ABC chair takes Australian government to task

16 November 2021

ABC chair takes Australian government to task

The chairperson of ABC Australia has issued a statement in connection with the Australian Senate’s intentions to launch an inquiry into the broadcaster’s complaint handling procedure:

The inquiry into the ABC’s complaints handling process announced by Senate Communications Committee Chair, Senator Andrew Bragg, appears to be a blatant attempt to usurp the role of the ABC Board and undermine the operational independence of the ABC.

As Senator Bragg is aware, in October the ABC Board initiated an independent review of the ABC’s complaints system by two eminent experts, Professor John McMillan AO, former Commonwealth and NSW Ombudsman, and Jim Carroll, former SBS Director – News and Current Affairs. The terms of reference for the review are comprehensive and wide-ranging.

This review is consistent with the duties of the Board under the ABC Act. Under Section 8 of the Act, the ABC Board has the legal responsibility for developing codes of practice relating to programming matters and to ensure that the gathering and presentation by the Corporation of news and information is accurate and impartial.

The fact that these powers are given to the Board, not to the Government of the day, is a key pillar of the ABC’s operational independence.

This review is well underway and members of Parliament, including Senator Bragg, have already been interviewed as part of the review process. An issues paper will be released shortly and the review will then be seeking public submissions. The review will be rigorous and thorough and its findings will be released by the ABC board in April 2022.

Instead of respecting the integrity of this process, the Senate Committee under the leadership of Senator Bragg has decided to initiate a parallel process. I will leave it to Senator Bragg to explain his motives but the impact of this action is clear. As Chair of the ABC Board I am duty bound to call out any action that seeks to undermine the independence of the national broadcaster.

Once again, an elected representative has chosen to threaten the ABC’s independence at the expense of the integrity of this irreplaceable public service. Any incursion of this kind into the ABC’s independence should be seen by Australians for what it is: an attempt to weaken the community’s trust in the public broadcaster.

This is an act of political interference designed to intimidate the ABC and mute its role as this country’s most trusted source of public interest journalism. If politicians determine the operation of the national broadcaster’s complaints system, they can influence what is reported by the ABC.

A fundamental democratic principle underpinning the ABC has been its independence from interference by those motivated by political outcomes. Politicians, like all citizens, are welcome to criticise anything they find wrong or objectionable that is published by the ABC but they cannot be allowed to tell the ABC what it may or may not say.

Transparency and accountability are important and the Senate Committee performs a vital role. The ABC attends Senate Estimates hearings on multiple occasions every year and answers hundreds of questions on notice. It is extremely regrettable, however, that the Committee has, on this occasion, sought to undertake a task that is not only already underway but also is the legal responsibility of the ABC Board.

When Parliament resumes later this month, I respectfully ask the Senate to act to defend the independence of the ABC, as Australia’s national broadcaster, by passing a motion to terminate or suspend this inquiry until the independent process commissioned by the ABC Board has been completed.

Ita Buttrose AC OBE
Chair, ABC

ABC welcomes Australian government’s focus of Media Reform Green Paper

4 June 2021

ABC welcomes Australian government’s focus of Media Reform Green Paper

The ABC has welcomed the Australian government’s focus on what the Corporation says are much-needed reforms to the Australian television and screen industry. The ABC has called for greater consultation on finding effective measures to ensure the future sustainability of the sector.

The ABC’s response to the government’s Media Reform Green Paper highlights the continued importance of free-to-air (FTA) television services, noting that 75% of Australians watch FTA television for an average of 21.3 hours a week, compared with 12.4 hours for online video-on-demand (VOD) viewers.

David Anderson, ABC Managing Director, said: “We welcome the Green Paper’s recognition of the essential role that FTA television plays in making Australian news, culture and stories available to all Australians.

“As the nation’s biggest backer of homegrown content and creativity, the ABC agrees that broadcast television is important for most Australians and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

“We look forward to further consultation involving the government and FTA broadcasters to find the best approach to ensuring a sustainable future for the Australian television industry across the next decade and beyond.”

The ABC’s response to the Green Paper proposes principles that should be applied to developing a future roadmap for television, including:

Maintaining the Australian television broadcasting system and the distinct roles that national and commercial broadcasters play in it;
Equitable distribution of spectrum in each broadcast market; and
Ensuring consistent access to ABC services for all Australians across metropolitan, regional and remote areas.

In response to the Green Paper, the ABC says the proposal to shift broadcasters to delivering services through shared multiplexes, reducing the number of 7 MHz channels allocated for broadcasting, will require broadcasters to reduce the number and/or quality of the channels they offer audiences.

