Cutting the ABC cuts public trust, a cost no democracy can afford
The Norman Swan-fronted Coronacast is just one example of how the ABC has guided Australians through COVID-19 with trusted information, Andrea Carson explains in this crossposting from The Conversation. And the pandemic came straight after its essential bushfires coverage. Accordingly, this week's news that the public broadcaster will have to cut up to 250 jobs to cope with a budget shortfall isn't just a threat to the newsroom, but to democracy.
While Australians are singing the praises of the front-line workers during the COVID-19 crisis, there is a forgotten front line that has also made personal sacrifices to help us get through the pandemic: ABC journalists.
From radio producers to TV presenters to technicians who get up before dawn to bring us the news, ABC staff have been bringing us the facts about the global crisis at a time when misinformation and disinformation are rife and dangerous.
Norman Swan’s highly utilised podcast Coronacast is just one example of trusted ABC information during the pandemic.
Less visible is the emotional toll on ABC staff of the relentless work in bringing us our stories about job losses, health concerns, social isolation and fragile mental health during the coronavirus pandemic.
As one ABC producer told me:
Every day during the lockdowns were sad stories that wear you down and leave you feeling hopeless.
We forget many of these workers went into the pandemic already tired and emotionally drained after forgoing holidays to report on the summer’s catastrophic bushfires across multiple states. The fires killed 34 people, destroyed more than 3,500 homes and ruined the lives of many. Yet, rather than forget these victims, ABC reporters continue to provide updates on how communities are rebuilding after losing so much in the fires.
Despite all of this, the federal government has offered no reprieve to prevent the axing of about 250 ABC jobs to meet a A$41 million budget shortfall of the Coalition’s own making.
The ABC’s managing director, David Anderson, announced the job cuts, some voluntary and some not, this week. The cuts will affect news, entertainment and regional divisions of the national media organisation.
This should be of grave concern for all Australians, because research shows we have local news “deserts” emerging across the nation, just as in the United States. This means some towns and regions have no original sources of news other than the ABC. Without it, they lose their voice altogether.
These ABC cuts come on the back of News Corp closing many of its regional mastheads and converting others to online-only. These moves raise concerns about issues of access to local news for some citizens such as the elderly and those with poor digital access.
But it is also a threat to our democracy. Free and diverse media are central to a healthy democracy by providing citizens with reliable information in order to make informed choices, including at the ballot box when voters decide who will represent them.
The refusal of the Coalition government to step in and reverse the A$84 million lost in the 2018 budget cuts to the broadcaster – when indexing of the triennial funding agreement was frozen – can only weaken its public service.
Some might argue this is exactly what the government wants. Since 2014, when Tony Abbott was prime minister, the ABC has lost A$783 million in funding, including the A$84 million cut in 2018.
Politicians and journalists are strange bedfellows, as the saying goes. They both have important roles in democracies, sometimes at the expense of one another. Apart from the media’s important functions such as emergency broadcasting and informing the public, a well-functioning democracy depends on the public being able to monitor its representatives and on the state accepting criticism of its own exercise of power. This is its watchdog function, and to be effective it requires a trusted and independent media.
Yet, while the ABC is still Australia’s most trusted media outlet, public trust has been steadily falling since the budget cuts this decade (see the graph below). In other words, if you keep cutting the fat and hit the bone, the public will start to notice and lose trust in its quality.
As this graph shows, the ABC’s most trusted programming, TV news and current affairs has been falling steadily from a high of 74% in 2012 to a low of 60% since the budget cuts. The other notable fall is trust in local newspapers, from 62% to below 50% since the “news desert” concerns have been realised with mass closures of local papers.
This is a problem for democracy, particularly when the rise of fake news in the digital age is causing concern for most Australians (65%) about what is fact and what is not.
Yet, when we need to know information because it is important to our health – such as during the COVID-19 pandemic or bushfires – quality outlets have been enjoying a spike in their audience numbers.
