Update from Mark Scott

Mal Hewitt
Friends of the ABC
PO Box 1391
North Sydney NSW 2059

I wanted to update you on our thinking at the ABC following the Government's announcement of increased funding in the budget. As you know, this budget was framed in the most difficult circumstances imaginable. When we started talks in Canberra about our Triennial Funding bid, there was a $20 billion surplus. Last night the Government announced a $58 billion deficit.

In light of this enormous budgetary pressure, it is pleasing we can press ahead with our plans for new services and distinctive content. Our new Children's Channel, ABC3, will be welcomed in the homes of Australian families across the country. We are going to significantly increase the levels of Australian drama on ABC television, working in partnership with the independent production sector. And regional and rural communities will benefit as ABC Local acts as a catalyst and host for the development of rich new broadband material.

This increased funding, the largest increased achieved by the ABC since the establishment of the corporation in 1983, is a robust vote of confidence in the work done by our people.
Our Canberra strategy was based on highlighting the ABC's success as an innovator in new media, as a connector of communities and a provider of distinctive and unique content.
We received strong support for our conviction that, in this dramatically changing media landscape, it was more important than ever that the ABC playa vital role in the lives of Australians everywhere. The increased funding is a vital stepping stone towards establishing the ABC as a great public broadcaster in a digital media era.

In doing this work, we had strong support from industry partners and key community organisations like the Friends of the ABC. Thank you for your support while our funding bid was considered by Government. The outcome does not bring to an end our discussions with Government around funding and strategic priorities and we will continue to engage over the role the ABC plays in Australia's digital future, including the allocation of new digital spectrum. The creation of broadband content to take advantage of the National Broadband Network will be a subject for discussion, as will Australia's international broadcasting opportunities.

At our Leaders' Conference in March this year, I said that, ultimately, the future of the ABC would be determined, not by funding decisions, but by choices we make: the priorities we determine, our ability to deliver on our strategy and the kind of organisation we create. That remains true after the budget. Clearly, in these tough economic times, we have not been funded for everything we wanted. We need to find ways to press on with our moves into digital radio and continuous news. These areas are set to be very important to the future of the public broadcaster. We also need to review our stretched operational budgets to ensure a focus on programming and service delivery.

We have a lot of work to do. We need to continue to deliver for Australians everywhere through broadcast and digital services as well as make the changes necessary to ensure the future of the ABC. In that light, the Board last week made some important decisions: moving ahead quickly on our new Brisbane headquarters and approving funding for the planning work on a new building adjoining our current premises at Southbank to allow all Melbourne activity to be consolidated on one site. The Board also approved a major new investment in a Web Content Management System - a decision that will be welcomed by staff labouring with the antiquated Wallace system as they expand our online services.

The ABC approaches this new era with vigour and excitement. We look closely to working with the Friends of the ABC over the coming years as we pursues our goals of being a new media innovator, a connector of communities and a trusted source of distinctive and unique content.

Mark Scott
Managing Director ABC
13 May 2009

 

ABC in Fiji - Mark Scott

It was a simple phone text message, but the desperation behind it was palpable. “We are trying to listen to you online but are having difficulty. Please keep broadcasting. You are all we have.”

The cry of help, sent to the ABC last week, highlights the anguish within Fiji as the military government extends its grip on power while going to extraordinary lengths to deny its citizens access to information about its activities.

The abrupt switch off of the Radio Australia transmitters in Suva and Nadi by Fijian police came hours after ABC Pacific correspondent Sean Dorney was ordered out of the country. Combined, the two events represent a dark day for journalism and for democracy in the Pacific. They pose challenges for the Australian Government and for the ABC in the complicated new world of international diplomacy.

Dorney has been reporting on the region for over three decades. His authority and knowledge is built around a commitment to tell all sides of a story with a passion and affection for Pacific communities and their cultural richness and abundant potential. Radio Australia has been part of the strong tradition of Fijian independent journalism for seventy years. Seven decades of reporting on the achievements and challenges of the Fijian nation with a commitment to be fair and accurate.

It is too easy to shrug the shoulders and dismiss the pall of repression in Fiji as a sadly, all-too common consequence of Pacific political instability. These developments go to the heart of Australia’s regional interests. Our aspiration is for our neighbours to prosper in societies built on openness, fairness and opportunity for all. When independent scrutiny of government is thrown aside, we all suffer.

In international affairs, where words can be bullets, there is a growing appreciation of the role of “soft diplomacy” – using subtle methods such as the sharing of perspectives to deliver policy objectives. It is not widely known how aggressively other countries, including our partners in the G20, are investing in international broadcasting as a principal tool of soft diplomacy. And how far behind Australia lags in this new race for influence.

The British spend $868 million on international radio and television; the French $618 million; the Germans $532 million; and the Chinese about $380 million. All this is government investment in international broadcasting. In Australia, we currently invest $34 million in Radio Australia and Australia Network television. The ABC has long argued that we extract the maximum possible efficiencies from this outlay, delivering “good bang for our buck”.

Out of this small sum, we broadcast on radio in seven regional languages and reach 44 nations in Asia and the Pacific on Australia Network.

