My life as Phillip Adams: a memoir. (Media).(Australian national radio personalities)

IN THE CURRENT DEBATE around the question of ABC bias, the public has been introduced, once again, to that lovable character of myth and folktale, the "tight-wing Phillip Adams". Responding to those who criticised him for daring to raise the question of bias, ABC Board member Michael Kroger wrote in the Fairfax press on 15th May that he had no objection to the ABC's employing left-wing journalists like David Marr and Phillip Adams. But why, he went on to ask, is it not possible "for someone to hold down a presenter's position who is clearly on the other side of Australian politics?" Even 7. 30 Report producer Jonathan Holmes, in a spirited defence of the ABC back in December, admitted that "It would be good to find a right-wing radio commentator as talented and multifaceted as Phillip Adams."

Last year, from late June through early September, Tim Blair and I were the "right-wing Phillip Adams" (it took two of us to be as right as Adams is left). During those weeks, we presented a live radio program on Radio National on Friday nights at nine o'clock, called The Continuing Crisis. Both experienced print journalists known to have serious disagreements with the intellectual left, we were hired, at the initiative of Jonathan Shier, specifically to deliver a "diversity of opinion".

In an organisation deservedly regarded as a world leader in cross-promotion, we were only invited onto one other Radio National program to publicise The Continuing Crisis. And the first question that Arts Today host Michael Cathcart asked me, on the morning of our debut, was not "What is the show about?" or "Who's your first guest?" but: "Why has this whole thing been done in secret?"

We were given a tiny office, containing one desk and one phone. A young producer was assigned to us for two days a week, and was duly berated by some of her colleagues in the lift: "Why are you working for them?"

First order of business was to place a "Paid-Up Member, Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy" bumper-sticker on our door. It got ripped off within twenty-four hours. Given how the corridors at Radio National are plastered with anti-Howard, anti-Shier, anti-nuke propaganda, that hurt.

We had a predictably halting start, but there were no shockers or disasters. Our producer calmed us down-"Don't worry, there's nobody listening, this is Radio National"--and after just a few weeks we were broadcasting radio that seemed, to us, reasonably provocative and amusing.

As we approached the end of our twelve-week season, at the beginning of September, Tim and I were hopeful of taking the show in all sorts of new directions. What particularly buoyed us was the excellent feedback from listeners. You don't get a mountain of mail in that timeslot, but around 80 per cent of the letters and emails we received expressed the view that the show was a breath of fresh air.