Friends of the ABC (NSW) Inc.quarterly newsletterJune-July2001 Vol 13, 10

i n c o r p o r a t i n g

b a c k g round briefingnational magazineu p d a t efriends of the abc

Extraordinary Rally for Extraordinary Shareholders Meeting

Speakers from many dif-ferent fields spoke of whatthe ABC meant to them.Chief Conductor of theSydney SymphonyOrchestra, Simone Young,described how she haddeveloped her love of musicthrough the ABC. "We did-n't come from a family whocould afford to go to con-certs", she said. "It was theABC which introduced meto music."

Paralympic Triple GoldMedal Winner Priya Cooperspoke of how Paralympiansfor the first time felt includedin the main stream ofAustralia through the Para-lympic Games being tele-vised on the ABC. A moresober note was taken byQuentin Dempster and JaneConnors who describedhow difficult it was becom-ing to work within an organi-sation where the supportfrom ancillary staff had goneand there were only 10researchers left at Gore Hill.

ABC staffers and otherswho took buckets throughthe huge crowd were movedto tears by the generosity ofthe people there. The moneycollected helped pay for therally and there was a greatboost in membership.

Shareholders called for aspill of the ABC Board

The Shareholders Charterwas adopted unanimouslyby the huge crowd, as wasa motion calling for a spill ofthe Board. A copy of theShareholders' Charter, withan accompanying letter, hasbeen sent to all NSW MPs.

Friends of the ABC weredelighted with the largeturnout for the event andwith the amount of mediaattention. This included sto-ries on Channels 2, 9 and10 and SBS, articles in TheM e l b o u rne Age, SydneyMorning Herald, TheAustralian, Brisbane CourierMail and Daily Telegraph.

More than 15,000 people gathered on the Sydney OperaHouse forecourt and steps at the Extraordinary GeneralMeeting of the Shareholders of the Australian BroadcastingCorporation on 29 April 2001.

Proclaiming the EGM of the Shareholders of the ABC, bythe Friends of the ABC, the meeting emphasised that theABC belongs to all of us, the citizens of Australia who pay forthe ABC with our taxes.

Two of the many signs of support

The immense crowd overflowed the Opera House steps

Pensioners message to the Howard Government

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Scenes of the many thousands of people who attended the monster meeting

Looking toward the stage from the Opera House

John Murphy, Member for Lowe, one of the prominentattendees.

Penelope Toltz, President, Friends of the ABC (NSW),talking to new members at the Opera House Rally

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P re s i d e n t ’s ReportOur Extraordinary General

Meeting held at the SydneyOpera House on 29th April 2001,was indeed an extraordinary suc-cess. Our speakers were abso-lutely wonderful -- and fromenough different life paths, thatno-one could have pretendedthat the ABC wasn't an essentialpart of our lives.

From young people to oldpeople, sports people to musi-cians, both rock and classical,church people to politicians, sci-entists, to concerned parents,young business people, aca-demics all were represented onstage and all spoke passionatelyabout the influence that the ABChad on their lives. How the ABChad informed and educatedthem, had entertained them fromtheir childhood right throughouttheir lives-- how the ABC wasoften the only way that they hadlearned about drama, music,opera, comedy, because it cameinto their living rooms, becausethey didn't have to find themoney for expensive tickets, paybaby sitters, or pay for parking.

The ABC was there for all ofour speakers as it is for all of us.

Rod Quantock did a marvel-lous job controlling the meetingand moving it along at a pacewhich kept up the interest andadded enormously to the day.More than 15,000 people were inthe forecourt at the SydneyOpera House. The meetingreceived press in the SydneyMorning Herald, The Australian,The Daily Telegraph, The Age,The Brisbane Courier Mail, TheAustralian Financial Review, tele-vision news on Channel SBS,Channel 2, Channel 9 andChannel 10, radio 2GB, 2SM,Wagga radio (commercial),Newcastle radio, local papersand a number of country papers

including the Illawarra Mercury,papers in Bathurst Orange andNewcastle.

We wanted to move thedebate along. We wanted theBoard of the AustralianBroadcasting Corporation andthe political parties to realise thatthe ABC is on EVERYONE'sagenda for the next election.After the meeting we wrote to allNew South Wales politicians fromboth the Coalition and the ALP.

It is extraordinary that politi-cians reply like clones when theyreceive letters from the Friends ofthe ABC. Politicians from bothsides of the fence answer asone. They get head office to drafta reply for all of them.

When are politicians fromthe two major parties going torealise that the time has finallycome to put to the top of theirlist how they will take the moralhigh ground and care for theABC and let its constituentsknow that they will really dosomething to rescue this icon ofd e m o c r a c y and culture.

We know that politicianshave finally noticed that the ABCis an election issue, but rubberstamped replies are simply NOTGOOD ENOUGH.

VISIT ELIZABETH FARM

WITH THE FRIENDS

Join the Friends in a tour

of Australia's oldest

European buildingElizabeth Farm,

70 Alice Street, Rosehill Sunday,

23 September.The tour, which lasts for1 hour, commences at

11.30 am, followed by a BYO

Picnic in the adjoining park.

Elizabeth Farm dates f ro m1793 and, of course, wasthe home of John andElizabeth Macarthur,pioneers of the Australianwool industry.

Parking is available in the streets around

Elizabeth Farm or come by train

to Harris Park station.

Members and their friends / relatives

are most welcome.Entry cost is $7 per person,

$3 seniors concession or $17 family (2 + 2).

Bookings are essential by phoning

Gary Cook 0404 829 372Jason Lowe 9489 1420Frouke de Reuver

9642 6485

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Dear Friends of the ABC, I wasinvited to give a speech at theSeventh Annual Voice of the Listenerand Viewer Conference in London,Thursday 7th June. The title of thespeech was to be “Citizenship andPublic Service Broadcasting and theDevelopment of Active Citizenship --the Scene beyond Europe”.