But the ABC – and Australia – risk getting drowned in the growing proliferation of broadcast voices. The Japanese, the Russians and the Germans have recently announced plans for new English television services in Asia and the Pacific.

The easy call, particularly in a tough global economic environment, is to sit back and do nothing.

We do not have that luxury. The ABC’s regional footprint cannot be replicated. This is our neighbourhood. We are not London or Bonn calling.

We have a critical interest in climate change in the Pacific and the strong development of Pacific governments, business and society-all nurtured and nourished by a vibrant independent media. Every day Radio Australia broadcasts for several hours on Pacific affairs (Pacific Beat and In the Loop). Every week Australian Network television airs content that identifies the aspirations and celebrates the achievements of Pacific communities (Pacific Pulse). We are committed to Pacific regional co-operation with ABC International Projects partnering with AusAID and national media to strengthen broadcast capacity in Papua New Guinea, the Solomons and Vanuatu and throughout the Pacific. In order to strengthen our focus we have established in Melbourne the Asia Pacific News Centre with 60 journalists covering the region on international radio, television and online.

In Asia, particularly in the burgeoning new markets of China and India, the ABC is committed to extending its presence. The international service is valued for the quality and accuracy of its news and current affairs reporting. Our audiences tell us that when big news event break in the region, the ABC serves as a trusted primary source of information. But the value is also in the underlying message conveyed by our programming to areas like Fiji where democracy can be a very fragile concept. Here, we have a very robust democratic model, where views and policies are debated and analysed energetically on programs like Q&A, Insiders, Lateline and Jim Middleton’s News Hour.

The federal Government is aware of our views on these issues. The ABC has argued strongly that the solution does not lie in outsourcing our diplomacy to commercial interests, as has been argued by one of our media rivals. We also believe the time is right for a bigger and bolder vision. With the value of old-order global institutions increasingly questioned, new bodies like the G20 have given Australia an opportunity to display leadership on issues ranging from financial regulation to Clean Coal. But we cannot afford to neglect the new tool in the diplomatic kitbag – the power of broadcasting. Just ask the poor text messenger in Fiji.

Mark Scott
ABC Managing Director

A better process, but what about the product?

The new method of making appointments to the ABC board is certainly more open and transparent. However this process, in itself, does not guarantee good decisions.

When he appointed her to the ABC board was the Communications Minister aware of Dr Julianne Schultz’s role in an attempt to tie the ABC into a strategic alliance with Telstra – arguably Australia’s largest, most powerful and most aggressive communications organisation?

Dr Schultz is a distinguished academic and is very highly regarded as the founding editor of the Griffith Review. She is also a former senior executive with the ABC. However in this role her advocacy of the Telstra deal has been criticised by a fellow academic, by unions representing ABC staff and by Friends of the ABC.

As Acting Director of Corporate Relations at the ABC Schultz was a key player in an attempt, lead by then Managing Director Brian Johns, to tie the ABC into a complex and far-reaching commercial deal with Telstra.

Fortunately the proposal was leaked before a contract between Telstra and the ABC could be signed. The Senate established an inquiry at which Schultz, as the main witness for the ABC, pursued the management position forcefully.

In a study of the of evidence presented to the inquiry, published in the academic journal Human Relations, Dr André Spicer argued that the ABC/Telstra deal was an attempt “to shift the broadcaster’s website from being a technology used to achieve public service goals to being a revenue generator.”

A key part of the deal was for the ABC to provide news for display on Telstra’s website, where it would be surrounded with advertising. In return the ABC would receive a substantial fee.

But the deal went well beyond simply supplying a news feed. It also potentially gave Telstra even more influence over the ABC than a commercial advertiser would have over a commercial broadcaster. The proposed agreement allowed Telstra to ‘consult’ with the ABC about future content, co-productions and e-commerce ventures. In effect, Telstra could have input to the ABC editorial process (although the ABC would not have been legally bound to accept Telstra’s suggestions).

The agreement envisaged the ABC promoting Telstra’s Easymail service and that wherever possible the ABC would use Telstra’s broadband service as a back channel. The ABC and Telstra would be obliged to treat each other on a ‘most favoured nation’ basis.

This caused distinguished investigative journalist and former ABC board member Quentin Dempster to describe the ABC/Telstra relationship as a ‘strategic alliance’. He told the inquiry that this alliance involved the ABC “in a fully commercial business plan with another operator and a delivery system. This arrangement will cause us all sorts of trouble with Optus, with any other player. I am basing this on my bitter experience being on the board of the ABC as we did a deal with Fairfax and Cox Communications for pay TV.”

In evidence before the inquiry Schultz was unapologetic about the commercial thrust of the Telstra deal. She told the hearing that it might be necessary to pursue an increasingly commercial approach that “would involve a fundamental change in direction to move into a very commercial space where very large amounts of money are being spent at this stage for very little return but for great speculative gain.”

Fortunately the deal was never signed. The new ABC Managing Director Jonathan Shier killed it, not because it was too commercial, but because he thought the ABC was selling its content too cheaply.

Julianne Schultz is a very intelligent person. As she joins the ABC board we must hope that she has learned from her earlier experience of the ABC.

