ABC boss Mark Scott apologises for release of staff salary information
Mark Scott
Managing director of the ABC Mark Scott has apologised for the release of confidential payroll information on staff salaries published in The Australian today and called for an investigation into how it was obtained.
The internal payroll information reported by the newspaper is reported to have been obtained through a internal leak, after years of pursuing freedom of information requests from News Corp Australia.
The article claims it the public broadcaster is paying eight of its on air talent an annual salary of more than $250,000, with Lateline host Tony Jones “leading the pack on an annual salary of more than $350,000”.
However in an email to staff today, Scott said some of the information in the article is inaccurate while other parts are out of date and the ABC is still unsure what information has been obtained by the newspaper.
“First and foremost, I want to apologise that information like this has not been securely managed,” Scott said. “Staff are entitled to be concerned and upset. I have asked for a full and complete investigation about how this highly confidential material was accessed.”
Although Scott accepts the argument taxpayers funding the public broadcaster have a right to know how much ABC staff are paid, the ABC had successfully argued in the Senate that the matter was more complicated and stressed the ABC is already meeting all of its legal requirements on remuneration reporting through its annual report.
He said: “Whilst the public might be curious about what particularly on-air talent earn, the ABC operates in a highly competitive media environment. For the ABC to be the only media organisation where salaries are revealed puts us at a significant disadvantage to our competitors.
“Aside from staffing matters, the ABC has many contractual matters around the provision of goods and services that are confidential, because public disclosure would be damaging to the ABC and put us at a disadvantage to everyone else. It would hurt our ability to manage the ABC efficiently and effectively. This seems uncontroversial.”
As successfully argued in the Senate, Scott maintains high profile talent at the ABC are not overpaid compared to their commercial counterparts.
“I expect that if any organisation’s payroll was revealed, it would raise queries and questions,” he said. “In some roles, particularly those with competitive market pressures, there are many reasons that go into setting a particular remuneration level.”
Having worked in tele for over 15 years (including with some of these presenters), I really don’t see what the fuss is about. They’re all paid about what I expected… Do you really think Tony Jones is going to host high rating national programs like Q&A for $40k and a cabcharge home?
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I suppose The Australian and other Murdoch organisations will be publishing their staff salary packages tomorrow?
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Nooo… But $350k?? To host a left-wing politically biased abc program?
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I agree with Steve. They are top rate presenters and this level of salary sees them paid a lot less than a lot of public servants in Canberra including all the party political advisers and spin doctors paid for by the taxpayer. They are paid far less than commercial networks. I would be more interested in the government launching an inquiry into the top heavy back room middle management at the ABC and the failure of the ABC to ensure creative heads/ decision makers are put on short term contracts so the place doesn’t become a retirement village for mediocrity and complacency with no accountability. This would be a better tree for News Corp to bark up but I suppose that requires some real journalistic skill and research and not mere opinion.
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Steve – I do see what all the fuss is about! The point is not what they’re getting paid and whether it’s in line with our expectations. It’s more that the information is in the public domain and whether that is fair. The fact that they work for the ABC I don’t think justifies it. Clearly most people wouldn’t want the world knowing what they earn.
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The “fuss” is about the effect this sort of thing has on staff morale. How do you think people working hard alongside some of these people feel when they look at their own salaries? It’s just wrong – and a low blow.
For example, I think Jon Faine is worth every cent – but I bet other high-profile 774 presenters like Red Symons and Richard Stubbs (both of whom weren’t on the list, putting their salaries lower than the bottom cut off point of the published list) are feeling a bit peeved today.
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Steve, I don’t care what Tony Jones would get paid at a commercial station.
Fact is he’s working for a taxpayer funded outlet, which means we (yes, even you, champ) are all paying his wages, and that of all those other ABC employees listed.
If I don’t like Karl Stefanovic, I can switch off Channel Nine, for example – and not purchase the products advertised on there.
I can’t switch off ABC, because I pay for it every day.
Do try to keep up.
