Welcome to the Friends of the ABC in NSW

Response to Henderson's ABC article

Letters to the Sydney Morning Herald 4 Jan 2012 [here]

ABC's leftish drift still needs to be corrected by its deeds

Gerard Henderson - SMH 3 Jan 2012

When minding grandchildren at the beach in shallow water, there is not much to do except listen to the radio. And so it came to pass that on Christmas Day, with earpiece attached, I switched on the ABC Radio National Artworks program.

There was a discussion about the latest inner-city fashion of yarnbombing, whereby a certain sect of radical feminists engage in adorning public places with graffiti of the knitted genre. Artworks' sympathetic coverage concluded with a certain Casey Jenkins telling the program how she recently travelled to Vatican City and attached her home-knitted "lesbian fling-up" to the Basilica. The ABC reporter and presenter appeared to approve of such action. Read more: [here]

ABC Arts Cuts - Act Now!

Unless you act NOW, gone by the end of this year will be:

Art Nation, the ABC’s sole TV arts magazine program, and Collectors.

The ABC TV arts unit. A team of specialist arts programmers is critical to the ABC’s capacity to create and commission quality arts programming. Without an arts unit, the ABC’s role as the nation’s cultural archivist, a chronicler of our greatest
artistic achievements, will be seriously diminished.

And who will be left to advocate for arts programming within a public broadcaster that is increasingly directing its limited resources to populist programs produced by private production houses with an eye to commercial sales after first screening on the ABC?

Artsworks and The Book Show. Arts and The Book Show will be merged into a new Radio National program called Arts
and Books. The Age estimated that if RN’s proposed changes to its 2012 schedule proceed, RN will reduce its arts programming by 16.5 percent to become under 19 hours a week, excluding music programs.

What to do? [here]

Senate Committee report "Recent ABC programming changes"

The Senate Environment and Communications References Committee report "Recent ABC programming decisions"

Recommendations [here] (2 pages - 42KB .PDF)

Quentin Dempster's response [here] (1 page - 45KB .PDF)

Full report [here] (88 pages - 450KB .PDF)

Friends of the ABC submission to the inquiry into recent ABC programming decisions

Friends of the ABC has never been averse to program change and innovation. Hence our comments on
program changes are generally limited to instances where the significance of a change has other
important ramifications.

In regard to recent ABC television program decisions, FABC is concerned about both the nature of the
changes and the context in which they are occurring. The changes are a marker of a fundamental
change that is taking place in the essential character of Australia’s national broadcaster. Full submission [here] (.PDF 390KB)

Ian Carroll 1946 - 2011

Until quite late in the 20th century, it was fashionable to deride the ABC as a sheltered workshop, hidebound by public service rules and red tape, the home of engineers in grey cardigans, and workaday journalists content to bring up the rear. You seldom hear such things said today, and that is due in no small measure to the life’s work of Ian Carroll. Full article [here]

Senate inquiry into recent ABC programming

On 17 August 2011 the Senate referred the following matter to the Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications for inquiry and report.

Submissions should be received by 09 September 2011. The reporting date is 12 October 2011.

The Committee is seeking written submissions from interested individuals and organisations preferably in electronic form.

Suggested points:

• The ABC to be a producer of innovative quality programming in all areas.
• The ABC to be less dependent on outsourced programming
• The ABC to be funded and rebuilt so that it has strong specialist units to produce high levels of high quality and genuinely local in-house programming in all program genres on radio, TV and online
• The ABC should be a public broadcaster that is focused on diversity and quality, not ratings
  
  Submissions can be done online or sent by email. The email must include full postal address and contact details.
  
  For more details on how to make a submission [here]

ABC is betraying its cultural heritage

Sydney Morning Herald, Letters, 7 Sep 2011

For the past 50 years, ABC TV has introduced Australians to an array of extraordinary local artists - from Sir Robert Helpmann to Kate Grenville, from the emerging Western Desert artists to Nick Cave.