I chose to concentrate on ourwork leading up to the ExtraordinaryGeneral Meeting of April 29th, andalso talked about our lobbying workfor this election year.

Because there were so manypapers in the three day conference, I will give you a taste, together withsome of the broad principles whichcame out of the conference.

A common theme throughoutthe conference was how essen-tial public broadcasting is tothe process of citizenship.

In the conference overview,Patron of the Voice of the Listenerand Viewer organisation, LordMacintosh, Government Spokesmanon the Media in the House of Lordssaid that “public service broadcast-ing is essential to the process of citi-zenship and asked “who will beallowed to speak if every audience isonly seen as consumers {especially}when children are seen only as atarget market.” Public ServiceBroadcasting is sometimes ridiculedand called old fashioned because itsmandate is to inform and educate”.

“Peace and prosperity of todayare partly a legacy of the workof public broadcasters.”

Keynote speaker, President ofthe European Broadcasting Unionand Director General of FinnishBroadcasting Corporation ArneWessberg, in his address PublicService Broadcasting in e-Europecommented that the “Peace andprosperity of today are partly a lega-cy of the work of public broadcast-ers.” He went on to say that publicservice broadcasters had “a distin-guished history in balancing the pastand the future”.

In commenting about the differ-ences between public servicesbroadcasting's role regarding televi-sion and radio and the new on-linemedia, he said that the new on-linemedia made users take an activerole rather than the passive role ofthe past. “On-line participantschoose to use,” he said. He wenton to describe the challenges of thenew media, describing the powerbetween the user and the maker ofthe programs as more level than thatbetween viewer and television..

“In broadcasting, once the pro-gram is made and broadcast, theprogram itself is finished, whereas, inmulti media, programs are continual-ly evolving. In broadcasting, onehears or sees the program oncewhereas with multi-media, the pro-gram can be accessed and usedmany times. The core product iscontinually developing...it is aboutinteractive dialogue with forwardthinking program producers. Theconvergence of the programs leadsto media diversity.” Mr Wessbergsaid. He went on to explain that one

of the most important advantages ofe-broadcasting is that more peoplecan articulate their ideas, a hugeopportunity exists for participation inprograms. “However, he warned,there are problems when economiesof scale and synergies come into theequation, as this can lead to thenarrowing of opportunities.

A counterbalance to the con-vergence which is occurring inother parts of the media.

Public Service Broadcasting pre-sents a rare opportunity to invest ina resource which brings a counter-balance to the convergence which isoccurring in other parts of themedia. He went on to say that pub-lic service broadcasting opens por-tals to a wider contribution frommany different groups. Public servicebroadcasters will continue to play avital role in keeping up quality, whileat the same time removing barriersto more public participation.

Most speakers emphasised fourthemes which have occurred as aresult of the new technology.

1. Digital technology is changingthe way content is produced anddelivered.

2. There continues to be culturalproblems with media, both old andnew.

3. Consumer behaviour ischanging as audiences becomemore fragmented and

4. Some countries are sufferingfrom a drop in funding which is mak-ing it difficult for them to fulfil theirtask as educators.

The essential part that publicservice broadcasters play inthe development of a civil society and democracy,

Another theme which emergedstrongly in many papers throughoutthe three day conference was theessential part that public servicebroadcasters play in the develop-ment of a civil society and democracy,especially in developing countries,many of which are just emergingfrom periods of rule by despots anddictators.

(Continued on Page 5)

What went on at the Seventh Annual Three DayVoice of the Listener and Viewer Conference in London Penelope Toltz

A conference to con-sider the impact of global-ization, digital technology,new European Directivesand the new round of nego-tiations with the WorldTrade Organisation on pub-lic service broadcasting inEurope, the BritishCommonwealth and else-where; the role that non-governmental and civicorganisations can play inpromoting cultural diversityand active citizenshipthrough the media; how toprotect children from com-mercial exploitation andfund indigenous program-ming; and the role thatpublic service broadcastingcan play in ensuring freeaccess to education and lifelong learning in the multi-channel age.

(Continued from Page 4)

The first day of the conference,before the formal proceedingsbegan, was a UNESCO sponsoredset of workshops which wereattended by a number of delegatesfrom Southern African states,Ghana, Namibia, and South Africa.These workshops were run in orderthat the delegates, all of whomeither work in broadcasting or havesome other knowledge of broad-casting as academics, could learnhow audiences both as citizens andconsumers, could be more closelyinvolved in the development ofbroadcasting services in the publicinterest. The group formed a steer-ing committee which will report laterin the year on progress and will con-tinue to be in touch with each otherfor mutual support.

The most serious problem issafeguarding the employeesfrom being arrested or killed.

In emerging democracies thereare frequently problems with verysmall budgets, but the most seriousone is proving to be the turning ofgovernment information services intotrue public service democracies, andsafeguarding the employees frombeing arrested or killed.

Some areas do not have themoney to start fully funded publicservice broadcasters, and in thoseareas, money has been put intocommunity radio stations. Whilebeing a start, these stations are notreally as successful as fully fundedpublic service broadcasters, con-strained as they are with weak sig-nals and very tiny budgets.

One of the dangers seen in therapid uptake of new media is thetechnological divide. With expensivedigital television sets, set top boxes,cost of computers for those whowant to access the internet,

Legislation about the new mediais concentrating in both Great Britainand Europe, on technology itself andnot content. A number of delegatesfelt that this obsession with the tech-nology and not content was a realproblem

Many people will never be ableto afford the new technology andthere is much conversation in both

Europe and the UK about the needto make new technology available inschools, libraries and other publicspaces, to even out the technologi-cal divide for the poorer less welleducated in society.

