Ex-Radio National boss says sections of ABC ‘wasteful and unaccountable’ as Ultimo HQ put ‘in lockdown’ ahead of cuts announcement
Former Radio National manager Louise Evans has lashed out at the culture inside the ABC station and said it demonstrated why there need to be cuts to the public broadcaster.
Today managing director Mark Scott will announce where $300m in saving in the next five years will come from after Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull confirmed the cuts last week.
Mumbrella understands extra security is being put on at the Ultimo headquarters of the ABC, whilst some staff are being summoned to one-on-one meetings with management aghead of this morning’s announcement.
In an editorial in today’s Fairfax newspapers Evans, who lasted just six months as manager of the station amid rumours of tensions with senior producers and group program director for ABC Radio Michael Mason.
clearly Louise Evans wants a senior position within the ABC and willing to promote the Liberal’s media press release to make that happen
Thank you for revealing the truth. The fact they lacked a proper work ethic is bad enough in itself but even worse when taxpayers are paying for their 10-3pm working days and their yoga classes. What a disgusting waste of taxpayers’ money.
Well said Louise, anybody who works at the ABC knows what a bloated lazy giant the organization has become. Full of lifers who are waiting for the handout. Let’s see the usual ABC lovies comment now. Louise has actually run the ABC departments and understands what a joke the company is. Sack all the staff and rehire the people who can actually do the job ? At least 70% would not qualify. The 38 hour week the staff live on in reality is a 30 hour week.
“I was shocked by the culture, waste, duplication and lax work place practices exercised in some pockets of Radio National,” wrote Evans. “I was even more shocked by the failure of the executive to want to do anything about it.”
http://www.abc.net.au/careers/.....132016.PDF
Read the current ABC contract for staff to see how generous it is. Impossible to sack anybody. 38 hour week. Flexible hours. Leave possible for anything. Show this to any HR manager in the country to see if a private company could survive with this.
Ex-Radio National – yeah for about 5 months, then went to work with good ol’ Rupe….
There are few large organisations, either public or private, who couldn’t do with some ‘innovation’ in the areas of expenditure. I mean, for those of us in the private sector, of course the ‘open drawer full of cab charges’ is one of the first things that goes. But anyone gloating over good people losing their jobs needs to take a hard look at themselves. These are real people. It may be that some sectors of the ABC could produce content more efficiently. But a little compassion costs nothing.
you guys undermine your credibility by publishing this garbage. shame.
People who care for the ABC should embrace this critique. It is critical that the ABC be run by people who want to get the best from its money. The fact is that the boss is a politician and many if its managers have a remarkably inert posture.
Again debate is singular in focus to a very small part of the overall problem. ABC is no less efficient than every other area of government (which is not a good thing). Yet the current Government just happen to spend time and energy focusing on $250 million of savings because it is fun.
I am so sick of everyone saying “ABC is wasting my taxes”. Sure it could do with bit of modernisation and more effective structures but compared to the way for e.g. we have wasted around $20 billion on fighter planes (still not close to even flying) and crappy submarines through bad/inefficient decision makes ABC such a non issue.
Debate has to be about reform that makes a difference and is of a scale that will actual matter. Too easy to find ideology battle grounds especially when the rest of your agenda as government is getting skittled.
So for everyone above that is happy to bash the ABC maybe truly stand up and actually drive a real agenda in Canberra if you are truly passionate about “your tax dollars”. Suspect though that would require debate/thought/ideas which can be tough. Much easier to shout at random spot fires.
For someone who lasted 6 months in the top job and then pens an article in this form I would have started the first sentence:
“Disgruntled former Radio National manager Louise Evans.”
There are people who think they see a problem and do something about it. There are others who are either not up to the challenge of have got it wrong.
People sleeping on the couch at the ABC. And Bob has the gall to say disgruntled. Back to the real world Bob.
@Thought: you make a good point. Mine is based on close observation: there are a lot of people who could do great things with ABC resources. Too many of them are not able to do that because the ABC resources are dominated by paper shufflers and timeservers. Mates and their mates.
I love then ABC. I just want more of it, delivered by people who want to excel.
The ABC needs a good boss and needs to be encouraged to do things well. My example is Brian Johns.
The ABC is ludicrously Sydney-centric in it’s operation & outlook. Radio ‘National’ for instance is so wrongly named with the bulk of it’s programs conceived & made in Sydney, a ridiculous situation given that modern digital recording should enable programs to be made & broadcast from any part of Australia.
If you think that folks outside Sydney aren’t up to the job of making programs of national interest then as a supposed supporter of the ABC you’ve already lost your argument.
Today’s disastrous cuts will further centralise the ABC’s operation to Sydney & further undermine support in the rest of the country for the corporation. Real reform is in de-centralising the ABC & strengthening it’s program making operations in capital & regional cities. Won’t happen tho’ cause Sydney ABC is too much in love with itself – and our money.