The ABC also submits that the Green Paper model removes any future growth path for FTA television, by preventing broadcasters from offering television services in higher-resolution formats to meet audiences’ expectations and remain competitive with online platforms.

The ABC welcomes the invitation in the Green Paper to propose other means of ensuring a sustainable Australian broadcast television sector.

The ABC submission makes the following points:

In combination with other funding sources such as Screen Australia, state screen agencies and the producer offset, additional funding for the ABC of $30 million per annum over the next three years would deliver more Australian stories on television screens. That funding will support the production of an extra 36 hours of Australian drama, factual and children’s content and 30 hours of arts, music and specialist programming a year.
The ABC strongly supports the introduction of regulatory mechanisms to ensure the presence and prominence of FTA broadcasters’ services on connected-TV platforms, which are becoming a new type of gatekeeper for Australian media services and content.
The ABC acknowledges the merit of the proposition that major international VOD services should contribute to the Australian production sector. Both content commissioners and audiences benefit from a thriving independent sector, and the Corporation supports measures that would sustain and grow it. The ABC would support regulation that would require SVODs to contribute to an Australian content fund. Careful design is required to ensure that it does not add to inflationary pressures already affecting the production sector.
Legislating an explicit requirement for the national broadcasters to provide new Australian programming is unnecessary. In the absence of any quota, the ABC is already a major investor in Australian content and a key partner to Australia’s independent production sector. Further, the imposition of an explicit content obligation risks affecting the ABC’s operational independence.

The ABC’s response to the Media Reform Green Paper is available to read here.

ABC appoints new Head International Services

17 May 2021

ABC appoints new Head International Services

The ABC has appointed respected media executive Claire Gorman as Head International Services, an expanded role that reflects the ABC’s commitment to communities in the Indo-Pacific region.
Claire has been acting in the role of Head International Strategy since November, and in this new expanded role of Head International Services will manage both the International Strategy team and the International Development team.

Claire’s impressive career at the ABC over almost two decades has included Policy Advisor for ABC Radio, Senior Investigator at A&CA, Policy and Strategy Manager in Commercial, Editorial Policies Advisor, and Manager International Strategy.

ABC Director of Strategy Mark Tapley said Claire will bring many years of experience both inside and outside the ABC to the role.
“Bringing together the two internationally-focussed teams in the ABC – International Development and International Strategy – demonstrates the ABC’s full commitment to audiences and the media sector in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.

“Given her experience in Canberra in development assistance and researching human rights, and her work across PNG, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Malaysia, Claire is an excellent candidate for this role.”

“The new Head International Services, with the support of the Corporation, will be focussed on continuing to strengthen our portfolio of international channels, to enhance our digital offering, and to engage with the media sectors across the Indo-Pacific region, and indeed globally.”

Claire will officially start as Head International Services on Monday 24 May.

[Source: ABC press release]

Facebook bans news in Australia – wherever it’s from

18 February 2021

Facebook bans news in Australia – wherever it’s from

Global social media platform Facebook has, according to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, “unfriended Australia”. Morrison’s comments follow the closing of all news providers’ Facebook pages – whether domestic or international – in response to a proposed law in the country that would force companies like Facebook pay for news content on their platforms.

The ban has taken away access to the Facebook feeds of public broadcasters ABC and SBS, commercial news channels such as Nine Network, as well as whole raft of other organisations that may have only the most tenuous connection with news – such as Brisbane-based Podnews which reports on developments in podcasting across the world. Commercial radio’s trade association, Commercial Radio Australia, has also had its page blocked, although the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia has escaped the Facebook axe as this article was being prepared. The AIB’s main Facebook page has been blocked and our awards website appears to have had its contents filtered

Many Australian government Facebook pages were blocked, along with pages of organisations such as the Bureau of Meterology and Queensland Health – both later restored. A list of affected pages was compiled on this Twitter feed. A Google document keeping tab on pages that are down has also been created by Elliott Bledsoe.

In addition, the pages of news organisations across the world – including the BBC, Al Jazeera, New York Times for example – are now not accessible in Australia.

In a statement on the issue made by Managing Director David Anderson, the ABC said:

ABC News is Australia’s number one digital news service and the nation’s most trusted news outlet.

The ABC’s digital news services will always remain free and accessible to all Australians on the ABC website and via the ABC News app, providing independent and reliable news, information and analysis.