Calls were made from a numberof speakers for the strengthening of

public service broadcasting worldwide to protect regional areas andvulnerable members of the commu-nity -- especially children. In placessuch as Sweden, no advertising isallowed during ANY broadcasts forchildren. Children's programs arebroadcast each evening until 7.30and also on weekend mornings.

BBC Director of Public Policy,Caroline Thomson spoke about theBBC's role in helping the develop-ment of engaged citizens -- thosewho were a part of the communityand who learned a lot of what theyneeded to make informed decisions,through watching and listening topublic service broadcasters.

During the UK elections, theBBC web site contained informationabout how to vote, what votingmeant, and a section entitled "per-suade me to vote" (voting is notcompulsory in the UK and manyyounger people are not registering tovote). The BBC and other Europeanpublic service broadcasters havebeen instrumental in raising literacyin their countries.

“Public Service Broadcastingexists in part to make thegood popular and the populargood.“

Ms Thomson emphasised theneed for Public Service Bro a d c a s t i n gto be freely available to all, have ahigh appeal, be of the highest qualitywith high quality writing, acting, highproduction values. “Public ServiceBroadcasting exists in part to makethe good popular and the populargood. It is distinctive in that it devel-ops new genres and popularises oldones. Programs about history arewatched by three million people,whereas only 150,000 may buy thebook which comes from the pro-gram,” she said.

“In the information age, much ofthe world suffers from the inability toget information”, she said. She citedthat, as an example, when the mas-sacre of the Royal Family of Nepaltook place, the local government'sfirst reaction was to close down themedia. Only short wave radio thro u g hthe BBC World Service, was able toby-pass the government satelliteblack out and keep the local peopleas well as the outside world,informed.” she said.

“The BBC has driven digitaltakeup and has provided programswhich have explained how digitaltechnology works. It ran a computerliteracy program and provided supportfor local and regional communities

(Continued on Page 6)

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How BBCGovernors AreChosen

BBC Governors, the equiva-lent of the Board of the AustralianBroadcasting Corporation, areappointed by the Queen inCouncil on the advice of the PrimeMinister of the Day.

However, there are stepsbeing put forward to have thepositions advertised in the news-papers. At the moment, anyonecan put their name forward withtheir curriculum vitae and it will belooked at.

There must be a representa-tive of an ethnic minority. Theremust be a representative from theTrade Union Movement and thereis a specific governor chosen torepresent Northern Ireland, Walesand Scotland. There is also a spe-cific place for a television member.There are 12 members and achairman. The managing directoris not a part of the Board ofGovernors.

The Board is chosen for itsexperience and the Board Memberwho liaises with the staff is fre-quently a retired Ambassador.

At the Senior ManagementLevel there is a separate ExecutiveBoard of Management committeeto which the Managing Directorand other senior mana g e m e n texecutives would belong.

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(Continued from Page 5)

and has been fundamental in bring-ing knowledge and lessons in theuse of the new technologies to localpeople. During the recent crisis onfoot and mouth, it was the regionalweb sites and regional programsover radio and television, which wasthe quickest and easiest way tokeep the people in all communitiesinformed,” she said.

The reach of the BBC WorldService is almost universal through-out the world. It still broadcasts inshort wave as well as through satel-lite. Short wave is the safest way toensure that people in areas wherethere is trouble, will be able to beinformed, as it is cheap to receive,needing only a radio set, and doesnot rely on satellite technology.

Public service broadcastingshould be the benchmarkagainst which other broadcast-ing can be measured.

There appears to be a consen-sus among broadcasters in Europeand the United Kingdom, that publicservice broadcasting should be thebenchmark against which otherbroadcasting can be measured.Public service broadcasting fulfils thequality role. Member of the Euro p e a nParliament, Lord Inglewood, saidthat public service broadcasting fulfilsthe quality role, is a benchmarkagainst which other broadcastingcan be measured.

Public service broadcastinginformation on the internet is also atrusted source of truthful informa-tion. "It is essential in society, thatthe integrity of information be main-tained."

New laws for broadcastingshould be written for a maxi-mum five year period.

The European Parliament hasbeen debating such vexed questionsas copyright in the digital age, televi-sion without frontiers and partnershipsbetween public service broadcastersand other mechanisms. LordInglewood said it was important not

to be "too utopian about the re v o l u t i o nin broadcasting. New laws for bro a d -casting should be written for a maxi-mum five year period. "Let's get itright for five years, and then we willbe in a good position to move for-ward another five years.

Money or privileges for qual-ity channels whether they bepublic service or privatebroadcasters.

One of Lord Inglewood's mostinteresting propositions was thatthere should be money or privilegesfor quality channels whether they bepublic service or private bro a d c a s t e r s .There has been talk of cheap or freelicenses to encourage high qualitybroadcasting.

The European Parliament seespublic service broadcasting as aninstrument of diplomacy and believesthat the money spent on the BBCWorld Service and Deutsche Welle isextremely well spent. Cross mediaownership is seen as extremely dan-gerous and is an area of concern.

"It is to the public's advantagefor cross media rules to be kept inplace. Those who argue AGAINSTcross media rules are always argu-ing for decisions which will be totheir monetary advantage.

Non-Government Organisations and Their Role in Public ServiceBroadcasting

A number of non-governmentorganisations have joined together inBritain and Europe in order to teachNGO's to use the media. Mediaprofessionals train staff and volun-teers and satellite space is provided.These organisations no longer wantto depend only on government, butwish to make their own programs.An example shown was of the cam-paign against land mines. "GettingPrincess Diana to be the patron,was a huge help and made the taskmuch easier. NGO's are also lobby-ing companies who make soapoperas to put important themes,such as AIDS and safe sex into theirstory lines.