Darce Cassidy April 2009

Adequate funds for the ABC; Everybody's lobbying...

This May Budget will reveal the ABC's funding for the next three years. The film and television industry is lobbying, Mark Scott is lobbying, the Minister for Communications is lobbying, FABC is lobbying….

The Minister lobbying? Isn't he the one in charge of the ABC?

Yes, Stephen Conroy, as Minister for Communications is the Minister in charge of the ABC, and what a refreshing change to have a Minister who champions the ABC. But he doesn't hold the purse strings. The Treasurer, Wayne Swan, the Minister for Finance Lindsay Tanner (a former Shadow Minister for Communications), Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education, Julia Gillard are the critical players in the Cabinet Expenditure Review Committee which is currently crunching the numbers for the Budget.

And of course the big worry is that in the current financial crisis the ABC will lose out.

What funding promises did this government make before the 2007 election? Encouraging but vague promises of "adequate funding"; 100 hours of Australian drama per annum. Enough wriggle room in harsh economic times.

The TV industry claims (SMH 11 March 2009) that jobs would be generated, not just in the ABC, but in the film and television industry generally and in flow-on industries, if the ABC were funded now to produce the promised 100 hours of Australian drama each year. Film production is a labour-intensive industry; the Screen Producers Association estimates that if the Government increased spending on ABC productions from the current 30 hours to 90 hours a year it would create an extra 2500 jobs and generate $80million worth of economic activity.

ABC Managing Director Mark Scott made a similar point on AM on 12 March: funding to increase the level of Australian content "will trigger jobs. It has a significant multiplier effect". He went to say that extra funds to the ABC "makes good economic sense as well as good sense for the Australian community".

The ABC's enormous value to the community was emphasised by Stephen Conroy (11 March, when opening ABC Showcase at Parliament House):
The ABC plays a vital role ensuring Australians are well connected in times of crisis.

ABC Radio in particular, is a virtual lifeline to communities faced with an emergency situation and its aftermath.

This was never more clearly demonstrated than during last month's devastating Victorian bushfires, when the ABC took on the role of official emergency services broadcaster for affected areas across the state.

'The ABC is seriously underfunded………If the ABC doesn't get more funds it is going to lag the rest of the media industry in this country and the ABC should be the champion of the digital world' (Stephen Conroy, December 08)

But is the ABC to be starved of funds yet again?

It's not easy to get to the holders of the purse strings. It's even less easy if you're not in their electorate. However what we can all do is write to our own local Member of Parliament asking if she or he will write or speak on your behalf to the Treasurer, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Education (who has an interest in children's television you'd think).

Don't leave it to the Minister alone to plead in Cabinet. Join the lobbying yourself. Be a Friend in need!

Jill Greenwell
Convenor Parliamentary Lobby Group (ACT & Region FABC)
March 2009

Sue Howard fails to allay concerns about ABC Radio National

Sue Howard (Director, ABC Radio) has produced a response to the thousands of complaints the ABC has received, which contains much soothing language and "management speak" but does not indicate any willingness on the part of ABC Management to listen to the voices of its audience. Some quotes:

- the network will continue to evolve to reflect and respond to the requirements of listeners

The network seems to be very deliberately ignoring the requirements of its listeners.

- to ensure that its radio lineup is focused not just on traditional content genres but on contemporary, intellectual discourse in Australia and worldwide

Surely programs such as The Religion Report and The Media Report did precisely that, so why drop them?

- the changes aim to refresh and revitalise its programming by offering new and more relevant programs to its audience

There seems to be only one completely new program in the 2009 schedule (Future Report), and perhaps Sue Howard should tell us which of the axed programs were not relevant.

- the ABC believes that it's time to develop new ideas and new specialist programs.

Again, there seems to be only one completely new program in the proposed lineup.

- there is a burgeoning online audience looking for the same type of content that is sought by its traditional radio audience.

There's no surprise in that, so why reduce the range and depth of specialist programs?

- the changes will enable RN to carry specialist coverage into the online space

Please explain, Ms Howard - what do you mean, and why was it necessary to axe nine specialist programs to do it.

Clearly, Ms Howard's response does not provide the answers to the questions that Radio National listeners are asking.

Mal Hewitt
President, NSW Friends of the ABC

Sue Howard Replies - Radio National

Dear ...
Thank you for your email addressed to Managing Director Mark Scott, Radio National Manager Jane Connors and myself regarding the changes to the Radio National program schedule. I have been asked to respond on behalf of the ABC.

The ABC recognises the passion and commitment of the Radio National listenership and we acknowledge the concerns some listeners have about the changes to the Radio National schedule. The ABC is just as passionate about our programs and we are fully committed to maintaining Radio National as a conduit for ideas, discussion and debate. To this end there will be no reduction in funding or resourcing for Radio National but the network will continue to evolve to reflect and respond to the requirements of listeners.

The ABC believes that changes to the 2009 schedule are necessary as ABC Radio National looks to the future to ensure that its radio line-up is focused not just on traditional content genres but on contemporary, intellectual discourse in Australia and worldwide.  The changes to the Radio National schedule aim to refresh and revitalise its programming by offering new and more relevant programs to its audience. There is no alteration to the fundamental foundation of Radio National’s success in delivering high-quality, distinctive programming to the Australian people. 