The ABC TV arts unit has taken us into our galleries, theatres and museums, sharing the country's evolving cultural life. In the past year alone, the unit produced more than 500 stories. It has championed new artists, engaged practitioners, and built a vast record of the work of those who strive to articulate our place in the world. Where else do we turn to celebrate our great artists? When we mourned Dame Joan Sutherland and Margaret Olley, the ABC helped us pay tribute to their lives and work.

We are deeply disturbed by ABC management's plan to axe ABC TV's only arts magazine program, disband the TV arts unit and divert resources to prime-time, populist content in pursuit of ratings. It will diminish the ABC's irreplaceable role as the nation's cultural memory. It will reflect no glory on what was once considered the single greatest achievement of Australia's intellectual and artistic life: the ABC itself. Without a strong in-house unit to create and to commission arts programming, the national broadcaster will fail its charter responsibilities. And it will fail us, by not reminding us our national character is informed and shaped by the imagination and creativity of artists.

Tim Winton, Nick Cave, Betty Churcher, Geoffrey Rush and 57 other prominent Australians.

For a full list of signatories [here]

As a mirror to our culture, ABC is not sitting on its arts

Mark Scott - Sydney Morning Herald 7 Sep 2011

ABC historian Ken Inglis recalls wartime prime minister John Curtin's opinion of a light entertainment program that imagined listeners were at a party. ''If that is the sort of party that is going to be held after the war, it is a good argument for keeping the war going,'' Curtin complained.

Satisfying everyone is impossible and always has been. There has been a lot of debate in recent days about the ABC's commitment to the arts, prompted by the end of one television program, Art Nation, and a new draft schedule for Radio National. The former prompted an open letter to the ABC board, penned by a group of esteemed arts figures protesting about the ''destruction of ABC TV arts'' Full article here

Radio National Draft 2012 Program Schedule

The ABC has released a "Revised 2012 Program Schedule: draft for discussion". The document has been released for information only and a later draft (after staff consultation) will be released for comment and feedback.

Some of its important features are:

• a new late Drive program and an extended Breakfast program that recognises the mobility and availability of audience needs at these busy times of the day;
• more specialisation and fewer repeats;
• the commissioning of new programs across current genre gaps;
• a renewed emphasis on arts and culture;
• maintenance of Radio Drama and a stronger commitment to radio features; and
• a greater capacity to react to major conversation points from Australia and around the world, with a stronger emphasis on more personable and flexible presentation throughout the day.
The Draft Schedule can be seen [here] (1 page .PDF 300KBs)

Mike Cartlton's Address to the Friends

On Friday 26 Aug 2011 Mike Carlton addressed the Friends of the ABC (NSW) Annual Dinner in Sydney.

"I joined the ABC at 9am on Monday the 7th of January 1963. Fresh out of school with my NSW Leaving Certificate, Honours in English and Economics. I was not quite 17 years old, and hired as a 1st year cadet journalist, on the princely sum of £11 a week.
In those days a university education was regarded as a distinct handicap for a journalist: unnecessary at best and frivolously elitist at worst. Much better to toss ‘em in at the deep end to see if they could swim". For the full address [here] (8 pages) .PDF 310KB

A Tragedy for ABC Staff

Friends of the ABC wishes to express its sorrow at the loss of three truly esteemed ABC staff - Paul Lockyer (reporter), Gary Ticehurst (pilot) and John Bean (cameraman) in a tragic helicopter accident at Lake Eyre.

Our deep sympathy goes to their family, friends and colleagues - all were outstanding professionals in their field, highly respected by all who knew them, and saw the quality of their work.

It is a tragedy that their lives were lost doing what they all loved - bringing rural Australia into the homes of us all.
We share the enormous sense of loss which will be felt by all who knew them

Mal Hewitt
President
NSW Friends of the ABC

More cuts to come: ABC chief Mark Scott

Amanda Meade - The Australian August 10, 2011ABC Managing director Mark Scott has addressed staff on his recent cuts to programs and jobs, telling them he understands their disappointment.

After an outpouring of dismay from staff and the public about the cancellation of New Inventors, Art Nation and some local sport broadcasts, Mr Scott was moved to write a lengthy letter of explanation to employees today.