Greenpeace has made an 8 part

series to be shown on German main-stream television. In Great Britain 60NGO's have joined together to makedocumentary films not touched byother groups. The money made fromselling the documentary is ploughedback into programs.

“Even the Web will becomeless and less accessible”

“A key issue is access to spec-trum,” said consultant to CitigatePublic Affairs, Carole Tongue. "Eventhe Web will become less and lessaccessible as time becomes moreand more expensive,” she said.

"Of course, there are also com-munity television stations in the UKand Europe. The main challenge forthem is to make interesting pro g r a m swhich will attract viewers.

The UK Community Channel canbe accessed through www.commu-nitychannel.org

A free market alone cannotbring diversity

The Co-ordinator for theInternational Network for CulturalDiversity Gary Neil, said that “mostgovernments now realise that a freemarket alone cannot bring diversity.New trade agreements attack theserights and new legislation must befound to provide for future needs.”

"What we view as promotingchoice, the United States views aserecting trade barriers for e-com-merce, television and film. TheInternational Network for CulturalDiversity was founded in Santorini torepresent NGO's of all kinds to pushto redress the imbalance betweencultural diversity and to make surethat agreements entered into doNOT restrict cultural diversity.

They engage in dialogue withthe World Trade Organisation andUNESCO and with the world's cul-tural ministers and hold their meetingin tandem with the WTO scheduleso there can be cross dialogue.

Penelope Toltz paid her own airf a re and all conference expensesand accommodation were paidfor by the Voice of the Listener

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The Friends Stall at Blacktown City Festival in June Attracted Lots of Interest

Ode to the ABC This was sent to us by FABC Member Lesley Allen

When I turn on the switch I'm beginning to twitchWith excitement and high expectation,To hear weather and news and political viewsOn the state and the fate of the nation.

No ludicrous ads for market force fadsOr things that I never will need,No late model cars or mixtures in jars,Unless overtaken by greed.

No Yankee sit-coms with crass, plastic MomsAnd scripts full of juvenile jollity.I span the world from my chair, ABC's on the Air!With programs of infinite quality.

I love music and drama, the whole panoramaPresented by staff ever tireless,Whose work hours are long and pay -- a mere song!Long live ABC TV and Wireless!!

STOP PRESS MeetQuentinDempster

Author, Presenter of Stateline and outspokenadvocate for an independent ABC and

Tim Bowden, intrepid explorerForster Bowling Club

Sunday 29 July 10:30 am

Please contact Audrey Semon or DenisWallis of FABC Great Lakes Branch for details

You can find out about other eventswhich may be happening in your electorate

and add your help and/or suggestions FABC Stalls • FABC meetings

FABC Fun!Audrey Semon 6554 8507Denis Wallis 6554 2286

On Wednesday, 6 June, at Balgowlah, I joinedDemocrats Senator for NSW Vicki Bourne, ABC Staffer,John Millard and Senior Lecturer, Department ofHumanities and Social Sciences at, UTS, Dr. DavidMcKnight to speak at a Democrats Public Meetingregarding the ABC and its future.

In excess of 100 people attended the meeting, againreinforcing that when our ABC is under threat from within(The Board and the Managing Director) and externally(The Government), the people respond and voice theirconcerns forcefully.

Vicki Bourne has long been a staunch supporter andhas been instrumental in highlighting deliberate attemptsby the Government of the day to undermine the effec-tiveness of the ABC.

John Millard is renowned for “blowing the whistle" onattempts to commercialise the ABC. He spoke with firsthand experience off the low morale amongst staff andthe struggle to continue as a quality broadcaster in theface of shrinking resources.

Questions flowed freely from the audience who wereobviously well informed and passionate in their feelingsfor the ABC.

On Sunday, I0 June, I was invited to speak at aConference held by the NSW Greens. The purpose ofthe invitation to the Friends was to permit the Greens tomove a detailed resolution on Public Broadcasting forpresentation their National Body.

Approximately 25 delegates unanimously adoptedthe principles of the Shareholders’ Charter as beingappropriate to their resolution.

Gary Cook

Vice President’s Report

Bathurst Friends are holding a Street StallFriday 29th June to raise awareness of theFriends, sell t-shirts, cakes, stickers, etc .

Page 8

A better way to choose the directors of the ABCNational Conference of FABC determined to make this a public issue

The Dangers ofPoliticisation

Most people now accept asinevitable the politicisation or privati-sation of any organisation capable ofexerting power or generating rev-enues. It doesn't matter which partygoverns; each will load up the boardswith roughly the same people, andeach will flog off whatever they can -all to keep the other from benefitingfrom asset sales or appointmentsafter a change in government.

No-one really pretends any morethat the best people are being select-ed for their expertise, or that whatthey are doing is really important.

But the idea of using multiplesources of selection to insulateimportant committees from one-sided political influence still deservesfurther consideration. And if ever weneeded such a process it is with theABC Board.

In May 1999, to their great credit,the Democrats moved a private member’s bill to reform ‘thisblatant board-stacking exercise [that]endangers the independence andintegrity of the ABC and has thepotential to do grave danger toAustralia's international reputation’.But the bill is still sitting on the tableof the Senate; it can't find supportfrom either side of the main politicaldivide.

Yet clearly, “it is absolutely criticalthat the ABC is not compromised inits work and that it does have a gen-uine and impartial board”. The quoteis from Alston, back in 1994 when hewas in Opposition. What's more,Alston predicted it would be “a greatdisappointment to all those who arelooking to the Government to takethis opportunity to make appoint-ments to the board on the basis ofmerit”.

