Fanlore:Featured Article Archives/2020: Week 4

The Great Australian Radio Show Fiasco refers to an interview carried out in 1985 by reporter John Baxter on the Sydney, Australia radio station 2FC. In this interview, slash was openly discussed, excerpts from a slash K/S fic read aloud, and a fan (not the creator of the fic) was interviewed.

Many fans were horrified that what they considered private and secret was being openly discussed (and from the tone of the interview, mocked), and the fact that a fellow fan participated in the show only added insult to injury. However, at least one major zine publisher (Alexis Fegan Black) commented that while she had mixed feelings regarding the increased visibility of zines and slash, she was also happy to see an upswing in her business.

It is unknown exactly when this show aired, but fans commented on in it in the print letterzine Not Tonight, Spock! in May 1985, which would put the event sometime between January and April 1985.