Our survey work has also shown Australians’ trust in professional journalists has been elevated during this period (68%). It’s notably higher than in the US (57%) where trust in professional journalists has been ebbed away by President Donald Trump’s weaponisation of the terms “fake news” and “lamestream media” against them.
As the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission heard again and again, if it were not for the ABC emergency broadcasting, many communities would have not been warned of approaching fires.
If the ABC is there to inform us to save lives, who will save the ABC?
Andrea Carson, Associate Professor, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Sad times to learn the ABC is now cutting jobs. It has kept the Australian public well informed with its extensive COVID 19 coverage at a momentous time when we needed accurate and reassuring information.
Before that it obviously helped save lives with its emergency broadcasting during the bushfires.
We must campaign to save the ABC from these cuts.
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Andrea writes “the relentless work in bringing us our stories about job losses” while keeping their own and getting a pay rise too; “forgoing holidays” and getting paid nearly $3mil in overtime; “ABC is still Australia’s most trusted media outlet” yep, 82% trust it but less than 50% actually watch or listen to it; “the public will start to notice” er many already have noticed the drop in quality of the journalism. The bottom line is that the ABC has had a budget problem since 2010 when the federal government refused additional funds to start a 24-hour news channel, but the MD went ahead with it anyway taking funds from every other ABC department to pay for its launch and ongoing cost. Add to that the excessive contract salaries paid to ordinary reporters and autocue readers and you have the reason why there is a budget problem at the ABC. It’s called “living within your means” – we all have to do it …
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Imagine if we could fund jobs at the ABC by changing the rules and allowing dreaded advertising dollars to help fund the network.
SBS have been very successful in carving out a share of ad dollars and I know plenty of quality brands who would love to support the ABC. Leading to less job cuts.
Isn’t it time to review this option in a shrinking world of opportunity?
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Hardly surprised ex ABC popped up. I wonder why.
I can’t fault your logic or POV.
Except for things like “less than 50% actually watch or listen to it”. Just to be clear, that 50% is those who view ABC TV on a typical day. In the typical week it rises to a smidge under 75%. A typical month is 85+%. (N.B. Metro data only).
Now imagine if you add in the people who access ABC on other platforms such as radio, the internet etc.
So please get over the fact that you are ex ABC, and focus on facts.
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The ABC get’s one billion dollars of our money every single year. That’s more than enough to run a decent broadcasting service.
Given some salaries were leaked a while back, with the ABC themselves confirming:
The ABC refused a government request to disclose the salaries of its 150 highest-paid staff, but revealed 20 of its top stars earned between $225,000 and $460,000.
It’s not struggle street for hundred’s of “journalists”.
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There is often counter intuitive opposition to the ABC claiming it is biased, left or funded too generously; generally from the same urban based suspects.
On the other hand it has high levels of trust and reach in regional areas which are predominantly LNP voting, print and free to air media are now hollowed out or closed down, while internet infrastructure is sub-optimal (plus media laws have been relaxed for commercial media reach) compromising diversity.
Much pressure, like that applied to the BBC, has been rooted in US based libertarian economics and politics creating advantage for corporates, not for communities nor small medium business, opening the door for commercial oligopolies, till the day and when regional journalism and news media becomes financially untenable?
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The top earners at the ABC are definitely not the journalists and crews.
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So Tony Jones, Jon Faine and others (who are the top earners) are not journalist Ross? I think that would come as a surprise to them!
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… dunno where you got your “facts” from … mine came from the ABC itself in their Corporate Plan …
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The first paragraph deserves a disclaimer: “Not from a parody Twitter account.”
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Absolutely well said ex ABC. “The most trusted source” I have always laughed at this claim when the survey methodology is shown. They should fact check themselves. When newscorp announced cuts the ABC said this was evil Murdoch – the irony when the ABCs existence competes with private sector investment. You don’t hear the ATO bleat about budget reductions. Is the ABC more important than the ATO?
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On behalf of all Mumbrella readers, I’d like to thank John for preparing that delicious word salad!
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