Howard Sattler (23 February 1945 – 11 June 2021) was an Australian talk back radio host. Sattler began his career as a cadet journalist for the

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

before performing

national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, during which he completed officer training and moved to Perth in a public relations position with the

Australian Department of Defence The Department of Defence, also known simply as Defence, is a department of the Australian Government that is responsible for administering the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and its related entities, and is charged with the defence of Austra ...

. From there he moved into broadcast radio, although he also was a newspaper editor and columnist. He was considered to have introduced the shock-jock style of radio to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. Although well known in his state of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

after a 30 year long career on radio, he gained national notoriety in 2013 when he was fired from radio station

6PR 6PR, known as 6PR Perth, is a commercial radio station based in Perth, Western Australia. Owned by Nine Entertainment, its focus is on news, talk and sport, and is Perth's only commercial talkback radio station. It commenced broadcasting on 14 ...

over a controversial interview with former Prime Minister

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...

, in which he asked her whether her partner

Tim Mathieson Timothy Raymond Mathieson (born 1957) is an Australian hairdresser and the former domestic partner of Julia Gillard, the Prime Minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. Mathieson entered the public spotlight when he became Gillard's partner in ...

was gay. In 2018, Sattler was inducted into the Australian Media Hall of Fame. In his later years he developed multiple health conditions, including throat cancer, and was diagnosed with PSB Steele Richardson syndrome (from which he eventually died), which so affected his speech that listeners would often call in thinking he was drunk. He became a vocal advocate for voluntary euthanasia laws.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sattler, Howard 1945 births 2021 deaths Australian radio personalities