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Alex – get a grip. The ABC is a taxpayer funded outfit, so why the big secret? Afterall, we know how much the PM, Ministers and MPs and their advisers are paid. The salaries of senior people in publicly listed companies are also disclosed to shareholders. The taxpayers are the shareholders of the ABC, so the same should apply. Anyway, having worked briefly in the public sector, it was commonplace for everyone to know what colleagues were paid.
The ABC loves to bang on about accountability and transparency, but apparently not if it applies to them
.
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@Robbo: “If I don’t like Karl Stefanovic, I can switch off Channel Nine, for example – and not purchase the products advertised on there. I can’t switch off ABC, because I pay for it every day.”
Robbo, keep up! The off switch is the same as the one you use for Channel Nine.
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There are a few anomalies in here and you can see where some people have favour. One or two of these people should be feeling very guilty.
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…and you should see what the non-on air honchos are paid!!
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I know it’s a hard concept for geniuses like Robbo but here’s the thing you need to try and get through that thick skull. You don’t get to pick and choose how your tax dollars are spent. We have a representative democracy not a direct democracy. If there is an area that your taxes are being spent then try and get representatives elected that support your view otherwise can I suggest you go pickle your head.
I don’t like my tax dollars being spent on offshore refugee processing but guess what? That’s just the way it is.
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I’d like to see a lot more leaked salary lists from ABC bashers – just for clarity.
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Well it looks like the government is going to slash ABC funding, that is, following the “PBS model”.
What, you seriously believe that the leak was “accidental” ?
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@Robbo
What about the 100’s of thousands of other Australians who actually appreciate professional presenters on the ABC?
If you’re worried about your where your taxes are going then maybe you should stop watching commercial news. You’ll quickly learn where the real problems lie. Hint, it isn’t a few hundred grand at the ABC.
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Oh, I see Robbo, that makes perfect sense. From now on, I no longer want my taxes to pay for a federal funded highway in WA that I will never drive on, or a university in North Queensland that I will never attend (Caught up yet, champ?)
These salaries should not come as a surprise to anyone and the fact it is now in the public domain is irrelevant. It’s nothing more than an attempt by the Murdoch press to stick one up the ABC.
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Tony Jones hosts Lateline and Q and A. If someone only prepared and hosted a live tv show every week and was very good at it. I would not be surprised if they were payed $100-150k to do it. Jones does that and Lateline.
It’s not fair that this is out in the public domain. Now the radio networks in Melbourne know what they have to offer Faine.
Anyone got a payroll excel file from The Australia?
@Robbo – You certainly can switch off the ABC. There are lots of government services you probably don’t use. Veteran’s Affairs? Indigenous Affairs? Happy to pay for them, don’t need to know how much people there are paid.
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350k. Hardly a large salary for a top performer in any industry. Deserves more.
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Righto, Robbo – so everyone with a salary funded by the taxpayer should be OK with having their salary published then? Doctors, hospitals, public servants, whoever. And can we publish yours? Of course we can – you won’t mind, will you.
It’s a SALARY, and it should be PRIVATE. It goes to things like self worth and is extremely divisive.
The Australian could have just published numbers without naming names. I am apalled.
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When I looked down the list of ABC staff and at their salaries I didn’t blink twice. They’re worth it, and getting paid a hell of a lot less than if they were ‘stars’ working for a commercial station. Taxpayer money well spent.
Wonder if the leak coinciding with a new Liberal Federal government with a platform to get rid of SBS and possibly ABC has anything to do with it? Can you imagine a future life of TV viewing with no science shows, no documentaries, no …..
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Few issues for me here. Why is the head of TV with a few services paid more that the head of radio who is reponsible for 5 or 6 networks and hundreds of radio stations.
Where is Red Symond snd Adam Spencer? in the list. trioli…come on…too much. interesting to hear John Faine this morning saying he could earn more elsewhere. Really. Where? I would love someone else in the mornings who isn’t such a dweeb. Is he allowed to tll people on air that he has negotiated a certain amount of money?I would have thought he would have a confidentiality clause about that. I guess he only did it so he could look like he paid more than Richard Glover. Bring Glover to Melbourne. Put him on down here. Poor Scott. He does a great job. Doesn’t need this.
