself as my listeners do, that’s all, I’m just the lucky one that happens to be on this end of the microphone.

radioinfo: If you were handing over the reins to someone who was filling in and you wanted them to ‘keep the dream alive,’ what sort of advice would you give them about the content of the show and how to treat the audience?

Laws: Be natural and have a good time.

radioinfo: It’s that simple is it?

Laws: Yea!

radioinfo: What do you think your audience likes best about the show?

Laws: I think they like the irreverence, they like the fact that I’m a larrikin.

radioinfo: How is the radio industry different now from when you started?

Laws: It’s not nearly as much fun as it used to be. Once upon a time it was like one big happy family, everyone was together and helping each other. It’s become like many things in society now, there’s so much money involved now, and an element of bitterness there sometimes.

I like the people around me, but I’m not sure I especially like some of the changes. I don’t mind competition, I love it being competitive, but it’s become petty in some ways. Radio is not that important for Christ’s sake… I’m not important, the radio program’s not that important, if I don’t do it someone else will. Radio’s not the most important thing in the world.

radioinfo: You were an owner too, you had a part share in 2 Day when it started. Did that change your views of the industry?

Laws: No. It’s about fun, whether you’re an owner or a broadcaster, and that time was a lot of fun.

radioinfo: What about these latest round of new stations – Nova and Hot Tomato for instance. They sound as if they are having fun.

Laws: That’s good if they’re doing that and because they’re having fun they’ll also do well. Nova’s doing well.

radioinfo: You’ve reinvented yourself a few times in your career. Why did you feel you had to do that?

Laws: I don’t know if its been deliberate. I think it’s a kind of natural evolution, your ideas about things change, your attitudes change as things change, especially when you’ve got children growing up, and grandchildren. It’s never been that I thought ‘I better do something different,’ it’s just something that happened.

radioinfo: A lot of people talk about networks and the lack of opportunities to learn on the job these days. Where do you see the future radio stars coming from?

Laws: It’s like anything, it’s simply progress, there’s not a lot you can do to stop it. Progress might not always be good progress, and in this instance it’s probably not good, but it simply means that radio will change, just like other occupations. Nursing for instance – nurses no longer learn on the job in a hospital, they learn in a university, and I suppose the same thing is happening in radio. So the industry itself has to adapt.

radioinfo: If you were in front of a class of radio students, what advice would you give them about their careers?

Laws: Well, I’d still advise them to get as much experience as they could in country broadcasting, because if you’re lucky there you can write copy, sell ads, read the news, do a program, sport and learn the fundamentals. But you’ve just got to have a natural drive.

I don’t think you can learn to have a good radio voice or a good radio brain, you have to be lucky and you have to have a natural drive toward the medium.

radioinfo: Thanks and once again congratulations.

Laws: Thank you radioinfo.

BIOG DETAILS

John Laws was born in New Guinea, on August 8, 1935. He was educated at Mosman Preparatory School and Knox Grammar School, Sydney.

Everyday he broadcasts from his 2UE studio across Australia reaching over 2 million people via Southern Cross Syndication.

Laws has worked at several country radio stations prior to joining 2UE in 1957, the first of four terms at Sydney’s top rating radio station. It was the move to 2UE which kick started his career.

When his first stint at 2UE ended in 1959, John joined 2SM for a short period before moving to the Hunter Valley where he bought a farm. For several years he broadcast a syndicated Australia wide program for the Newcastle station 2KO.

In 1962 he moved back to Sydney where he joined 2GB. Two years later he rejoined 2UE and remained with the station for five years. In 1969 he became a member of 2UW’s line up, an association which lasted for a decade.

2UE lured him back in 1979, this time for another five years. Then he switched to 2GB again when the station made a highly publicised, all out bid for his services. He returned to the 2UE fold when the station was in No 8 position. Since his return in 1988, he and the station have been consistently near the top of the ratings ladder.

Laws has hosted four national television series, written a column for Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph and has written several best selling books. In 1998, he joined FOXTEL with his own nightly talk show entitled LAWS.