The mix of specialist programming, intelligent talk programming (like Counterpoint and Late Night Live) and live flow programming, like Radio National Breakfast with Fran Kelly will remain.  Decisions around the specific elements within this mix of programming are nothing new and some of the programs on Radio National have been around for more than a decade. The ABC believes that it’s time to develop new ideas and new specialist programs.

The 2009 schedule will feature more than 40 specialist programs across a range of subject areas each week in addition to the highly regarded ABC news and current affairs programs AM, The World Today, PM and Correspondents Report. In the weekday 8.30 report slot, The Health Report and Law Report will remain on Monday and Tuesday respectively.  The inclusion of Rear Vision on Wednesday gives more prominence to this specialist history program which brings a reflective and rigorous historical look at the context and background to contemporary news events and stories and on Friday a broader audience will be exposed to comprehensive coverage of film culture, reviews and interviews in Movietime.

A new Future Report (working title) on Thursday will analyse trends, foreseeable and predicted, arising from changes across science, religion, art, economics and technology.

A major new development for the network in 2009 is the merging of Radio Eye and Street Stories into a new radio Features program, combined with increased online features content including further development and utilisation of the collaborative online work space Pool. In addition, Radio National will increase the amount of radio drama by extending the duration of Airplay on Friday nights. 

Radio National recognises there is a burgeoning online audience looking for the same type of content that is sought by its traditional radio audience.  They are identical in their desire to make sense of the world and broaden their experience with the help of high-quality content that is trusted, thought provoking and sometimes risky, but their interaction with media is almost purely via the internet.  To reach them, Radio National must improve its online presence, ensuring that this audience’s bandwidth is as richly populated as its traditional audience’s airwaves.

The changes in 2009 will enable Radio National to carry specialist coverage into the online space including improved radio feature material, arts content and religion. 

I hope this allays your concerns. Please be assured that the ABC appreciates your interest and ongoing support.

Yours sincerely,
Sue Howard
Director ABC Radio and Regional Content

Nine Walkley Awards for the ABC

ABC Walkley Winners

RADIO NEWS REPORTING
Stephen McDonell, ABC Radio, “China Earthquake”

RADIO CURRENT AFFAIRS REPORTING
Rachael Brown, ABC Radio, “Medical Board Ignores Dr Rape Claims”

RADIO FEATURE, DOCUMENTARY OR BROADCAST SPECIAL
Tony MacGregor, Colm McNaughton and Russell Stapleton, Radio Eye – ABC Radio National, “Awakening from History?”

TELEVISION CURRENT AFFAIRS, FEATURE, DOCUMENTARY OR SPECIAL (more than 20 minutes)
Morag Ramsay and Debbie Whitmont, Four Corners, ABC TV, “The Newman Case”

TELEVISION NEWS AND CURRENT AFFAIRS CAMERA
Andrew Taylor, Australian Story, ABC TV, “Show of Force Part 2”

BEST USE OF MEDIA
Ruth Fogarty, Kate Wild and Marian Wilkinson, Four Corners Broadband Edition, ABC Online, “Tipping Point”

COVERAGE OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION
Robert Hill and Stephen McDonell, Foreign Correspondent and The 7.30 Report, ABC TV, “Pre-Olympic China”

SPORT FEATURE COVERAGE
Ben Cheshire, Quentin Davis and Peter Wilkins, Australian Story, ABC TV, “She’s Not There”

BROADCAST INTERVIEWING
Chris Uhlmann, AM ABC Radio, “Last Days”

...[ABC Media Release]

Senate questions ABC axing of Religion Report

Canberra, Thursday, 16 October 2008

The Senate today supported a motion from Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown that calls on ABC management to reveal the criticisms and reasons behind the decision to axe the Religion Report, Media Report and other flagship Radio National programs.

"The Religion Report's insightful reporting and critical analysis has ruffled many feathers over the years - the sign of a highly successful program!" Senator Brown said.

"Radio National's flagship programs, whose specialist reporters have a great depth of knowledge, are what makes public broadcasting in this country so strong. These programs have a growing audience here in Australia, internationally, and online.

"The decision to cut these programs and dumb down Radio National needs to be explained so that the growing audience of these programs understands what ABC management is doing to their broadcaster."

The motion was agreed to by the Government and Opposition.

The text of the motion reads:
I move that the Senate:
(i) Notes ABC Radio National's decision to axe the Religion Report, Media Report and the Sports Factor;
(ii) Notes that the Religion Report is one of the most important programs on the ABC with a rapidly growing international audience;
(iii) Notes that this program broke the Peter Hollingworth scandal, has applied critical analysis of the Exclusive Brethren, Anglican, Catholic and Muslim religions amongst others and provided insightful commentary of various religions over many years;
(iv) Calls on ABC management to publicly reveal all formal and informal criticisms made against this program over recent years; and
(v) Calls on ABC management to immediately make public the reasons for this decision.

