News categories
Remaking tte ABC
Editorial: Remaking the ABC | The Saturday Paper | June 26, 2024 When Kim Williams wants to make a point, he looks a person dead in the eye. He does not shy from confrontation. He does not blink. In his first major speech as chair of the ABC, Williams has articulated a strident vision for the national broadcaster. It will be bigger, smarter and more willingly self-critical. Williams is not afraid [...]
The Conversation – Kim Williams
ABC chair Kim Williams calls for public broadcaster to be ‘national campfire’ and to understand its audiences better June 19, 2024 Misha Ketchell – Editor New ABC chair KimWilliams has said the public broadcaster should become a reimagined “National Campfire”, fostering a stronger sense of community togetherness and conversation in a world increasingly fragmented by social media. Williams also said the ABC must understand its audiences better and warned [...]
ABC Chair ‘areas for improvement’
The Guardian | Amanda Meade | June 19,2024ABC has ‘areas for improvement’ but can be force for ‘togetherness’, broadcaster’s chair says In wide-ranging speech, Kim Williams says digital age has led to ‘fragmentation’ at the ABC and warns against ‘insidious and dangerous’ ideas of censorship ABC chair Kim Williams has outlined his vision for the ABC as a cultural force for national cohesion in the face of threats from the [...]
The ABC of craven capitulation
www.theshot.net.au The Shot | By Jo Dyer June 3, 2024 It’s ironic that the Sydney Writers’ Festival event at which Laura Tingle made what has become a bizarrely infamous comment about the pervasive racism of Australian society was a live version of the Insiders we used to have when we used to have nice things on the ABC. Back when David Speers was safely sequestered as one of the saner [...]
Laura Tingle’s statement
ABC Posted 29 May, 2024 Statement by Laura Tingle, 7.30 Chief Political Correspondent For much of the past two weeks, the political debate has focused not on the federal Budget but on the Leader of the Opposition's budget reply in which he pledged to cut migration to deal with the housing crisis. I have written and broadcast on this decision and its implications on ABC platforms numerous times since then. [...]
Laura Tingle’s ‘counselling’, – ABC risks giving the bullies a victory
The Guardian | Margaret Simons | Saturday June 1, 2024 In publicising Laura Tingle’s ‘counselling’, the ABC risks giving the bullies a victory. No matter what the national broadcaster does, News Corp and the Australian will keep gnawing at it There are a few things we can assume the ABC board and executive know only too well. First, News Corporation, and the Australian newspaper in particular, will always attack the ABC. [...]
Social Media Announcement
May 12, 2024: Today I have announced that the Malinauskas Government is taking nation-leading action to protect our children from social media. We’re examining banning children under the age of 14 from having social media accounts. South Australia would also require parental consent for children aged 14 to 15 to have a social media account. We are seeing mounting evidence from experts of the adverse impact of social media on [...]
Truthful, not neutral:
Crikey | Alexandra Wake | March 26, 2024 Why the ABC’s ‘impartiality’ warning isn’t the full story. The ABC’s chair Kim Williams has come out firing in his first week in the role, telling journalists they must acknowledge the broadcaster’s statutory requirement to be impartial or walk out the door. Often, it’s not that simple. It’s always been one of the most difficult things to teach young people, but if they want [...]
Kim Williams and ABC Turmoil
Can Kim Williams resolve the ABC turmoil? The Saturday Paper | February 3, 2024 | Quentin Dempster As a child, Kim Williams was obsessed with Lego. At the age of 11, he became the national champion. His mind has always been analytical. He has always wanted to be excellent. In business, he has a reputation as a fierce interrogator of data. His management style is fixed on the practical [...]
Kim Williams to replace Ita Buttrose as ABC Chair
The Guardian | January 24 |2024 |Tory Shepherd and Josh Butler Kim Williams, a former chief executive of News Corp Australia, will replace Ita Buttrose as chair of the ABC. Prime minister Anthony Albanese’s announcement follows union members’ vote of no confidence in managing director David Anderson The prime minister, announced Williams’ nomination on Wednesday morning. Buttrose said last year she and she will finish in the role in March. Albanese [...]
Kim Williams – Announced as Chairman of the ABC
The Guardian | January 24,2024 | Alan Sunderland Kim Williams is more than just a former Murdoch boss, but his new role does not make it his ABC. The public broadcaster is under siege. Williams must focus on bringing staff and management together again The ABC has a new chairman in Kim Williams and once again across the media landscape the hares are running. You can take your pick: he’s a former Murdoch [...]
Inside the overhaul at the ABC
The Saturday Paper www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au December 23, 2023 | Scott Mitchell Six months into a landmark restructure, with more staff leaving and show cancellations mounting, there are increasing doubts over whether the ABC’sstrategy to secure its future with a younger audience can succeed. The national broadcaster’s internal ructions found strong public resonance this month with the axing of The Drum. For some viewers lamenting the demise of the current affairs panel [...]