Unquestionably, he was right inhis judgment. The Coalition gave usLiberal political lackeys to replace theLabor ones, and merit didn't get alook in.

STEWART FIST The Australian, 24/4/0Cartoon courtesy Bill Leak

On the weekend of May 5/6delegates from all state Friends metin Adelaide for a conference ofsharing and planning for our elec-tion campaign.

We were buoyed by the hugesuccess of the Canberra rally -since followed by the amazingE x t r a o rd i n a r y General Meeting at theOpera House. We are confident thatthe crisis at the ABC will be a majorissue in the federal election and thatwe will be able to alert our support-ers and the public to the partieswhich offer the best hope forrebuilding the ABC.

It was a time for sharing eachother’s strengths and skills, deter-mining what we will seek from politi-cal parties, and setting up an actiongroup to coordinate our electioncampaign.

Two informative guest speakersaddressed the conference: StewartFist, technology and communica-tions writer in The Australian, andGraeme Thomson from theCommunity and Public SectorUnion.

Among several decisions takenat the conference was our determi-nation to bring the issue of thepoliticisation of the Board into thepublic arena. From it’s beginnings in

1932 g o v e rnments have appointed,a m o n g others, political allies to theABC Board, but never before has itbeen brought to such a crisis. Thisis due to its current extreme politici-sation.

The Labor Party might privatelyagree with this but are reluctant togive up their own right to appoint tothe Board.

Stephen Smith, Labor’s shadowminister for communications hassaid: "Unlike the HowardG o v e rn m e n t , Labor is committed tothe ABC as an adequately funded,genuinely independent and trulynational public broadcaster.”

If the ABC is to be ‘genuinelyindependent’ there must be anotherway of choosing its Board.

An alternative system ofappointing the Board should bebased on genuine merit instead ofparty mateship. In our meetingswith Stephen Smith he has shown awillingness to listen to our sugges-tions. We look forward to furtherdiscussion.

FABC’s intention is to proposeoptions for an alternative way ofappointing the Board and to makethis the subject of public debate.

There were a couple of posi-tives in the federal budget for theABC. After bullying and bad-mouthing the ABC for so long, theCoalition felt compelled to increasethe ABC budget. The penny hadfinally dropped with the government- the ABC is an election issue.

The $17.8 million a year, forfour years, is well short of the $40million a year ongoing that the ABCasked for. It is nowhere near the $66million the Coalition took out of theABC funding base after the 1996election. Despite that, it’s better tohave $17.8 million than nothing.

On the negative side this isstop/go economics. With one handthe Government takes away $66million, and with the other hand itgives back $17.8 million, but only forfour years. The ABC can implementsome new program initiatives, but itwill have to cut them off again in fouryear’s time, or else abandon someother activity.

This was the very reason thattriennial funding was introduced. Itis very hard for the ABC to planeffectively if it can't predict itsincome from one year to another.This kind of see-saw funding does

not assist the efficient use oftaxpayers’ money. After all the turmoilof the last year or so the ABC needsstability, not another ride on the bigdipper.

There's another problem t h a tcomes with chronic under- funding. Ithas been suggested that this moneyis a tied grant. Strictly speaking itisn't. The ABC Board can legallyspend the money for any legitimateABC purpose it chooses. But havingtold the Government that the moneywas being sought primarily forregional initiatives, the ABC wouldbe foolish to spend it on somethingcompletely different. If they did so,their chances of more funding in thefuture would be slim.

Chronic underfunding exposesthe ABC to temptation in a numberof ways. It's pretty obvious that ifyou just say 'give us more money',without saying what for, that you'renot going to get very far. It must betempting for an ABC Board, in anelection year, to seek more funds foran area where the government feelsvulnerable - like in rural and regionalAustralia. (Given the Government’sconcern to win the votes of theretirees, it's surprising that the ABChasn't come up with a plan for anold people’s version of Triple J - they

could call it Grey Radio or maybethe Nostalgia Network.)

Similar temptations can hap-pen with ABC enterprises. Do wehave yet another cooking programbecause research indicates this iswhat viewers want, or do we haveyet another cooking program becauseABC Shop takings suggest that we'llsell a lot of cookbooks?

Do we program Bananas inPyjamas because the kid love them,or do we program the Bananasbecause we'll sell of lot of merchan-dise?

Without adequate and stablefunding forthcoming temptationssuch as this will continue to eat awayat the margins of the ABC's fragileindependence.

The ABC staff should not beunder this kind of pressure. Triennialfunding should be maintained. The$66 million (indexed for inflation)should be restored to the ABC'sfunding base, and there should beadditional funds for the ABC's mag-nificent web site, and other forms ofnew media.

DARCE CASSIDY

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ABC Supporters Bus to Travel Victoria to Canberra

Victoria held itsMelbourne rally in TreasuryGardens on 17 June. Therally farewelled a busload ofsupporters who will tourthrough Victoria on their wayto Canberra to talk to politi-cians on both sides ofParliament.

The ABC and the federal budget - a curate's egg

Cartoon courtesy Pryor

The ABC’s managing director,Jonathan Shier, is under attack onmany sides. Among his detractorsare the usual suspects, including theCommunity and Public Sector Unionand the Friends of the ABC. A lesslikely antagonist is the ScreenProducers Association of Australia,which is critical of the ABC’s com-mercial dealings with the indepen-dent film-making sector.