Despite key issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic having ongoing effects on all Australians, Facebook has today removed important and credible news and information sources from its Australian platform.

We will continue our discussions with Facebook today following this development.

Facebook’s Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand issued a statement saying that “with a heavy heart” it was choosing to stop allowing news content on its services in Australia.

The social platform is a major source of news in Australia, according to the Reuters Institute Digital News Report: In spite of this, Facebook says it generates little revenue from news although it is clear that news is one of the drivers for people to use the platform.

Unlike in Myanmar where VPNs allow the country’s citizens to circumvent the military’s ban on the Internet and social platforms, the use of virtual private networks does not help in Australia. That’s because Facebook has stopped the pages at source and disabled the content. It’s unclear whether the assets of all the items that a major news organisation such as the ABC are preserved on Facebook servers to allow the page to be reactivated if the social platform reverses its decision in the future.

Have you been affected? Let us know by sending us your comments or story at editorial [at] aib.org.uk.

ABC sets out five year plan

30 June 2020

ABC sets out five year plan

ABC Managing Director David Anderson has launched the ABC’s five-year strategy and outlined proposals to address budget cuts while protecting the Corporation’s independence and Charter responsibilities for all Australians.

“The ABC Five-Year Plan 2020-2025 will guide us as we continue to transform from a traditional broadcaster to the nation’s most trusted and valued digital content provider across all platforms,” Mr Anderson told ABC employees.

“This strategy lays out the next steps in the ABC’s proud 88-year history, ensuring that now and into the future we remain the home of Australian stories, trusted information and conversations that connect us all.”

Mr Anderson said proposed savings initiatives aligned with the five-year plan, ensuring the ABC is more relevant to more Australians with a greater focus on accessibility and the on-demand digital services audiences now expect.

Mr Anderson said the Federal Government’s indexation pause, which cut the ABC’s budget by $84m over three years with an ongoing reduction of $41m a year from 2022, coming on top of the $64m in ongoing cuts imposed in 2014, made difficult decisions affecting jobs and services inevitable.

“The proposals announced today ensure the ABC can enhance its value to all Australians now and into the future,” he said. “However, we anticipate we will farewell as many as 250 people through this process, valued colleagues who have made tremendous contributions to the ABC and to our audiences.

“This is a difficult time for us, as it is for the broader economy and community as we all struggle with the events of this year.”

ABC Chair Ita Buttrose said “the ABC Five-Year Plan is a robust blueprint for the future of the ABC that emphasises the important role the ABC plays in the Australian way of life.”

The proposed savings initiatives include:

 Giving ABC Life a new editorial direction and name, ABC Local, sourcing content from across the ABC, including outer suburban and regional areas.

 A greater focus on digital and on-demand news services, including discontinuing the 7.45am broadcast-only radio news bulletin and shifting focus to provide news across all our audio platforms.

 Rebranding ABC Comedy to create a home for a range of genres, such as Arts, Science, Education and Religion. Comedy will continue to be commissioned for ABC main channel and a destination on iview.

 Reducing independent production by approximately $5m p.a., predominately from the factual and entertainment slate, with the ABC prioritising investment in Drama and Children’s programming.

The proposed initiatives are in addition to reduced numbers in management and support teams and identified savings greater than 2% through current vacancies, redundancies and reducing operating costs.

The ABC has also reduced travel budgets by 25%, with a greater reliance on technology to connect the workforce.

A review of the ABC’s property portfolio will consider options to either improve our accommodation, lease vacant space or relocate if it is more beneficial. Assessing spare capacity for leasing in ABC Ultimo could potentially create a $4 million p.a. saving. A portion of this could be reinvested in services.

Increased investment in regional centres reflects another important commitment in the Five-Year Plan and will see 75% of content-makers working outside the Ultimo headquarters by 2025, ensuring greater engagement with local communities.

Mr Anderson told employees both he and the ABC Chair Ita Buttrose would continue to seek the Government’s endorsement for a five-year funding period to give the ABC certainty in delivering this plan for all Australians.

“The ABC Five-Year Plan 2020-2025 is just the start of this next stage in the ABC’s history,” Mr Anderson said. “We will uphold the highest editorial values, remaining Australia’s best and most trusted source of news and information and continuing to deliver the best public interest journalism that strengthens our democracy.”

“The ABC Five-Year Plan is a commitment to the ABC tradition of telling Australian stories that are accessible, bold and creative. Our message to the Australian people is clear. Now, more than ever, we are your ABC.”

Image: Flickr/Stilgherrian