“Some colleagues have contacted me in recent days about decisions we have made regarding the television schedule and our resources base,” Mr Scott said. [more here]

Your ABC. Worth fighting for

The ABC decision to cut programs including Art Nation, the New Inventors and the Collectors - and outsource more productions - is bad news for staff and viewers alike

Join the Facebook cause Your ABC. Worth Fighting For

Deliberate dismantling of our diminished ABC continues

Quentin Dempster, The Age, 4 Aug 2011

The latest cut hurts, but it's not the deepest in an already de-skilled ABC.

At last the hidden agenda has been exposed. The outsourcing of ABC television production to the commercial sector now covers all drama, documentary, natural history, most feature programming and, increasingly, studio-based light entertainment. [more]

Friends of the ABC support union action on cuts

Friends of the ABC has followed closely, and with growing alarm, the steady erosion of the ABC's capacity to produce its own television programs. It seems to have followed closely the appointment of Kim Dalton to the position of Head of Television, where he may not be head of very much for very much longer - there won't be much left of ABC Television!

Friends of the ABC shares the concerns of ABC staff at the loss of production facilities and staff, as well as the flood of money going to the commercial sector to produce programs for the ABC. Whilst the ABC will argue that the process of outsourcing enables the limited funds available to the ABC to go much further, it is inevitable that the product which goes to air on the ABC will be barely distinguishable from that of its commercial rivals. There seems to be little point in following this course.

Friends of the ABC would argue that quality of program is far more important that the chase for ratings which seems to be a concern of the current ABC management. It could be well argued that ratings on commercial television are in inverse proportion to the quality of the program - much that rates highly is absolute rubbish. Is this the direction that ABC management wishes to go?

Friends of the ABC supports any action which ABC staff take over the matter

Mal Hewitt
NSW Friends of the ABC

Program cuts at the ABC

Statement by Quentin Dempster ABC Staff-elected director (in exile) - 2 August 2011

There needs to be a public inquiry into the siphoning of taxpayers’ funds meant to sustain independent public broadcasting to the commercial television sector. The list of current program cuts, misleadingly represented as schedule refreshment, is in fact the intentional destruction of the ABC’s creative independence.

An inquiry to establish the facts is needed into this major shift in the role of the public broadcaster away from its Charter and public purpose.

I think an inquiry would show that this process, which began with the outsourcing of production units such as drama, then moved on to natural history, now includes all documentary, arts and, finally, studio-based light entertainment.

The loss of in-house production will have a particularly significant impact on arts and other specialist communities especially those outside of Sydney and Melbourne.

Public broadcasting is founded on the idea that you cannot have creative independence unless you have a capacity to make programs yourself, unencumbered by the commercial imperative.

Under the Kim Dalton model ABC programs are these days commissioned on the basis of their commercial ‘bankability’ – their capacity to be on-sold to pay TV and other commercial operators after a showing on the ABC. When this commissioning model is applied there is little room for public purpose, innovation and risk-taking, much less independence from commercial influence. What the public gets from this model is Hallmark television or light-weight, sexy and formulaic stuff pitched at an AB demographic.

The public has become alerted to the way in which SBS has been undermined with its once loyal audience by SBS’s increasing dependence on commerciality. Commercial co-productions and out-sourcing at the ABC, though less visible, are just as corrosive of the public role of the ABC as paid advertising at SBS. All of this without any public discussion.

In the context of the current ‘convergence review’ this siphoning of taxpayer funds to commercial purposes fundamentally shifts the place of the ABC in the Australian media and cultural landscape. An inquiry would show the extent to which the taxpayer’s trust in the ABC as an independent and creative voice is being betrayed.

The public trust of the ABC is based on an expectation that we are independent of commercial influence.
That trust is being breached by current management and board policy.

Union slams ABC program cuts

The ABC union has warned that the national broadcaster’s decision to cut programs including Art Nation and the New Inventors, sack staff and further outsource production, is a breach of its Charter and may jeopardize its ongoing funding.

The union is calling for an immediate audit of all TV production costings, both outsourced and in-house, to ensure taxpayers are getting value for money. Graeme Thomson, ABC Section Secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union said: “Taxpayer have the right to be outraged by the dismantling of their ABC.