Tim Hollo
Media Adviser
Senator Christine Milne
ph: (02) 6277 3588
mob: 0437 587 562

New ABC Board Appointment Process Announced

MEDIA RELEASE
Senator Stephen Conroy
Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy

Measures to ensure strong and independent national broadcasters

The Rudd Government today announced a public consultation and new board appointment processes to ensure the future strength and independence of Australia’s national broadcasters.

“For the next two months, the Australian public will have its say on how the ABC and SBS are positioned for the next decade,” the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy said.

“The ABC and the SBS are two of Australia’s most important and loved public institutions. They have entertained, educated and informed generations of Australians. It is incumbent on all of us to ensure their future strength and independence.”

The Government has released a discussion paper, ABC and SBS: Towards a Digital Future, canvassing some of the key issues facing the two broadcasters during the next decade.

“Australians are passionate about their national broadcasters and I expect there to be some strong views about ensuring the ABC and SBS are well placed to respond to the challenges and opportunities of the emerging digital, online and global media environment,” Senator Conroy said.

The Rudd Government will also restore independence to the ABC and SBS Boards. The Government is today calling for applications from Australians to fill four vacancies on the Boards. Applications will be assessed on merit by a Nomination Panel established at arms-length from the Minister.

“For too long the process of appointing directors to the ABC and SBS Boards has been open to political interference. It is time to restore independence,” Senator Conroy said.

“The new selection process will ensure that all future appointments to the ABC and SBS Boards are conducted in a manner that fosters independence, transparency, accountability and public confidence.”

The Government will also reinstate the position of staff-elected director on the ABC Board.

“The position of staff-elected Director makes an important contribution to the ABC’s independence by providing the Board with a unique and important insight into ABC operations,” Senator Conroy said.

Discussions on the future of the national broadcasters formed part of the agenda at the Australia 2020 Summit, held in Canberra in April 2008. The Rudd Government now wants to extend that dialogue to the wider Australia community.

The outcomes of the public consultation will be considered by the Government ahead of the next three-year funding round for national broadcasters, which commences in July 2009. The outcomes will also contribute to policy decisions for the long-term future of national broadcasting.

Submissions can be made to the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy before Friday 12 December 2008. The discussion paper is available here or by calling 1800 025 145.

Further information about the merit-based appointments process is available from the Department of Broadband, Communication and the Digital Economy’s website here

 

Towards a Digital Future - Have your say!

ABC Managing Director Mark Scott today encouraged ABC audiences to have their say on the future of the ABC and the role of public broadcasting in Australia.

Mr Scott welcomed the release of the Towards a Digital Future discussion paper by the Minister for Communications Stephen Conroy and said it was an important and timely discussion in order to secure the future of the ABC.

"The ABC is one of the most significant public institutions in Australia so it is important that audiences have the opportunity to comment on the future of their ABC during the course of this discussion," Mr Scott said.

"We will be alerting our audiences to the discussion paper through announcements on ABC television and radio, and have established a dedicated website abc.net.au/haveyoursay with links to the discussion paper and resource documents.

"The ABC's current funding commitment ends in June 2009 so the outcomes of this discussion paper will inform Government as it decides the funding for the next triennium.

"Our aim is to ensure the ABC is adequately resourced to harness the potential of digital media. The ABC has already delivered much with no extra funding - innovative content driving digital TV take-up on ABC2; ABC iView pioneering internet TV; millions of podcasts and vodcasts; ABC Now and ABC Earth.

"But we want to do more - provide more programming that millions of Australians want free of charge and commercial free, so the 2009 Federal Budget will be instrumental for the ABC and our plans going into the future."

The ABC outlined a number of proposals in the lead up to the 2020 Summit that would increase the availability of content and the range of media and delivery platforms to audiences, including a dedicated non-commercial children's channel, with at least 50% Australian content, a public affairs channel and a suite of digital radio services, supported by broadband sites.

For a copy of the Towards a Digital Future discussion paper and to find out how to make a submission go to abc.net.au/haveyoursay

Click here to see the Have Your Say ABC TV Promo - Watch the Video, Windows Media Format (Large 12.3MB) Watch the Video, MP4 Format (Small)

For further information contact:
Sandy Culkoff
02 8333 5155
0438 292 369

 

To the Prime minister of Australia...
It's Time Mr Rudd

All across the many and varied electorates of this wide, brown land, Australians value and respect their ABC, and as repeated poll results have told us, the ABC is right at the top of the list of our most trusted sources of information and entertainment. Your own party’s platform calls it one of Australia’s ‘most important public institutions.’ You have promised that Labor will ‘ensure adequate funding and support for Australia’s public broadcasters, to enable them to continue to provide Australians with high quality broadcasting services, free from political and commercial influence.’ As Leader of the Opposition, you acknowledged the importance of the ABC within our Asia/Pacific Region, and undertook to rebuild Radio Australia.

Many electors voted for you in the belief that you would honour your commitments to:

• ADEQUATE funding on a triennial basis
• The independence of the ABC
• The introduction of a new process for board appointments
• Appointments to the board based on merit
• Restoration of the staff-elected director

There is a growing feeling of disappointment and dismay that your government has honoured none of these commitments, even the ones that cost nothing! Why has Quentin Dempster, elected overwhelmingly by ABC staff to the position of staff-elected director, not been appointed to one of the vacant board positions? Why has there been no action to reform the process of board appointments to ensure that no government can ever ‘stack’ the board in the manner of the Howard government?

