ABC chairman Justin Milne calls on Australians to choose if they want a national broadcaster
The ABC Chairman Justin Milne has challenged the nation to decide whether it wants a public broadcaster.
Speaking to the American Chamber of Commerce in Sydney, Milne outlined the broadcaster’s history of fights with the private sector dating back to the days of Sir Keith Murdoch and warned the ABC’s future would be in doubt should its digital activities be curtailed.
Milne has always been the quintessential salaryman. He quaffs a gallon of institutional Kool Aid every morning and regurgitates what his lords and masters have dictated.
The ABC doesn’t “unite a nation” – it divides it into warring factions. It has become a leftist swamp, and it needs draining, permanently.
Keep the core functionality of hourly news reports, weather (no, not so-called “climate change” polemics, but actual weather); keep rural reports for those on the land. Broadcast, repeat. That would take around 100 staff inn total, a modest sized building in say, Parramatta where the centre of Sydney lies. Branch offices with a few staff in other capitals and we’re done. That’s less than $100M a year. Start with a total shutdown for 12 weeks while we re-tool, rehire, and ensure only people who are apolitical are employed. And give the other $1.2Bn to a worthwhile cause.
The irony in your writing Mike. (Facepalm)
The ABC could vastly improve its content, and its credibility, if it simply complied with its charter obligation to afford balance and fair treatment. And if it listened to its critics, and responded to them, instead of adopting a siege mentality productive of nothing but a deafening silence. There may be a good reason why the ABC does not report news which would embarrass left leaning rogue organisation like the Human Rights Commission and the CFMMEU. News, for example, the Registered Organisation Commission’s case currently in the Federal Court against Cesar Melhem, in which it is alleged that the AWU under his direction issued false invoices to companies for training work not actually performed, falsely added 821 names to its register of members, failed to remove 2,534 others who had not paid union dues for years, and signed up 156 jockeys to the union without their knowledge, including Michelle Payne and Kerrin McEvoy. And news relating to thuggish and illegal behaviour by the CFMEU. But if there is a good reason for not reporting these cases, we haven’t heard it, and, until we do, the natural and justifiable conclusion we draw is that the ABC seeks to protect left leaning organisations and unions from the scrutiny to which it subjects other organisations which are not left leaning.
Actually the Charter obligation is for “Accurate and Impartial” and over 80% of Australians think that it does deliver to that obligation. In fact, if you bothered to look, the MEDIA Net Trust Survey conducted by Roy Morgan in May this year, revealed that while Facebook – and Social Media generally – is deeply distrusted in Australia, the ABC is by far the nation’s most trusted media organisation.
“Australians told us that their trust of the ABC is driven by its lack of bias and impartiality, quality journalism and ethics. While their distrust of Facebook and Social Media is driven by fake news, manipulated truth, false statistics and fake audience measurement.”
You seem to be in a very small minority Mike as research after research over the past 20 years show that over 80% of Australians really value and trust the ABC. Commercial media would kill for the trust and value that the ABC has worked hard for and earned. Indeed, they are trying to kill …. the ABC.
Ah so funny, Milne says “Four television networks and 10 radio networks are broadcasting 24/7.” – except they’re not, ABC ME only broadcasts for eighteen hours a day and ABC Kids/Comedy take a two-hour break in the early hours. If the chairman can’t even get that right, what hope does he have controlling the ABC?
Mr. Milne says this is just the usual spat between public and private sector broadcasters, ‘situation normal’.
More like snafu!
So to mis-quote Hanlon’s razor we should not attribute to bias that which can be adequately explained by stupidity, but don’t rule out malice.
Mmm…why so many negative replies attacking Auntie? Maybe Mumbrella audience of advertisers and agencies don’t appreciate ad-free media? No money in it for them?
That and News Corp trolls…
Not so. Many of us who love the abc have been unhappy in increasing degree for years. The standards in news reporting, the very poor and predictable light entertainment and a generally lacklustre schedule of drama reflect poor leadership. The choice of board and management by successive governments has on each occasion since Johns failed to install strong experience of content management. Instead we get mates like Milne (Turnbull buddy) and managers like Guthrie, neither of whom has any experience of making s program. Instead we get a lot of management speak and obsessions with tech.
The ABC needs a strong editor in news (mark SCOTT is a bureaucrat rather than a true journo, as his career shows) and a creative be adventurer in programming.
As for Hywood and News, they are plainly irrelevant to any discussion of news values (aside from their own).
In July 2013 the Greek government closed down its left-wing national broadcaster – their equivalent of the ABC – the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation, which was established in 1938.
There were a few protests at the time, but this very quickly quietened down. With thousands of news and entertainment websites available on the internet today, many for free, why in heavens name do we need the ABC?
It served a purpose when it was established in 1932. But not in 2018.
The sale of ABC assets, land, intellectual property rights, brand names, etc would reap a substantial cash windfall.
Non-payment of the $1.1 billion ABC annual budget over ten years – $11 billion – would build a great number of roads, hospitals and schools.
Actually, as the very recent report by Deloittes has established, the ABC costs practically nothing, as it generated over $1 billion in the past year. Now tax cuts on the other hand ……
Australians want and trust the ABC and are happy to pay for it through their taxes. They also pay for a lot of the commercial media through their taxes, and are far less happy about it. The real question is do Australians want commercial media? Well, not much of it is commercial anymore. Why would they want to pay to read political bias and to be told how to vote at every election? Quality sells, but you can’t give rubbish away.
Mike, Hug, Rick … I feel really sorry for you.
Having to go through every day with such delusional thoughts must be a big burden to bear. Though it could be said your view may be balanced – by the chips you carry on both shoulders.
The ABC is clearly the most centrist, most broadly appealing and most professional media entity in Australia.
Milne raised plain truths in a non-inflammatory way, yet some readers are inflamed.
There’s the nub of it.
The ABC is a politically biased left wing extension. The Australian content in programs is sub standard to say the least, and the pathetic attempts to be politically correct are an embarrassment.