PM (radio program)
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PM is one of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's flagship current affairs radio programs. It is also one of Australia's longest-running productions, having been first aired on 7 July 1969. It is the sister program to AM.
As of January 2026 it is hosted by Samantha Donovan and broadcast on both Radio National and ABC Local Radio.
History and timeslots
PM was first broadcast in 1969 for what were then ABC Radio 1 and Radio 3 (now ABC Local Radio). Launched on 7 July 1969, two years after its sister program AM, with both names created by ABC general manager Talbot Duckmanton.
It originally aired every weekday at 6:10 pm (after the 6:00 pm news bulletin), becoming a popular afternoon radio current affairs program. PM was later introduced to ABC Radio 2 (now ABC Radio National) with a new early edition at 5:10 pm after the 5:00 pm news.[citation needed] PM was originally 20 minutes long before expansion to 50 minutes in 1987. In 2018 it reduced to a 25 minute format, which matched AM.
Description
PM complements AM and other ABC News and Current Affairs radio programs, namely The World Today and Correspondents Report.
As of January 2026[update] the program is presented by Samantha Donovan.
ABC's streaming links and podcasts allow listening to PM after its broadcast time.
Presenters and reporters
PM's first presenters were Lawrence Bryant and John Highfield, who hosted on alternate nights, though the duration of their individual tenures is not recorded in publicly available sources. Over time the program has featured a variety of other hosts and contributors, and its reporting team has included prominent journalists such as Ray Martin, Bob Carr, Kate Baillieu and Maxine McKew.
| Presenter | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Lawrence Bryant | 1969–(unknown) |
| John Highfield | 1969–(unknown) |
| Iain Finlay | (dates not specified) |
| Paul Murphy | 1983–1991 |
| Ellen Fanning | 1992–1993 |
| Monica Attard | 1994–1997 |
| Mark Colvin | 1997–2017 |
| Linda Mottram | 2018–2022 |
| David Lipson | 2022–2023 |
| Samantha Donovan | 2023–present |
Musical signature themes
The original 1967 signature was "Crossbeat", a 30-second electronic music piece sourced from the BBC, composed and realised by David Cain of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. This was replaced by new themes for both AM and PM, composed by Tony Ansell in the 1980s, both based on a similar theme and performed in a similar manner on a synthesiser using a brass-type patch. The similarity between the themes represented a significant link between the sister programs.[citation needed] The music was used from the 1980s until January 2017.