We understand that you are governing in difficult financial times, but I suspect that the electorate would gladly forgo part of the $36 billion in tax cuts that you promised prior to the election in order that the ABC, not to mention our public schools and hospitals, are funded to a level befitting the wealth of a nation such as ours.

Mr. Rudd, I have a dream that my son, born last week, will grow up as well served by the ABC as I was as a child in rural Australia – it educated me, it informed me, it entertained me, it gave me a lifelong love of music and things natural, indeed it was a welcome extra member of my family.

It’s Time, Mr. Rudd, to restore funding to the ABC at least to the level which applied when that slogan was so instrumental in electing a previous Labor government in a bygone era.

Mal Hewitt, on behalf of NSW Friends of the ABC.

 

Your ABC and our Kids Need You!
An Action Plan for all Members

Write a letter to your representatives in Parliament asking for a dedicated, commercial-free Kids TV channel to be funded in the ABC's next budget (May 2009).

Ask them to contact the Minister for Communications, the Treasurer, the Minister for Finance on your behalf.

Tell them that:

KIDS ENJOY ABC PROGRAMS AND WANT MORE:

• Your grandchildren love Playschool as much as your children did

• Young people are as devoted to their favourite TV programs as much as you were to "The Argonauts" on ABC Radio

• Today's kids want interactive programs; the do-it-yourself media kit on SPLATT Arts was particularly suited to kids out in the regions

• Kazam! is a great hit with kids who can't get enough of animated cartoons

• SPARk Science, with its quizzes, competitions - and the search for Young Einstein Factor participants - is fantastic for young audiences

• The RollerCoaster Interactive TV programs are ideal after-school activity, and the website is an endless source of fun and of education

PARENTS TRUST COMMERCIAL-FREE ABC CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS

• Children aren't exploited by advertising when they tune in to ABC programs

• The ABC has a generations-long reputation for programs specifically designed for children

• It is reassuring that the ABC has worked in co-operation with the Australian Children's Television Foundation

• Families trust the ABC to ensure that safe and secure environments are provided for kids' television and internet use

• ABC Parenting is a valuable source of support for parents; it's good that the ABC has partnered with the Raising Children Network to provide this service to everyone involved in looking after kids

AUSTRALIAN CHILDREN SHOULD HEAR AUSTRALIAN STORIES
 
• Write to your own Member of the House of Representatives or to your own Senators (unless you are writing to the Minister, the Treasurer, or the Minister for Finance). As a voter in his/her electorate you count

• If you email, include your postal address. It provides evidence that you are actually in the electorate of the Member of Parliament you are writing to

• Select 2 or 3 of the points listed or, even better, dream up your own

• Ask a question; will the ABC at last get the funds for a dedicated commercial-free children's TV channel next budget? Ask your local member to contact the Minister for Communications, the Treasurer and the Minister for Finance on your behalf. That way you will be sure to get a response - or four!

• Address your letter to your local member, Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600. If you are emailing you can find the address by going to www.aph.gov.au and following the link to "Who's Who".

Jill Greenwell President, Friends of the ABC (ACT & Region)

 

Action on the 2009 Budget - How you can support the ABC

AUG/SEPT
ABC prepares its funding submission for Minister's approval

SEPT/DEC
Minister for Communications, Stephen Conroy, approves ABC's submission (amending or otherwise)

FEB 2009
ABC publicly releases its submission (www.abc.net.au/corp)

FEB/MAY
Cabinet Expenditure Review Committee decides what the ABC - and all other govt. agencies - will get in the budget.

A FEW IDEAS ABOUT WHAT FRIENDS OF THE ABC COULD DO:

AUG/SEPT 2008

• Raise public awareness that NOW the ABC is preparing its 2009 budget submission for adequate funding;
• Hold stalls; get a petition up, about funding for a dedicated, commercial-free ABC Kids TV channel
• Ask your local Member to ask questions in Parliament about what this Government thinks is "adequate" funding, whether it will fund a dedicated, commercial-free ABC Kids TV channel, whether it will deliver its policy on more Australian drama on the ABC, etc. etc.
• Ask your local Member to raise these issues in an adjournment debate or as a Matter of Public importance
• Check out past ALP statements about what they'd do for the ABC if they got government
• Check out what the Coalition has said (esp about Kids TV) and get them to ask questions in Parliament (Opposition members love being fed questions - they don't have big staffs now!)

SEPT/DEC 2008

• Raise public awareness that NOW the Minister is deciding what the ABC can include in its 2009 budget submission for adequate funding;
• Parliament is sitting from 26 August to 4 December, so get questions asked in Parliament; get petitions signed in your area (see above)
• Mark Scott is addressing the National Press club; publicise his statements about funds for the ABC

FEB 2009

• Write letters to the editor, get on local radio etc. etc to get support for what the ABC is asking for this budget

FEB/MAY 2009 Crunch time!