But Shier’s nemesis (if he is tohave one) may well come in the formof that innocuous and little knownorganisation - the Australian NationalAudit Office. The ANAO is investigat-ing the ABC. A team of four auditstaff is wading through documentsand interviews with ABC managers.The broadcaster might have reasonto worry because the inquiry is beingdone by the Performance AuditService Group of the ANAO. It’s notabout the financial books, it’s aboutcorporate governance. It’s abouthow the board sets direction; howmanagement produces programs;how the management reports backand how the board reports toParliament.

One objective is to determine ifthe ABC adequately reflects its char-ter. But it will not just restrict itself tomanagement systems, it will alsolook into issues such as program-ming and scheduling.

The chains of command at theABC have never been renowned fortheir tautness and the turmoil in theorganisation is largely about a pro-gram commissioning system thathas not properly got off the groundin 10 months.

Word from inside the ANAO isthat a lot of new systems at the ABChave made the audit job more diffi-cult, hardly an auspicious sign.

The Parliamentary JointCommittee of Public Accounts andAudits ordered the inquiry. Unlikesome inquiries, it was not triggeredby an automatic performance reviewprocess but deliberately chosen for

investigation. The ABC will get achance to respond to a draft reportbefore it goes to the committee.Depending on the findings, the com-mittee may order a public hearing.

ROBERT BOLTON Australian Financial Review 3/5/01

How credible is the assertion byBritish television executive StephenClaypole, shortlisted for the manag-ing director's position in late 1999,that “some of the ABC board mem-bers who chose Jonathan Shier astheir new managing director wanteda candidate who would remove a listof Labor Party ‘sympathisers’ fromthe broadcaster”?

Mr Claypole is reported as sayingthat during interviews and talks withABC board members in Sydney hewas surprised to hear some direc-tors start talking about pro-LaborParty "on-screen personalities andsenior executives" in the nationalbroadcaster. "It was clear they had alist of people they wanted to get ridof," he said. "Clearly there was anagenda for a very radical overhaul ofthe ABC.” *

Two members of the board,Michael Kroger and Judith Sloan,said that there had been no suchdiscussions. But the sackings ofABC staff that have occurred underthe appointed managing director,Jonathan Shier, are consistent withthe allegation.

‘Shier said, via his corporatespokesman, that no boarddirector ever told him to removeABC Labor supporters, or largenumbers of managers.

‘Yet one defining feature ofShier’s first year at the ABC isthe systematic departure ofdozens of upper-level managers,

particularly those in charge ofeditorial content.’

‘..before starting work, Shier gotspecial permission [from DonaldMcDonald] to spend more than$253,000 with two executivesearch firms to help him find newmanagers.’ **C BANHAM & P CLARK, SMH 12/3/01

We should not be surprised atShier’s expressed determination tochange the culture of the ABC,which he is achieving with wholesalesackings and the appointment ofmany with a strong commercialbackground and little or no publicbroadcasting experience. After all,this was one of a list of ‘essentialattributes’ for a new managing direc-tor as required by the ABC board .These included:

“A change manager, able to leadan organisation through significantcultural transformation.”

We, the shareholders of theABC, would have appreciated sometransparency on this requirementfrom the chairman of the board.What did the board mean by this?

Investigation into the ABC by the Australian National Audit OfficeOperation of the board and management under review

Intention to change the culture of the ABC came from the Board

Whence had come the pres-sures to transform the culture ofthe ABC?

Pressure had certainly notcome from the shareholders.

Page 10

Page 11

Turmoil at the ABCThe great restructure self-destructs

Exactly a year ago Mr Shierupended the management and pro-gram making structure of the ABCwith the creation of the contentdevelopment division.

Mr Shier has announced yetanother restructure of the corpora-tion. This was ‘a tacit admission thatthe grand restructure he put in placelast June, the key to revitalising theABC, has failed.’ *

‘The intervening hiatus has dam-aged the national broadcaster.Replacements for flagship programssuch as Quantum and Media Watchare barely off the ground and thestock of locally made drama is run-ning low. A string of senior man-

agers has been sacked and the billfor redundancies is eating into bud-gets elsewhere.”

‘The inaugural director of pro-gram and content development, GuyDunstan, was appointed in a blazeof publicity in June. His job was towrangle 21 ‘genre heads’ whowould develop program ideas . Hisposition was considered so impor-tant he was ranked with the head ofnews and current affairs.

‘But Dunstan found the genrearrangement unwieldy and warnedShier it wouldn’t work. It drew valu-able people away from productionareas and did not sit comfortablyacross radio, TV and online as

intended. He was sacked inFebruary.

‘His replacement, Sandra Levy,also quickly realised the system wascumbersome. The full 21 appoint-ments were never made and Levyhas persuaded Shier to jettison thearrangement. The genre heads willreturn to their jobs as executive pro-ducers of programs and will reportto the director of development or theheads of factual or non-factual pro-gramming [two new positions.] Asone staff member who declined tobe identified said: “The genre sys-tem is dead.” *

* ROBERT BOLTON Australian Financial Review

Mr Shier has been at the ABC for15 months and we are only nowbeginning to see the impact of hisnew regime on the television pro-gramming.

Littlemore has gone and seemsunlikely to return; it has beenreplaced for a limited period with thestudio-based Law Matters. Head oftelevision Gail Jarvis has promised arevamped Media Watch - and theunion ban on a replacement for PaulBarry has been lifted - but it seemsnothing is actually in preparation.Quantum has been replaced withAfterShock, a science infotainmentprogram produced by JigsawEntertainment.

Something in the Air has gonefrom 4 half hour episodes to onehour in prime-time on Saturday. Itsslot before the News is being filledby antique repeats of As time goesby and Yes, Prime Minister. Statelinehas replaced The 7.30 Report onFridays, followed by the venerableFawlty Towers. And on Sunday wecan enjoy the BBC’s Top of thePops. Two new programs from theUK have so far received under-whelming reviews: My Family onMondays, and on Tuesdays CanYou Live Without?

