Patricia Edgar
Encyclopedia
Patricia May Edgar AM
(born 11 March 1937) is an Australia
n author, television producer and educator, best known as the founding director of the Australian Children's Television Foundation
.
She was born in 1937 in Mildura, Victoria
, and moved to California
in the 1960s with her husband (author and social researcher Don Edgar
) and two children to study at Stanford University
. On their return to Australia, Edgar joined the staff of La Trobe University
, where she also completed a PhD
.
In 1975, Gough Whitlam
's government
appointed Edgar to Australian Broadcasting Control Board
where she was instrumental in formulating codes for children's television for the first time. She took part in the establishment of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal's Program Standards for children's television, and was founding director of the Australian Children's Television Foundation
(ACTF). Over twenty-years, the ACTF won multiple awards including an Emmy, and made co-productions with the BBC, Disney and Revcom. She was executive producer for the 1988 Bicentenary
ACTF project Touch the Sun
.
Her books about television and the media include Children and Screen Violence, Under Five in Australia, Media She (with Hilary McPhee), The Politics of the Press and recently a memoir Bloodbath: A Memoir of Australian Television which prompted Phillip Adams
to write "I would regard Patricia Edgar as a sort of human tank. Patricia is a sort of Centurion in her abilities to kick down doors and push walls over. She is annoying, irritating, relentless, drives people mad, but she gets things done"
She was awarded the Australian Film Institute Longford Life Achievement Award
in 2002, and the Dromkeen Medal
in 2007, for her role in advancing children's literature.
Edgar lives in Melbourne with her husband Don, near her two daughters and four grandchildren. She is chair of the World Summit on Media for Children Foundation. A breast cancer
victim, she also chairs the Breast Cancer Network of Australia.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
(born 11 March 1937) is an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n author, television producer and educator, best known as the founding director of the Australian Children's Television Foundation
Australian Children's Television Foundation
The Australian Children's Television Foundation is a non-profit, government-funded organisation in Australia concerned with the development, production, dissemination and promotion of children's television and other audio-visual material for children....
.
She was born in 1937 in Mildura, Victoria
Mildura, Victoria
Mildura is a regional city in northwestern Victoria, Australia and seat of the Rural City of Mildura local government area. It is located in the Sunraysia region, and is on the banks of the Murray River. The current population is estimated at just over 30,000.Mildura is a major agricultural centre...
, and moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the 1960s with her husband (author and social researcher Don Edgar
Don Edgar
Dr. Donald E. Edgar was the Foundation Director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Under his leadership the Institute had a profound influence on the Government of Australia regarding family policy, family and work, welfare policy and family law...
) and two children to study at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
. On their return to Australia, Edgar joined the staff of La Trobe University
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to become the third oldest university in the state of Victoria. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are...
, where she also completed a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
.
In 1975, Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
's government
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
appointed Edgar to Australian Broadcasting Control Board
Australian Broadcasting Control Board
The Australian Broadcasting Control Board was an Australian government agency whose main roles were to regulate broadcasting, radiocommunications and telecommunications...
where she was instrumental in formulating codes for children's television for the first time. She took part in the establishment of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal's Program Standards for children's television, and was founding director of the Australian Children's Television Foundation
Australian Children's Television Foundation
The Australian Children's Television Foundation is a non-profit, government-funded organisation in Australia concerned with the development, production, dissemination and promotion of children's television and other audio-visual material for children....
(ACTF). Over twenty-years, the ACTF won multiple awards including an Emmy, and made co-productions with the BBC, Disney and Revcom. She was executive producer for the 1988 Bicentenary
Australian Bicentenary
The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1970 on the 200th anniversary of Captain James Cook landing and claiming the land, and again in 1988 to celebrate 200 years of permanent European settlement.-1970:...
ACTF project Touch the Sun
Touch The Sun
Touch the Sun is the ninth album of the Japanese hard rock band Show-Ya. The album was released on February 21, 1995 only in Japan. It would be their only album with singer Steffanie Borges and the only one sung entirely in English.-Track listing:...
.
Her books about television and the media include Children and Screen Violence, Under Five in Australia, Media She (with Hilary McPhee), The Politics of the Press and recently a memoir Bloodbath: A Memoir of Australian Television which prompted Phillip Adams
Phillip Adams
Phillip Andrew Hedley Adams, AO is an Australian broadcaster, film producer, writer, social commentator, satirist and left-wing pundit. He currently hosts a radio program, Late Night Live, four nights a week on the ABC, and he also writes a weekly column for the News Limited-owned newspaper, The...
to write "I would regard Patricia Edgar as a sort of human tank. Patricia is a sort of Centurion in her abilities to kick down doors and push walls over. She is annoying, irritating, relentless, drives people mad, but she gets things done"
She was awarded the Australian Film Institute Longford Life Achievement Award
Australian Film Institute Longford Life Achievement Award
The Raymond Longford Award, in honour of Raymond Longford, was first presented by the Australian Film Institute from 1968-2010, and will continue to be presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts from 2012...
in 2002, and the Dromkeen Medal
Dromkeen Medal
The Dromkeen Medal is a literary prize awarded annually by the Courtney Oldmeadow Children's Literature Foundation for those who have advanced children's literature in Australia.-List of prize winners:*1982 Lu Rees*1983 Maurice Saxby...
in 2007, for her role in advancing children's literature.
Edgar lives in Melbourne with her husband Don, near her two daughters and four grandchildren. She is chair of the World Summit on Media for Children Foundation. A breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
victim, she also chairs the Breast Cancer Network of Australia.
Selected Publications
- Under Five in Australia Heinemann, Melbourne 1973 ISBN 0855610301
- Media She (with Hilary McPhee) Heinemann, Melbourne 1974 ISBN 0855610344
- Families Without Television (with Ray Crooke) Centre for the Study of Educational Communication and Media, La Trobe :University, 1976 ISBN 0858160935
- Children and Screen Violence University of Queensland Press, 1977 ISBN 0702214035
- The politics of the press Sun Books, Melbourne 1979 ISBN 0725103388
- The News In Focus : the journalism of exception Macmillan, Melbourne 1980. ISBN 0333299302
- Television Licence Hearings Go Public : a case study Centre for the Study of Educational Communication and Media, La Trobe University, 1981 ISBN 0858162822
- Children and Television : policy implications Australian Children's Television Foundation, Vic. 1983. ISBN 0864210000
- Children's Television, the case for regulation Australian Children's Television Foundation, North Melbourne 1984 ISBN 0864210485
- Janet Holmes A Court HarperCollins 2000 ISBN 9780732257156
- Bloodbath: A Memoir of Australian Television Melbourne University Press 2006 ISBN 9780522852813
- The New Child : in search of smarter grown-ups (with Don Edgar) Wilkinson Publishing, Melbourne 2008 ISBN 9781921332418