Monsignor James Meany, the catholic weekly and 2SM

By the new millennium, Monsignor James Meany (1879-1953) had made his way onto the list of possibilities for what was colloquially known as a 'missing persons' volume of the Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB). In 2001 I was invited to write the 750-word entry on Meany, described as 'founder 2SM "Catholic Weekly"', for what was now entitled the ADB Supplement. The Irish-born Meany was bestknown for four things: Diocesan Inspector of Schools in Sydney; parish priest of St Mark's, Drummoyne; founder and first managing director of Australia's only Catholic radio station, 2SM; and chairman of the Catholic Weekly. My research on Meany and 2SM would provide a foundation for my chapter on religious broadcasting in Changing Stations: The Story of Australian Commercial Radio, a particularly challenging chapter to undertake as there had been little sustained or published work on the history of religious broadcasting (particularly commercial broadcasting) in Australia. In this article I present an overview of Meany's involvement with the press and radio from the 1920s to the 1950s.