Melbourne and Sydney Edition Difference 1

Go-Set Sydney edition 3 January 1970 Page 8

Go-Set Melbourne edition 3 January 1970 Page 8

By 1970, with different offices in different capital cities, Go-Set was able to produce different editions of the issue. This is one example of the different pages.
The Sydney edition ran an item called Donnie's Place. It was the Sydney version of Ian Meldrum's gossip. Donnie was Donnie Sutherland, who would go on to host Sounds (commercial TV), while Meldrum went onto host and talent coordinate for Countdown (Australia's ABC).

The Sydney office was quite different to the Melbourne office, and I will explore this issue is a later posting.

The  Melbourne page is characterised by the Wendy Saddington column. Wendy was a musician, more specifically, she sang the blues.

I will analyse the content of each page, but for the moment, just enjoy the different styles.

Sports Car Buyer's Guide

In 2011, 299 Nepean Highway is still a car sales location!

Motoring was an area that Go-Set staff thought was a reachable audience

In the first few year, Go-Set explored a number of areas of teenage and twenty male interest. This feature looked at sports cars, The author was apparently Maurice Bramston. He is not by-lined, but his is pictured in a car, and in the secod issue, he does answer a readers letter on motoring.
The main focus of the feature is the sports car, what is affordable, what is fast, and what is cool. The feature is readable and interesting, and conveys a sense of knowledge that the writer has.
It is not surprising that Go-Set chose motoring, Go-Set management speculated that their audience was aged between 12 and 20, so it was quite reasonable to expect that their demographic would include the male market interested in sports cars.
The image the first issue generates is that of a magazine with wide interests and attracting the widest possible audience.
I will explore the feature at bit more quite soon

Classified advertising - who thanked and who advertised

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you from the printer

Thank you from Peter Raphael

Thank you for "such a vital publication"

3UZ advertising, page 20 Go-Set

Here it is, the last page of the first issue. Jimmy Hannan was perhaps new to 3UZ if the wording in the ad is anything to go by. How important was the morning show to the Go-Set audience at the time. 8am till 12 noon is the times for his show. Jimmy Hannan would feature in advertising but I don't believe he ever actually appeared in Go-Set (I may be wrong about this, but I don't recall him ever being a writer for the publication, even as a guest. However, 3UZ had another importance at the time in that it supplied the first top 40 for the magazine, 3UZ DJs also provided gossip columns for reader to delight in and feel an association with the pop musicians of the period. In retrospect, and as I analysed the process, Go-Set effectively created loyalty from its readers through its association with pop and rock stars, and by providing a media where teenagers could find out what their idols were doing and where they had been. This strategy did not have a voice in the first few issues, and it would not be for another month before the Go-Set editors stated Go-Set's more interesting focus, and flagged, in a subtle way, its political agenda.