ABC managing directorJonathan Shier made it clear whenhe took over from Brian Johns 14months ago that ratings would be apriority. At his first staff address hesaid it was a “disgrace” the nationalbroadcaster’s ratings weren’t higher.A year after that comment they arefar worse.

Amanda Meade The Australian 22/5/01

The national broadcaster’s ‘fivecapital city’ ratings share fell from16.8 at the beginning of the newOzTAM ratings system in Februaryto just 13 for the period May 7-21.

Report Card

Cartoon courtesy Pryor

What is FABClist?The NSW Branch of the Friends hasset-up an e-mail list for use by mem-bers with e-mail. FABClist is like acommunity notice board. Anyone canpin-up a notice (e-mail) and everybodyin the Friends community (e-mailerswho ‘subscribe’ to the list) can readthe notice (by e-mail). PS: The ‘sub-scription’ is free! This is a great forumfor late breaking news, information,opinions and debate amongst likeminds i.e., lovers of the ABC.

To join the list, send an e-mail to fab-clist@optusnet.com.au with SUB-SCRIBE as the only entry in theSubject line and your full name andphone number in the body of the e-mail. Of course, you can ‘unsubscribe’from the list at anytime.If you want more detail call theFABCList Moderator Chris. Cartledgeon 02) 4226 2323.

Page 12

The ABC is one of our greatestcultural and democratic assets. But,at the rate of asset-stripping at thenational broadcaster, for how muchlonger can we expect it to survive?

Money and resources havebeen stripped from program-makingin both television and radio.

Researchers and infrastructurehave been removed and it is saidprogram makers are now despairingabout declining quality.

There has been a 10% staff cutin television in NSW, the major pro-duction centre. Almost half of theproducers working outside newsand current affairs have beensacked.

TV has moved out of documen-tary and feature making, with theexception of the Natural History Unitwhich survives for now, andAustralian Story. The energy is goneand morale is at rock bottom.

All programs now havelower research component

The ABC inventory of programshas dwindled. This has contributedto the ABC reducing the lead timefor making programs - ie the timebetween commissioning and theprograms going to air - simply to fillthe air time. There has been a moveto studio based productions asthese tend to be cheaper and havea shorter turn around time - all pro-grams have to be made within twomonths and have a lower researchcomponent. The scenery workshopsare being closed as ABC manage-ment have said there is nothing on theproduction schedule for them to do.

The latest blow is the cuts tolibrary and archives. [See page 13]The planned cuts will make evenless of the archives accessible.While new technologies havehelped, and can help more in thefuture, they are not a magic solution;information does not catalogue itself,and if it is not properly catalogued,

by trained people who know whatthey are doing, then it is difficult toretrieve.

We believe the only trainingavailable at the ABC now is in per-formance management, ironically,and financial management; there islittle or no technical training. As theABC has been the only trainer intelevision the effect of this will goright through the television industry.

Younger people are leaving,demoralised

Younger people are leaving,demoralised by the lack of opportu-nity. Some cross-media traineeswere taken on four years ago; out of700 applicants seven people wereemployed. These were the best andbrightest. In May they were giventheir redundancy notices. Therewere no jobs for them, even with thefocus on ‘new media’.

It has been Hobson's Choice forthe ABC. Without proper funding theABC could confine itself to radio andtelevision, and ignore new and inter-active communication media like theInternet. This would tend to con-demn the ABC to an 'old media'ghetto, and lay it open to the chargethat it is old fashioned, out of touchand set in its ways. Alternatively, ifthe ABC is to be an active player inthe new media, it has to fund thisactivity by robbing radio and televi-sion. Either way, the ABC loses.

But the need to fund new mediais only part of the story. There arealso questions about how the ABCBoard and Managing Director haveused the limited funds at their dis-posal.

Why were so many of BrianJohns Managers sacked?

How much money has gone intorestructuring, redundancies, market-ing, consultancies and increasedmanagement salaries? Why was itnecessary to sack so many of themanagers appointed by BrianJohns? Why have so many of the

new managers, hand picked byJonathan Shier, also jumped ship?Why was Jonathan Shier's newstructure abandoned after just overa year?

The ABC needs an independentBoard committed to public service broadcasting

Yes, the ABC needs more money.The $66 million taken away by theCoalition needs to be re s t o re d , andthe ABC needs additional funding toparticipate effectively in new medialike the Internet. But something alsohas to be done about the Board andthe Managing Director. The practiceof filling the Board with politicalcronies of the government of theday has to stop. The ABC needs anindependent Board committed topublic service broadcasting, and aBoard capable of exercising effectivecorporate governance.

Asset stripping at the ABCUnderfunding cuts to the heart of the national broadcaster

The Story of Australian Story

Australian Story is one of theABC's few remaining fully fundeddocumentary program series pro-duced in-house . This is a docu-mentary series that fits the ABCCharter like a glove, a program thatbrings inspiration and unity to ourcommunity with its uplifting storiesof real people - with no fundingc o m p romise or bought-in pro g r a m s .

An ABC memo announced inearly April that 101 positions in areassuch as the sound and videotapelibraries and document archiveswould be cut to 71.

Management says that therestructure is to streamline thearchives and library as part of thetransfer of television studios fromGore Hill to Ultimo.

“We’re ensuring the library is setup as effectively and efficiently aspossible for a converging mediaenvironment going forward.” ABC’sdirector of content rights manage-ment, Robyn Watts.

But staff remained unconvinced.Dr Jane Connors, executive produc-er of the social history unit at RadioNational, said there had been noconsultation with staff who workedin the archives or those who referredto them. “The archives are so signifi-cant to the ABC one would expectviews to be widely canvassed beforethis announcement was made,” shesaid.