• Write, visit, petition the Treasurer and the Minister for Finance (Lindsay Tanner, a former Shadow Minister for Communications) asking for the ALP to live up to its promises for an adequately funded ABC
• Write to your local Member asking him/her to ask the Treasurer and the Minister of Finance to adequately fund the ABC. (Members' letters get quicker replies from Ministers than the public's letters do, and it also lets your local Member know what his/her electorate's concerns are)

 

Letter from the Office of Senator. The Hon Stephen Conroy

Office of Senator. The Hon Stephen Conroy
Minister for broadband, communications and the digital economy
Deputy leader of the government in the senate

2 May 2008

Ms Drusi Megget President Friends of the ABC Mid North Coast

PO Box 1752 PORT MACQUARIE NSW 2444

Dear Ms Megget,

The ABC

Thank you for your letter dated 14 February 2008 to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, on behalf of the Mid North Coast Branch of the Friends of the ABC, concerning the ABC. The Minister has asked me to respond on his behalf and I apologise for the delay in replying.

The Minister has asked me to thank you for your invitation to speak at the proposed forum. Unfortunately, he is not available to meet with your members at this time. I have recently had an opportunity to meet with representatives from the NSW, Queensland and ACT branches of the Friends of the ABC, and had some very informative discussions concerning ABC funding, board appointments and advertising.

The Australian Government is committed to ensuring adequate funding to the ABC on a triennial basis to enable it to provide Australians with high-quality broadcasting services, free from political and commercial interference.

Over the three years to 2008-09, Government funding to the ABC will total more than $2.5 billion. Any new funding proposals for the ABC would be considered in the context of the Federal Budget.

The Government is also committed to the independence of the ABC, recognising that it is critical to ensuring unbiased programming and editorial decisions and restoring public confidence in our national broadcaster.

In line with its election commitment, the Government plans to introduce a new ABC Board appointment process.

The new ABC Board appointment process will ensure that board members are appointed on the basis of merit. Candidates will be considered by a panel established independently from the Minister who will select Board members from a shortlist prepared by the panel. SBS Board appointments will be dealt with in the same way.

This method would be similar to the 'Nolan rules' system of board appointments which is used by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Further, under the new Board Appointment process, the Chairmanship of the ABC will be held by a person nominated by the Prime Minister and endorsed by the Leader of the Opposition.

The Government will also restore the staff-elected Director position on the ABC Board, which was abolished by the previous Government.

The Australian Broadcasting Act J983 provides that a person shall not be appointed as a non-executive Director of the ABC Board unless the person appears to the Governor-General to be suitable for appointment because of having:

• experience in connection with the provision of broadcasting services or in communications or management;
• expertise in financial or technical matters; or
• cultural or other interests relevant to the oversight of a public organisation engaged in the provision of broadcasting and television services.

This will not change under the new ABC Board appointment process.

The Government is moving quickly to implement these arrangements to ensure greater transparency, accountability and public confidence in the ABC.

Thank you for writing to the Minister concerning these issues. I trust this information will be of assistance.

Yours sincerely,

Sophie Mitchell Adviser

REPORTED CLOSURE OR SALE OF ABC SHOPS

I am assured by the ABC that there are no plans either to close or the sell ABC Shops. Apparently the press reports, including the rumoured sale to Dymocks, are totally erroneous.

A spokesperson for the ABC responded “Why would we dispose of something that brings in so much revenue, and provides such good publicity for ABC programs?” Why indeed!

DIGITAL RADIO BROADCAST

The ABC will commence digital radio services in the first half of 2009. Initially the digital services will be for capital cities only, and will include the four existing national networks (Radio National, Newsradio, Classic FM and Triple J) as well as local radio services.

Extension of the digital network will depend on funds becoming available in future budgets.

There is no plan for digital radio to replace analogue radio (AM and FM) – broadcasting will continue in both – but you will need to purchase a digital radio to receive the digital signal.

ABC Board vacancies to stay vacant for the time being!

The Australian government would not fill two soon-to-be vacant positions on the ABC Board, until it could establish a fair, merit based appointment process, according to the Communications Minister, Stephen Conroy.

ABC Board Deputy chair John Gallagher QC completes his term on February 23 while Dr Ron Brunton concludes on April 30, 2008. The FABC is highly critical of the composition of the current ABC Board which it believes was stacked by the previous government.

Senator Conroy was speaking in Canberra to a Friends of the ABC (FABC) delegation; Professor Alan Knight, Jill Greenwell and Malcolm Hewitt.

The Minister said the government was investigating legislating to ensure transparency and accountability of ABC Boards. He added the government was absolutely committed to Labor policy to allow for an ABC staff elected Board member.

Professor Knight said that when the Minister was asked about how the ABC would fare in this year's budget, Senator Conroy replied that any new funding initiatives in the 2008 budget were expected to be explicitly restricted to projects promised during the election.

Professor Knight noted that this would appear to exclude the ABC television children's channel, which had been discussed but not promised by Labor during the campaign.

Senator Conroy said he supported adequate government funding for the ABC and noted that that degrees of commercialisation should be governed by a properly appointed, independent, ABC Board.