“This announcement raises serious questions about whether the ABC is delivering against its legislative Charter, Parliament’s justification for the ABC’s one billion budget.

“ABC staff have been gutted by this decision. They are personally committed to delivering the quality content that has made the ABC one of Australia’s most important and respected cultural institutions.

“The cutting of Art Nation, the ABC’s only remaining TV arts program, is an act of cultural vandalism. “The ABC is at its best when it broadcasts the best international and domestically produced material available. This has meant maintaining a balance between in-house and private sector production. “Under Head of Television Kim Dalton ideologically driven approach, this balance has been lost. The ABC TV has been reduced to a mere transmission tower broadcasting the same material from the same production houses used by commercial channels. This threatens the ABC’s distinctiveness, rationale and ultimately, its funding.

“The national broadcaster is required to provide quality programs that reflect the diversity of Australia, its cultures and regional perspectives. The announcement today that regional TV producers are to be sacked destroys this important arm of the ABC Charter. The union has also criticised Managing Director Mark Scott, claiming he has overseen the destruction of the ABC’s television production.

“Mr Scott claims he supports a ‘mixed model’ of internal and external production. But on his watch we have seen more outsourcing than under Jonathan Shier,” Mr Thomson said.

“What angers ABC staff is that they have been set up for failure. The internal programs have been starved of funds and promotion budgets, while external productions have had funds lavished on them and have been heavily marketed by the ABC.

“ABC program-makers, eager to rebuild in-house production have been repeatedly told by Mr Dalton to leave the ABC and pitch the program ideas from outside because he is not interested in producing them inside. Australian taxpayers are entitled to be angered at this arrogance and waste,” Mr Thomson said.

ABC staff protest against plan to axe TV programs

Tim Dick - SMH 3 Aug 2011
The ABC has blamed its decision to axe three television programs and make workers redundant on falling audiences, tight budgets and a strategy of focusing on prime-time shows.

New Inventors, Art Nation and Collectors are to be dropped, with the last to be replaced by a new show called Auctions.

Quentin Dempster, host of 7.30 NSW and a former staff-elected ABC director, has called for a public inquiry into ''the siphoning of taxpayers' funds meant to sustain independent public broadcasting to the commercial television sector''. [more]

The ABC: from correcting market failure to causing it

Judith Sloane - The Drum Opinion 1 Aug 2011
Rupert has endured the humblest day of his life, the News of the World has published its last edition and the government in Australia is toying with the idea of an inquiry into the media.

The tender process for the contract to operate the Australia Network, currently held by the ABC, has been pulled and the final decision has been transferred from the Foreign Minister to the Minister for Communications. The rumour is that the decision had been three to one in favour of Sky News Australia being awarded the 10 year contract.

But due to "changed international circumstances" – what, because international circumstances never change? – there has been a change of heart. It's now a shoo-in that the contract will be awarded to the ABC. [more]

Latest News on Hope in a Slingshot

For the latest News on Hope in a Slingshot, the Ronin Films documentary, produced by Inka Stafrace, commissioned by the ABC, but never put to air by the ABC [here]

ABC to tender for Australia Network

ABC Managing Director Mark Scott today welcomed the government's announcement to open the tender for the contract to run Australia Network, announced by the Minister for Foreign Affairs the Hon. Kevin Rudd today.

Mr Scott said he welcomed the opportunity to bid for the continuation of the contract currently being serviced by the ABC for the last ten years [more]

Australia Network Tender - Letter to the Foreign Minister

FABC wishes to inform you of its strong view that Australia's interests are best served by the country's
publicly-funded international television service remaining a service of the Australian Broadcasting
Corporation (ABC). The relevance and overwhelming benefits to Australia of the national public broadcaster
providing the country's international broadcasting services leads FABC to conclude it is wasteful of public
resources to require the ABC to enter into a competitive tender process to continue to provide Australia
Network [more]

Submissions to the Senate Inquiry into the
National Broadcasting Legislation Amendment Bill 2010s

Friends of the ABC (NSW) Inc. submission to the Senate Inquiry [here] PDF14pps 83KB

Read the joint FABC submission to the Senate Inquiry [here] PDF 5pps 40KB

Petition supporting 'Hope in a Slingshot'

The June edition of UPDATE (http://www.fabcnsw.org.au/Update/archive.html) included extensive coverage of the circumstances concerning the Ronin Films documentary, Hope in a Slingshot, directed and produced by Inka Stafrace. Originally commissioned by the ABC, the ABC is refusing to screen it on the grounds that it is "an opinion program" about a "contentious" subject.