ABC News and The Drum
ABC statement December 12,2023 The ABC has today announced proposed changes that will focus ABC NEWS Channel on its core roles of continuous news, breaking news and news video production, geared to service strong demand from digital audiences, and also expand the role of the Asia Pacific Newsroom as the home of specialist coverage on our region. As part of these changes, ABC TV program The Drum will not be [...]
Speech by David Anderson MD of The ABC
Following are the concluding remarks of a speech given by the Managing Director of the ABC, David Anderson, on 17 November 2023 at The Annual Dinner of ABC Friends, Victoria. Link to the full speech "So we look to the future with confidence. An ABC that is the most trusted media source in the country, an institution that promotes good citizenship, fortifies our democracy and contributes to [...]
Australians demand Independent ABC Board
70% Australians Demand Independent Selection for ABC Board Australia Institute The survey was taken between 29 August and 1 September 2023, with nationally representative samples by gender, age group and state/territory. A further 406 South Australians and 127 Queenslanders were sampled to produce more precise results, but weighting was used to ensure that people from these states were not over-represented in national results. Key findings: Seven in 10 [...]
Are Streaming services willing the battle ?
The streaming services winning the battle for attention, and the feature Australians want. SBS web site Source: AAP / Jenny Kane/AP It's not subscription platforms like Netflix that Australians are spending the most time watching, according to a new report, which also revealed they want a feature that would make finding content easier. Australians are steadily reducing streaming services subscriptions amid cost of living pressures, a new report has [...]
ABC Consumer Support Falls
The ABC has issues its Annual Report see Link to full report The SMH reporter Calum Jaspan has written a summary piece detailing all the critical (performance) elements. Here is a Link to the pdf file.
Digital News Report
University of Canberra Digital News Report 2023 Description This report is part of a long-running international survey coordinated by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, an international research centre in the comparative study of journalism based at Oxford University. The report delivers comparative data on media usage in 46 countries and across 6 continents. There is good news for the industry this year. The number of people paying [...]
Freedom of press barons
PEARLS AND IRRITATIONS -John Menadue's Public Policy Journal Geoff Davis September 23, 2023 The ‘disinformation’ (read: lies and bullshit) being propagated about the indigenous Voice to Parliament by the Murdoch media, among others, harms our society. It promotes division, celebrates and cultivates ignorance and bigotry, oppresses a minority and diminishes us all. Why do we tolerate such behaviour? Such News Corp behaviour has become normal. Any person or any [...]
ABC Emergency Services
ABC Press Release September 18,2023 The ABC is helping prepare communities for an increase in fire and weather activity during the spring and summer months with an emergency information campaign across radio, online and social media. The campaign coincides with Red Cross Emergency Ready Week which runs from 18 – 24 September. With above average temperatures forecast in the coming months, the ABC campaign provides important information on how [...]
Public Media Alliance
Podcasts Media Uncovered is a monthly podcast which examines & explores the latest challenges and innovations from the media industry. Here is a link to these podcasts via the Public Media Alliance web site.
ABC chased its fountain of youth…
Sydney Morning Herald Calum Jaspan | July 24, 2023 The ABC’s quest to woo younger audiences is being hamstrung by its stagnant budget and a structural shift towards streaming that threatens to undermine the public broadcaster’s ability to compete with the likes of Netflix. The ABC launched its new five-year plan last month, as it looks to address the key issue facing almost all traditional media companies: reaching a [...]
Dark Day for US Public Media
US public media faces funding axe National Public Radio |Washington DC | 5th July 2023 | Ahmed_Janabi The House’s decision to scrap the funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting by 2026 will have a drastic impact on the services and financial viability of public service media in the US. Public media funding in the US has been thrown into doubt after the House Appropriations Education Subcommittee decided to stop [...]
Labor to consider ways to protect ABC and SBS from future funding threats
The Guardian | Amanda Meade | July 20, 2023 Labor to consider ways to protect ABC and SBS from future funding threats Michelle Rowland says review into security of national broadcasters will consider options to support A review into the security of ABC and SBS funding will examine ways to protect the public broadcasters from future threats of privatisation and arbitrary funding cuts, the communications minister Michelle Rowland [...]
ABC Partners with Universities
ABC Press Release July 20, 2023 In the face of declining local media coverage in regional and rural Australia, the ABC will partner with researchers at Deakin and Griffith universities to look at innovative ways in which the public broadcaster can support local news sustainability. The three-year Australian Research Council project will determine how the ABC can best develop partnerships and collaborations with regional news outlets to support public [...]