ABC CLEANS UP IN COUCH POTATO AWARDS

Each year the critics who write for the SMH Guide nominate the best TV productions in a number of categories. In the 2007 Awards, ABC shows won 12 of the 17 awards:

• Best Overseas Drama: Life on Mars
• Best Local Telemovie or Miniseries: Curtin
• Best Imported Telemovie or Miniseries: Shakespeare Re-told
• Best Local Comedy: The Chaser War on Everything and Summer Heights High
• Best Local Documentary: Ten Pound Poms
• Best Imported Documentary: Tony Robinson: Me And My Mum
• Best Observational Reality Show: Choir of Hard Knocks
• Best Infotainment or Lifestyle Show: The New Inventors
• Best News and Current Affairs Show: The 7.30 Report
• Best Variety or Talk Show: Enough Rope
• Best Arts Show: Not Quite Art
• Watercooler Show of the Year: The Chaser’s War on Everything

Another great performance from the ABC.

Congratulations to ABC Walkley Award Winners

NSW Friends of the ABC congratulates the following ABC staff journalists and presenters who have won 2007 Walkley Awards.

Once again, the ABC has led the way in outstanding broadcasting.

• Best Radio Feature: Euridice Arone and Sharon Davis (Radio National)
• Best TV Documentary: Matthew Brown and Wayne Healey – “West Bank Love and Betrayal”
• Best Sports Feature: Wendy Page, Australian Story – “Man of the Century”
• Best Interviewer: Tony Jones, Lateline
• Best Cameraman: Andrew Taylor, Four Corners
• Best Use of Media: ABC Newcastle for its coverage of the floods.

The Friends of the ABC NSW Award for Excellence in Broadcasting for 2007 goes to Robyn Williams and the Radio National Science Show

Producer and presenter of The Science Show since its launch in August 1975, Robyn has given 32 years of outstanding and distinguished service to both the ABC and the listening public of Australia. Working within very limited financial resources, Robyn has, over those 32 years, provided us with a program of a consistently high standard, often controversial, always entertaining, and of interest to both the scientist and layperson.

Robyn was born in the UK in 1944 (during an air raid), received his education in London and Vienna, attending the University of London, where he obtained a BSc(Hons) in biology, and gained two fellowships at Oxford. He is currently a visiting professor at University of NSW.

His career with the ABC began in 1972, when he covered the last two Apollo Missions. His first radio series was Innovations (1972), and included Investigations, Ockham’s Razor and In Conversation. Robyn describes The Science Show as follows:

‘The program is essentially unpredictable. This is to allow maximum flexibility to accommodate new material and talent. It can range from the regular magazine program to lectures, scripted series, of which several by the late Professor Peter Mason were legendary, to hoaxes and satire. John Clarke began his Australian career on The Science Show, with reports on the connection between scoffing red foods and communism, and the deep conundrum of whether sheep have ethics (not in New Zealand, apparently). The Science Show has featured Paul Hogan, Sting, Bill Gates, Shere Hite, Douglas Adams, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Margaret Thatcher, Jane Goodall, but not Madonna, Delta Goodrem or Doris Postlethwaite.’

The award will be presented at the Friends Christmas Party on 7 Dec 2007 - see above.

Your ABC: proudly brought to you by your sponsors?

“This service, the ABC, now belongs to you. We are your trustees. It is a service that is not run for profit, but purely in the interests of every section of the community.”

“Those words introduced the ABC to the nation on "the wireless" in 1932. In this the ABC's 75th birthday year, that quality of service, to every section of the community, continues to differentiate the ABC from the commercial broadcasters.”

“The prohibition on advertising protects that distinctive quality of the ABC.”

For the complete article written by Jill Greenwell, President Friends of the ABC ACT click here.

Please do not Commercialise the ABC

On 2nd May our President Mal Hewitt wrote to Mark Scott, Managing Director of the ABC, expressing our shared concern:

Dear Mr Scott,

Please do not Commercialise the ABC

Recent announcements and media coverage of your activities give us hope that the ABC we cherish may, under your leadership, be in caring and capable hands.

However the underlying problem, which we are sure you recognise, is the continued lack of sufficient funding to allow the ABC to come anywhere near attaining its potential to meet the spirit of its charter obligations to inform, educate and promote the culture of our nation.

We continue to admire the offering which you and the ABC team manage to produce on a limited budget from inadequate resources. We recognise that much of the so called additional triennial funding was tied to new initiatives, leaving a budget shortfall in areas such as regular programming, drama and documentaries.

However, we are worried about how you might plan to address this shortfall.
The Friends of the ABC in NSW share a deep concern about the long term effects of the funding remedies which you have discussed, namely a resort to advertising on the main ABC website, and charging for downloads from that site.

We know, and we feel you must be aware, that commercial initiatives of that sort are in clear breach of the spirit of the ABC Charter, which was framed at a time when the internet web had not been imagined.

We fear that the introduction of commercially expedient measures to marginally improve the ABC's budget position are likely to prove the thin edge of a very destructive wedge. Given a softening of policy on commercialisation, it is only a matter of time before a government in power with a Senate majority acts to alter the ABC Charter, which would effectively destroy the independence of the ABC and open it to the influence of the commercial interests who would provide its funding.

We therefore urge you, please, to steer clear of a commercial path.

Yours sincerely,

Malcolm Hewitt
President FABC NSW