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This revelation is THE biggest disgrace of the decade. What possible attributes does Tony Jones have to warrant a salary even a tenth of this size. How mind numbingly stupid to SQUANDER our taxes like this. Priority one for the coalition should be to prune the entire organisation of these ludicrous, undeserved salaries. The comparison with other broadcasters salaries is beyond comprehension. These parasites are in no way comparable to commercial talent.
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@robbo you can’t turn off ABC because you pay for it……….are you serious? Think about that statement for a moment. Firstly you pay very little, secondly it informs people around you even if you want to stay ignorant so we have a better society. There might even be a program about logic which could help you.
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Jon Faine could earn more elsewhere?
Doubt it.
He’s brilliant, and about the best radio producer in the country, but he wouldn’t translate to commercial radio and he’s not televisual AT ALL.
He’s at the top of his range where he is.
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Just looks to me like Mark Scott is paying his favourite luvvies, like Jones and Crabb very well. Looks like it’s just being run like a commercial station, where a few favourite stars are good at negotiating huge dollars and underlings who slog away giving everything to the company in departments like news get peanuts and are made to feel like they are lucky to have a job in media if they dare ask for a better deal.
P.S., can someone give me the number of Geraldine Doogue’s agent??
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Some perspective, should you get $316,000 for reading an autocue well a/la Juanita just to the state of New South Wales? Many doctors who save lives everyday get nothing like that.
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If I were Leigh Sales I’d be asking Mark Scott why so many male staff members who don’t carry the load of a flagship national program and the intense interviews and preparation she has to do every night are getting paid more than her.
I thought if you choose to work at the ABC the deal was that you knew you wouldn’t expect to earn as much as a commercial counterpart, partly because your media job was funded by taxpayers. But in return, you get to have a fascinating, interesting career along with public service perks like good hours and conditions and 15% super. Am I wrong?
PS. Do those figures include the 15% super, if not, they are starting to get pretty generous, not???
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@Robbo
You my friend follow the herd, do little for the greater good of society and are probably an oxygen thief.
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Frank – and the number of times this has to be pointed out is beyond belief – the ABC is TAXPAYER-FUNDED!!
The public has a right to know how its money is spent!! The ABC staff are public servants/public employees.
Murdoch media is PRIVATE!!!! Not funded by the tazpayer (unless you consider employee work expenses etc. )
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Gees. I didn’t know we underpaid them that much! Looks like Hockey’s razor gang will need to look elsewhere.
Let’s start with getting the mining industry and banks to pay a bigger whack of the 30% corporate tax by removing some of their tax concession. Let’s stop off-shoring and have overseas companies pay tax on their earnings in Australia … if you can afford a monorail sticking out of a window then you can afford to pay more than $80k tax.
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@Economic Realist
21 Nov 13
12:46 am
best comment so far.
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What I really wanted to know is how much Aunty is paying Todd…… come on admit it everyone in the industry wants to know, and I for one was disappointed to not see him mentioned.
Moreover I would love to see Todd replace Adam Spencer in 2014, yes a bit out of the box but I do think it would work.
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So Johnathan Holnes received $187k for hosting a 15 minute program once a week and he also had SEVEN assistants. WTF?
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@Daniel: And a filmmaker gets paid squillions for a 90 minute show?? WTF??
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With all of these analogies flying around… if you worked for an agency, would you tell your clients exactly how much you were paid as part of a pitch? They are paying your way, after all. Surely they have a right to know.
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You bet he should apologise – to the Australian taxpayers.
He should also apologise for describing a “competitive environment” when the ABC is there to serve, not to compete with legitimate businesses who pay their taxes to fund the ABC.
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Groucho, Billy C et al:
‘Switch off’ means ‘pay’.
I can’t switch off paying for it. Want me to spell it out s-l-o-w-l-y for you guys?
Geez, stupidity running rampant.
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Oh Dear – get a job, tiger.
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