Could someone see the Radio National work environment being very similar to a one of the newer tech companies or start-ups in Silicon Valley, California or, for that matter, the workplace culture of Northern California?
If the “culture warriors” are so concerned about the “entitlement culture” still being pervasive, couldn’t they also attack private and public workplaces that protect that culture like the Silicon Valley startups?
Geoff Kelso, you may well be right that the ABC is to concentrated in Sydney.
Having worked in an organisations which cut staff and offices outside of Sydney I know it causes a loss of national focus and stories. The money saved does not make up for the loss of quality and the following drop in audience approval.
Budget cuts will only make it harder for the ABC to keep up with its national coverage.
jennifer just when did the people who slept on the couch arrive at the ABC office? There are some arriving for work at midnight. The place is open 24 hours a day. So to take a snooze after lunch would seem to be acceptable. If they arrived at 11am, they might have questions to answer. It would be nice to know what was going on before jumping in and assuming the sleeper must be in the wrong.
The reason why the ABC is often called Sydney centric is because it cannot afford to send crews or staff to other states , or have producers in other states who can do the job because hey -their job has gone ages ago !!! Training which was such an important part of the national broadcaster barely exists. But of course easy to shove a microphone or a camera in someone’s face and call yourself a producer.
Get a grip all you whingers- Louise Evans report after 6 months at RN cannot be used to describe TV or Online. Sure dead wood can always be weeded anywhere. Stop ranting about our tax payers money on the ABC. Reserve that for the pollies in Canberra. Or does it really need to be spent on extra security guards at the ABC .
(previous article)- laughable if it was not about people losing their jobs.
Thanks. @thought. For thoughtful context and overview.
Our local regional ABC station is chonrically overstaffed, considering the small amount of hours they do every day.
We honestly don’t know what any of them do in there every day – other than the actual news people – who make up about 20% of the staff.
Great article.
Louise Evans should have raved and ranted when she was at the ABC, not via newspaper article in late 20014. She should also provide a witness or two to support her assertions. But the ABC does need some cleaning up, that’s for sure.
Geoff Kelso @14. The government wants efficiency from the organisation. Guess what’s efficient. Centralising all your studios and production facilities into one or two geographic regions that serve the largest percentage of your audience and of the nation’s populace.
Regional people keep voting for The National Party who are dumb enough to go along with the Liberals mantra of economic rationalism and efficiency. Well guess what. Regional areas are the very definition of inefficient. Big cities are efficiency personified.
It is unlikely any of us know why Louise Evans left the ABC or why she did not fix the problems she thought she saw there. She has never been accused of being a wall flower. So just what went on is a mystery.
Regardless of that, there is scant detail in her SMH article about the ABC and nowhere near enough detail for anyone to assume they know anything about how the ABC operates by reading her story.
It just goes to show that the saying “you don’t know your job, or the company’s business until you have worked there for 6-12 months” is true. Sounds like she was a good saving.
Is snoozing on the couch justified as part of an employee’s entitlement (as per the ABC staff contract posted by Jennifer)? I expect it could be …It’s a bit unusual in a corporate workplace but it does happen. Think shift worker.
27.2.5 Meal and Crib Breaks
a. Unpaid meal breaks shall not be less than 30 minutes and not more than 60
minutes duration. Crib breaks counting as time on duty shall be less than 30
minutes but not less than 15 minutes duration.
b. As far as practicable meal breaks should be allowed during the following
recognised meal periods:
7.00 am to 9.00 am
Noon to 2.00 pm
5.00 pm to 7.00 pm
Midnight to 1.00 am”
Given the history of the corporation, who would expect to find anything other than, at least, remnants of Public Service mentality within the ABC. One does not need to read Gogol in order to understand the “them and us,” the “cushy pockets,” and the “incestuous nature” of government departments and public service.
Economy drives? yes they are essential, but this move by the jittery politicians, is economics in name only, in fact , in my opinion, it is a deliberate action to chastise, destabilise and bully those who guard the guardians.
Points well made Richard.
And if you stacked the ABC up against the politicians themselves you’d know where to make the cuts. Pay rates, hours, support staff, salubrious offices, limousines, travel perks (including the spouse), huge superannuation … the list goes on.
So how about an ‘efficiency dividend’ in all parliaments in the land? Do that and the voters of the land may begin believing in you again.
Bob@22 Efficiency centralising is what the commercial networks have had to do but the problem for the ABC is it’s charter which requires it to broadcast programs that reflect the cultural and regional diversity of the Australian community and it can’t adequately do that by further centralising it’s operations to Sydney.
Or perhaps we should throw that ABC charter away and make the ABC a fully commercial operation? Because that’s where this present ‘efficiency’ push from Abbott et al is heading.
What’s wrong with going to Paddy’s market? It’s just across the road from ABC. That’s a lame criticism! It’s like condemning staff for getting coffee outside the building instead of the cafeteria. Someone wore shorts to work, OMG! If you start at 10, you finish at around 7:15 or whatever 7 hours and 36 minutes brings it to. Or you leave early if you anticipate extra work tomorrow and stay-backs (which happens in broadcast media). For God’s sake, efficiency needs to happen on an individual time-management basis too, not just “what the employment agreement says”. Be flexible, agile, responsive, realistic, practical.. those are the keys to a better business (especially media) these days, not “you shalt not arrive after 9am”. Managers and strategists need to get with the times. Evans sounds like she was destined for a quick exit.
You are right Geoff Kelso the ABC charter does require it to broadcast programs that reflect the cultural and regional diversity of the Australian community. It also might be true to claim cannot adequately do that by further centralising it’s operations in Sydney. However the ABC cannot do anything well if not properly funded.
It does seem “No cuts” Tony has stripped away the level of funding necessary to sustain many of the smaller production studios.
Let’s suppose Louise Evans did encounter an ABC employee along the lines she describes. It’s possible. Everyone organisation has people who try to use the system. However, I know from experience that to brand a typical ABC employee with that description is farcical. I know that most ABC employees are hard working and dedicated people. They have to be to produce such a the high standard of work with such scarce resources. To make comparisons between Radio National and News Radio is a nonsense. News Radio , as good as it is , relies heavily on other ABC programs for material. The implication behind Louise’s editorial is not surprising considering the stated aims of News Corp, for which I understand she once worked.
Hey Jennifer
You have inside knowledge on the bloated lazy giant ? Take a chill pill and read this. Scott Morrison’s office has 95 communication staff and spin doctors costing tax payers between $8 and $9 million. At least the ABC produces programs , Morrison with all his staff can’t even produce details at media briefings, just hot air.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-.....39b6k.html
RN sounds great. Any jobs going?
The fact is that many of the comments published since Louise Maher published that article are from current or former staff who agree speaks volumes on this issue.
I too am a former ABC staffer and I have to agree that there are truckloads of people who do not very much except make other people’s working life more difficult every day.
Beyond Four Corners and a few other shows the ABC breaks few stories – amazing considering its an organisation which employs more journalists than everyone else. The ABC filled with pretentious know-alls who get all their stories via the newspapers and then re-angle to fit their own opinion when all they have is a media studies degree and an ego which is biffer than their IQ. The problem is that staff so much time bickering and trying to impose their narrow, rigid political view that people aren’t ringing around, doing FOI requests, taking time to develop new ways of story telling etc. Why would you bother to excel when you are not going to paid more and the tall poppies just been bullied anyway?
ABC Middle Managers are the stupidiest people you will ever meet. The place is a sleepy bee hive of mediocrity where the most outstanding young people leave because they are being bullied by older, lazy idiots who don’t like to be outshone.
I am left-liberal and working at the ABC was without doubt one of the worst experiences of my entire life. The reactions to the funding cut from the staff I’ve seen are incredibly self-serving and hysterical – not one have had the guts to point out the massive pay increases that their senior staff, and in particular Mark Scott receives in the lead up to these cuts. Their protest is unoriginal, gutless, self-interested and nothing but a big one-sided whinge – much like most of the ABC’s ‘magazine’ style journalism which simply rehashes what has already been in the news all day, made by journalists who sole ambition in life is to be on television or the radio, and who don’t realise how untalented and unintelligent they really are.
Well said LL, but Lindsay or one of the ABC leftie lovers will jump on you and call you a disgruntled employee. News readers (autocue) are on $400,000 at the ABC, yet no commercial network will hire them, and if so they would be lucky to get 100K doing news updates. In an ideal world you could make each of the staff re apply for the job they do on merit. Most would fail. 38 hour week for all. Watch the front of the ABC building at 4pm in Melbourne or Sydney and see the throng run out at 4.01pm.
jennifer it is easy jumping on ABC critic as many just jump to conclusions. You might be right that many people leave the ABC buildings just after 4pm. What time did they start work? Given the ABC runs 24 hours a day, it just might be going home time for someone who started early in the day and their shift has concluded.
Interesting you know how much News readers get at the ABC. There was a story on a News Corp site last year pointing out commercial stations pay about three times what the ABC does.
Begins the heading on this story: “Ex-Radio National boss says sections of ABC ‘wasteful and unaccountable’ [. . .]”
Of course, she actually wrote “federal parliamentarians” (they of the eminently trimmable “expense” accounts), but a gremlin changed her editorial to “ABC”.
Nobody hiring ex ABC readers. Bunnings awaits them if they are lucky!
“The ABC should reflect the efficiency of the private sector”. Ha ha ha.
Has this woman ever actually had a _real_ job ? Or is she one of those select few who graduate straight from uni into senior management ?