Margaret Throsby

Margaret Ellen Throsby AM[1] (born 3 October 1941) is an Australian radio broadcaster.

She has presented ABC Classic FM's Morning Program since 1994. Each morning an hour was devoted to an interview with a notable guest, interspersed with some of their own musical choices. Since the beginning of 2012, her interview is broadcast at noon, and the programme hence is called Midday.[2] She has interviewed thousands of notable people throughout her career. Margaret Throsby is sometimes nicknamed "The Velvet Throat".

Biography

Throsby was born in Neutral Bay, a lower north shore suburb of Sydney. Her father was Charles Throsby, an English barrister who died when she was 12, and her mother was Alison Battarbee, a cellist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.[3] She attended North Sydney Girls High School, then spent a year studying speech pathology after leaving school.[3]

Her association with the ABC began when she joined its announcing staff in 1967. Since then she has overcome major barriers to the accepted roles for women in broadcasting. On 15 October 1975 she became the first woman to read national radio news since World War II,[3] and in 1978 she was the first woman to present national television news.

She has presented a variety of music and current affairs programs, and won a devoted audience for her high-rating morning program The Margaret Throsby Show on ABC's Radio 2BL.

In 1989 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her services to broadcasting.[1]

In 1993 her ABC contract was not renewed due to her having made a series of advertisements for Macquarie Bank. She was replaced by Jennifer Byrne for nine months before being invited back to fill in for Geraldine Doogue. Her Classic FM program followed in 1994.[3] The Margaret Throsby Interview is now also broadcast on Radio National showing the past guests.

Personal

Margaret Throsby is the sister of Dr David Throsby, a cultural economist, and Dr Adrienne Bennett, formerly executive director of the Australian Psychological Society.[3]

She has been married and divorced three times. From her first marriage she had a son, Timothy Marc, who died in a motorbike accident in Thailand in 1996.[3] From her second marriage, to John Buttsworth, a psychiatrist and art and furniture dealer, she is the mother of the musician Holly Throsby. Her third marriage was to Graham McCarter, a Scottish photographer. She also has a stepdaughter, Caitlin.[3]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Throsby, Margaret Ellen. It's an Honour. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  2. ↑ ABC Classic FM announces change of time for Margaret Throsby interview and new Mornings program in 2012. ABC Media release. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Sharon Verghis, Broadcast Muse, Good Weekend, The Age, 25 October 2008

External links