If the ABC didn’t let presenters moonlight they might have to pay them a decent salary
For anyone that attends industry awards nights, the fact that ABC personalities are for hire at corporate events will not be a shock, despite today’s news coverage around Q&A’s Tony Jones.
Take last week’s IAB Awards where ABC 702’s Adam Spencer was holding the fort.
Indeed, I felt like holding up my metaphorical cigarette lighter to go along with his greatest hit, so often have I heard him perform it.
I refer to the part where he explains how the event isn’t the Oscars with some observation about overblown acceptance routines, before contrasting that with the speed at which he’s encouraging everyone to collect their gongs. And of course, followed by the bit where he does a maths stat about the awards before adding “Hello, ladies.”
Gets a laugh every time.
The same goes for The Gruen Transfer’s Wil Anderson. I get a comfortable warm glow as he does his routine about the teacher talking to the class where all the kids are named after brands whenever he’s helming an ad industry event.
Then there’s James O’Loghlin. Hearing him do the gag about the trolley sat the supermarket awards make me feel a safe familiarity. You’re in the hands of a pro who’s going to get you back to the bar within 60 minutes.
And of course the B&T Awards wouldn’t be the B&T Awards without some of the 72 or so Chaser members doing their thing.
So the “Q & Pay ” story in today’s Sun-Herald (good headline, by the way), is a bit tough on Tony Jones, particularly by linking it to the ABC’s rules about conflict of interest.
There’s long been an unspoken rule with the ABC’s biggest personalities. The chances are, most of the could pick up bigger pay checks working for commercial TV or radio.
So they’re allowed to moonlight.
The profile afforded them by the network means they can get lucrative corporate gigs. And that means the ABC can employ them on smaller contracts.
Which is why, if you want a safe pair of hands to moderate a panel, you might well want Tony Jones. Today’s story refers to a panel he’ll be running later this week at an IT event.
And it’s not as if the ABC has been able to patent the format or trademark the name Q&A.
There are plenty of conflicts of interest in the media. This isn’t one of them.
Tim Burrowes
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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The ABC is full of witty stand-ups, although Tony Jones may not be one of them. You may have to interview the ones you mention. Is it the money or the fame they seek? I suspect there is a sense among them, that dipping their toes in commercial waters, is not quite the same as selling their souls.
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You may have missed Adam Spencer doing his “not the Oscar’s” line at the Smart Investor awards 2 weeks ago too.
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ABC folk can’t have it both ways. They work in an organisation which has strict rules about commercial interests/product placement/etc. They can’t pretend they are not when doing “private” product placement.
I’m sure Jones could not do ads for a bank. So why can he do them on a conference platform?
In fact journaluists generally should not be allowed to take money for speeches etc. For the simple reason that if someone gives you a bucket of cash for a boring dinner talk (or even a scintillating one) they are entitled to expect that you might take a sum to be nicer to them on radio or TV. Just like the bad guy shock jocks.
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The Sun-Herald’s headline was cringe-inducing. But yours was clever Tim, nice work.
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You need to remember TJ is employed by ABC News and Current Affairs. The unimpeachable, holier than thou Church of Impartiality.
The others you mention are ‘entertainers’ and entitled to get what they get.
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@ jocelyn Jones was doing a mock Q&A performance, which does not suggest he would be commenting on brands, instead helming an industry discussion.
@pierre I had to re-read your post to detect the sarcasm. Except that sums up my views pretty well. If this was a commercial network, Jones wouldn’t be paid to attend corporate conferences. He’d be writing current affairs advertisments for their latest products.
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Despite Pierre’s statement, we need to know for sure whether Jones is an employee or a contractor? Makes a difference because most of the others mentioned in this post would be contractors and do pretty much as they wish. Even if he’s an employee, I don’t see any real problem with “appropriate” moonlighting.
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Dan, TJ’s an ABC employee. News & Caff don’t contract out their editorial staff. And he’s paid well enough not to moonlight, – better than many of his commercial counterparts these days. The Harris St high priests have always insisted it’s the appearance of being pure that’s important, but in this case there are more murky questions than answers. Remember that timeless maxim; he who pays the piper calls the tune.
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I don’t think there is much of a story here but people like Wil Anderson or the Chaser guys aren’t employed by the ABC. So there is a bit of a difference there.
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Thanks Pierre. Still not too worried about moonlighting providing it doesn’t compromise the full-time job. It can be done.
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Hey guys, consider this:
Why does ABC TV employ a Commercial Voice Over to do their on-air promo’s?? Especially when they could use their in-house VO’s for nix?? Further, that VO does both Today Tonight and during the last election voiced the ALP advertising campaigns (while getting paid double, supposedly to compensate for the work they WON’T get elsewhere as a result)…
Seems to me the ABC has a foot on either side of the barbed wire fence
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Pierre…not sure if you’re an insider but I happen to be closely related to someone working in news editorial at the ABC (a senior, long term role) and he’s most definitely a contractor… so it doesn’t sound like there’s a hard and fast rule on that one!
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TJ may indeed provide a ‘safe’ pair of hands to moderate a panel – but good moderators have to be tough, really tough, and stop politicians like Kelly O’Dwyer sidetracking what would otherwise be a good debate…
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Geez. I can’t even get my petrol costs covered at the gazillion bloody charity and other events I MC each year.
And if I so much as receive a free ticket to a movie, I have to declare it.
If my work wins an award of cash, I have to give it to Aunty.
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It was back in the late 70s. Some senior management chap had just retired from Channel 9, and we heard that Kerry Packer had given him a Mercedes.
Round about the same time a manager in an equivalent position at the ABC retired.
There was a farewell afternoon tea, and his colleagues chipped in for a dozen bottles of red.
But later, questions were asked at the Board Meeting- how could all that ABC money that had been spent on the plates of sandwiches possibly be justified?
Ah, different worlds indeed!
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