Dr Connors said the ABC’sarchives dated back to the 19thcentury. “We have the rarest andmost valuable material about everyaspect of Australian life and thereare gems and treasures all the waythrough it. There is the sound ofAustralia in the 20th century in thatarchive. I am horrified this decisionwill jeopardise the access of thepublic to this collection.”

The national preservation co-ordinator for ABC TV, Ms CaitlinHickie, said the changes weresevere.

“There will be no preservationsection as such in the new structure,there will be a couple of positionsresponsible for the collection’s devel-opment and selection.”

CYNTHIA BANHAM SMH 16/4/01

In the limited space of just twoweeks, Radio National received7,600 responses to its invitation tocomment on the network’s pro-grams. Recently appointed RN headMark Collier was reportedly over-whelmed by the response.

“The passion of listeners hasreally bowled me over,” he said. “Weare still reading and analysingresponses, but it seems a large pro-portion is from rural and regionalareas and letters came from truckdrivers, prisoners, people living incaravan parks, people in their 20s,retirees, solicitors, dentists, schoolteachers. That is significant as weare often accused of catering to anelite audience.”

Programs that were singled outfor mention were: BackgroundBriefing, Australia Talks Back, LifeMatters, The Science Show, LateNight Live, The Comfort Zone andthe newly introduced Saturday NightDrama.

Gladys apologises for theabsence of her column in thisissue. It isn’t just that she can’tfind much humour in the news atpresent - She will return!

Page 13

Cuts to staff in ABClibrary and archives

Telling our storiesAt the end of our invigorating

national conference in Adelaide,chairperson Penny Wright suggest-ed an activity which was to remindus why we have, most of us, spentso many years of our lives fightingfor the integrity of this uniqueorganisation. Penny asked every-one to spend a few minutes shar-ing with the group why they felt sostrongly.

Everyone had their own storyof programs that had closelytouched their own lives. One of uscame close to tears as shedescribed Radio National as partof her family.

It seemed we have all beenwith the ABC since childhood orarriving in Australia, but no-onecould match Peter Shorne whorecalls listening in 1932 and creditshis education to the ABC. Adampraised JJJ with Heywire andUnearthed and spoke of how theyconnect with people of his genera-tion.

‘Constant friend and compan-ion’, ‘deeply moving story’: thesewords came up time and timeagain. Some recollections were ofstories heard years before. Ourchairperson confessed to havingno less than 13 radios around thehouse, all tuned to the ABC.

If our representatives inParliament could have listened into this session they might begin tounderstand the passion that peo-ple feel for the organisation they,the MPs, have no compunction inrunning down.

The ABC tells our stories. Itunites and defines us as a people.As the Charter puts it: its functionis [to broadcast] programs] thatcontribute to a sense of nationalidentity, to inform and entertain,and reflect the cultural diversity ofthe Australian community.

Which it does, when it isallowed to, brilliantly.

We love our Radio NationalOverwhelming Responseof 7,600 in two weeks

Cartoon courtesy Tandberg

BACKGROUND BRIEFING is published byFriends of the ABC Australia. Editor Joan LaingPhone and fax: 08 8271 0751j l a i n g @ s e n e t . c o m . a uP.O. Box 7158, Hutt St, Adelaide 5000

All opinions expressed in BACKGROUND BRIEFING do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends of the ABCA u s t r a l i a .

Material may be freely quoted or re p roduced from thisnewsletter provided the source is acknowledged.

update Print Post Approved PP 245059/00002

Update is published four times a year by Friends of the ABC NSW,P.O. Box 1391, North Sydney 2059. Phone 9960 5542. Fax 9960 5767

w w w. f a b c . o r g . a u / n s wOpinions in the newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of

the executive committee of the Friends of the ABC (NSW) Inc. Update goes to all members of FABC (NSW) Inc., as part of the

membership fee. Update is also supplied to journ a l i s t s , politicians and libraries

across Australia. It is produced and edited in Sydney but contribu-tions are welcome from NSW country and interstate branches.

Material may be freely quoted or re p roduced from the newsletterp rovided the source is acknowledged and reproduction is sent toFABC’s President and Editor, Penelope Toltz.

FABC UpdatePost The Editor

C/–FABC UpdatePO Box 1391North Sydney NSW 2059

Facsimile 9660 5767Email fabcnsw@optusnet.auweb www.fabc.org.au/nsw

Attempts to Control ABC toBecome More Ruthless

As the existing political system c o m e sunder pre s s u re the attempts to control the roleof the ABC will become more ruthless.

In my view the strategic importance of theABC to developing Australia’s representativedemocracy is so high that I would be comfort-able with the role of the ABC being the o n l yissue at the next Federal election.

PETER BRAIN, Deakin Lecture, 15/5/01

Dramatic departureThe ABC has confirmed the departure of

Tony Virgo as its head of drama. Virgo replacedSue Masters when she left for Ten last year.Virgo is reported as saying “It has been adelightful experience working with the ABCdeveloping quality drama.”

Daily Telegraph 19/4/01

Page 14

Visit us at www.fabc.org.au/nsw or www.fabc.org.auCurrent and past Update incorporating Background Briefing canbe accessed at our website along with other current information. Links on this website will take you to all state sites.

FABC (NSW) Inc. Executive Committee

President- Penelope Toltz Phone: 9960 5542 Fax 9960 5767

Treasurer- Peter Burke Phone 9144 2668 email peter@triode.net.au

Secretary- Scott Campbell Phone 9498 7727

Membership Secretary- Dev and Faith Webber Phone 9990 0600

STOP PRESSDirector of Television, