About the Program

AM is ABC Radio's flagship current affairs program. For 40 years AM has been setting the day's news agenda with concise reports and analysis from journalists around Australia and around the world.

The team puts together editions at 6:05am on Local Radio, 7:10am on Radio National and 8:00am on Local Radio; plus a special Perth edition at 8:00am WA time. There are AM podcasts of the full program or individual story items, as well as MP3s and program transcripts.

AM covers the stories each morning that the other current affairs teams throughout Australia - on radio and TV - follow for the rest of the day. It is a frantic, exhilarating pace which is set, leaping around the world to correspondents for up-to-the-minute information, blended together by an expert team who makes it seamless for the listeners.

AM is radio current affairs journalism at its best. Tony Eastley presents the program Monday to Friday and Elizabeth Jackson presents the Saturday morning edition on Radio National.

AM is on ABC Local Radio Monday to Friday (6:05am – Early AM; 8:00am - AM main edition) and on Saturday at 8:00am. It can also be heard on Radio National Monday to Saturda at 7.10am.

Tony Eastley

Award winning journalist, Tony Eastley, is one of the ABC's most experienced and respected journalists and has done an extraordinary range of reporting and interviewing in the 25 or so years he's been with the ABC.

Eastley, 52, joined the ABC in 1979 after completing a journalist cadetship with The Examiner newspaper in Launceston. He was an ABC foreign correspondent based in Singapore (1988-1990) and Hong Kong Bureau Chief (1990-1992). Tony won a Logie and a Gold Medal in the New York Television Festival for reporting the crushing of student riots in Bangkok, and was a Walkley Award finalist for his coverage of Tiananmen Square demonstrations in Beijing.

Returning to Australia, Tony presented First Edition, the ABC's breakfast TV news show (1993-1995) from Melbourne, and then moved to ABC Radio Current Affairs in Sydney where he hosted The World Today (1995-1997). In 1998 he was appointed presenter of the TV news program, World At Noon, which had a strong political, economic and international focus and required Tony to do a wide range of live interviews.

Eastley also presented the 7:00pm TV News in NSW and moved back to radio in 2004, when he replaced Linda Mottram in the AM chair.

He is married with two children and when not reporting and presenting can be found sailing on Sydney Harbour in his old wooden sailing boat that turns 70 this year.

Brendan Trembath

Brendan's ABC career began in 1990 when fresh out of university he landed a job in radio news. Notable stories he covered included the long running trial of the backpacker killer Ivan Milat and the police corruption inquiries based on the evidence of the underworld boss Arthur "Neddy" Smith.

In 1996 Brendan was hired by a New York-based business TV network to be its Australia correspondent. He later moved to the network's Tokyo bureau.

Brendan returned to the ABC in late 2004, initially working for ABC NewsRadio and ABC Television's Midday Report.

Elizabeth Jackson

Saturday AM's Elizabeth Jackson has spent most of her career as a journalist in radio and television covering news and current affairs. She has had a long association with The Business Report, having been the producer of the program when it began in 2000. In January 2003, Elizabeth also became the presenter of the program whilst continuing as producer.

Elizabeth began her career as a radio news reporter for Sydney's 2GB. In 1989 she joined the ABC to work as a correspondent for ABC Television's 7.30 Report. After two years she moved to Canberra as a reporter on ABC TV's Landline before making a move back to radio in 1994 becoming Breakfast presenter for Triple 6 ABC Canberra, then known as 2CN.

In June 1997 Elizabeth joined ABC Radio's News and Current Affairs department posting reports for their flagship AM, The World Today and PM programs.

Elizabeth has been producing and presenting Saturday AM since 2004. In December 2006 she took over from Hamish Robertson as the Producer and Presenter of Correspondents Report on Radio National.

About Program Production

Behind the informative airwaves that make up Radio Current Affairs, works an essential mix of editorial and technical talent that together makes sure you hear what you need to hear to stay informed and in touch.

The production process stretches across the country and the production team deals with every stage of that process. A press conference in Melbourne will be patched to Perth to become part of the story there; audio of an event in country Queensland will be sent to Adelaide; staff at archives will provide audio from decades past; a policy announcement in Tasmania will be sent to political correspondents in Canberra; newspaper clippings and press releases will be faxed to correspondents abroad; listeners comments, suggestions and irritations will be received and logged; transcripts and streaming audio will be put out on to the world wide web; and of course the broadcast of the programs themselves from the current affairs studios in Sydney.

As air-time looms, the hub of activity is the current affairs lines room where stories and scripts are filed from around the world and around the country via satellites, internet connections, ISDN and phone lines. The pieces are edited, mixed and checked, often re-edited, re-mixed, and edited again; scripts are then subedited, printed, copied, and finally distributed to the presenter and on-air team.

Focus then shifts to the control room and studio as the on-air team - made up of the Executive Producer, Studio Producer, and Technical Operator - prepare to broadcast the final program. As a medium, radio's greatest asset is its immediacy and nowhere is this more evident than in the studios during broadcast. As stories break and develop the current affairs studio is able to keep pace, letting you stay up to date.

It's the production team that's charged with ensuring that the stories of the day get to your ears quickly and cleanly - and while the technology at our end might constantly change, it's hoped the appreciation at your end won't.

Playing Audio

AM uses the Real Media and Windows Media formats to deliver audio. Each format requires its own 'player' - a piece of software you can download and install on your computer. The players are available free from the sites listed below. (NB: The ABC takes no responsibility for the content found on external Internet sites.)

Where to get the players:

• Download Real One Player. Real Networks sell a variety of players, but offer the Basic player free. Look for the link to download Free RealOne Player.
• Download Windows Media Player.

Contact Us

Contact Us

Please Note: The ABC's Radio Current Affairs department welcomes feedback on its radio programs. Your email will be passed on to those responsible for producing the program. Emails containing general comments or suggestions and those offering personal opinion will be noted but may not receive a reply. Any emails relating to complaints concerning accuracy, impartiality and objectivity will be considered by ABC Audience and Consumer Affairs. In this case, please be aware that it may take up to four weeks for a response to be forwarded. We will not respond to anonymous emails and we are unable to help people with research for school projects, student assignments and enquiries unrelated to our service.