The film focuses on details, particularly the human cost, of the occupation of Palestine by Israel. It is not a case against Israel, the Israeli people or the Jewish community. The bulk of the film expresses the thoughts of human rights activists (both Israeli and Palestinian) who live in the region as they discuss the realities of the situation in the West Bank. Small amounts of marketing money were donated by both the Jewish and Palestinian communities in Australia.

I have seen the film, and believe that it can only contribute constructively to the debate on peace in the Middle East. The ABC's refusal to screen it is quite incomprehensible.

Mal Hewitt
President, NSW Friends of the ABC
____________________________

Dear concerned people,

Can you spread this link round please?.....or just sign please
http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/hopeinaslingshot

We are encouraging people to sign this petition before October 18 when Mark Scott will be questioned about this at a Senate Estimates Hearing.

I know this is a long battle but please do not give up on this, its an important one .

Inka Stafrace
Polly Tikkle Productions
Australia/Malta
www.pollytikkle.com

President's Report to FABC (NSW) Annual General Meeting - 2010

In many respects the past year has been a highly successful one for the ABC, a year of quite dramatic expansion at a time when most of its media rivals are contracting, or struggling to maintain their place in a world of rapid change. The ABC has significantly increased its audience share across all networks and has developed new methods of delivery of programs to both national and international audiences. In any week, 73% of the Australian population access the ABC in some form. Additional funding from the 2009 Federal budget has meant increased local production and programs on the dedicated children’s channel, and the launch of ABC Open, local interactive media “hubs” based on existing rural and regional radio stations [more]

Bullying Your ABC

Having satisfactorily completed its role in the dispatch of a prime minister last week, News Limited has redirected its firepower towards another pesky adversary - the left-leaning, incompetent, over-funded ABC and its soon-to-be-launched 24-hour TV news channel [more]

Turmoil exposed weaknesses: ABC head

ABC managing director Mark Scott has ordered a review of how the broadcaster handles breaking news across TV and radio.

This comes after he admitted the organisation could have done a better job covering last week's political turmoil in Canberra [more]

Mark Scott responds to ABC critics

There’s been vigorous debate recently about the role of the ABC – particularly around our latest innovations such as ABC3, ABC Open and ABC News 24.

I see this debate as an acknowledgement of how important the ABC is to Australia’s cultural and civic life. Inevitably of course, some of our critics have either misunderstood or misrepresented our motives [more]

Never mind ABC TV: put a rocket up ABC Radio

Margaret Simons writes 1July10

Today we have the interesting sight of recent ABC board member Janet Albrechtsen joining in the round of kicking of the national broadcaster for its disappointing performance last Wednesday night when news of the Gillard leadership challenge was breaking [more]

ABC TV Cancels plans to broadcast documentary on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

The ABC has withdrawn a formal offer it made to Ronin Films to acquire a documentary called HOPE IN A SLINGSHOT, by Australian filmmaker, Inka Stafrace.  The offer was accepted by Ronin, but was later cancelled by the ABC on the grounds that the documentary was, in the words of the Head of Television, Kim Dalton, “an opinion program” about a “contentious” subject and that it conflicted with the ABC’s policy of “impartiality”, as required by Clause 6.6.3 of the ABC’s Editorial Policy.  Dalton stated that the ABC was unable to find another program that balanced the views expressed in the film [more]

Peter Pockley - Academy of Science Medal

There are rarely true ‘firsts’. Neil Armstrong was first to set foot on the moon (as far as we can tell!); Mark Oliphant was the first President of our Academy of Science and Suzanne Cory is the first woman to be so elected – even so late as 2010! [more]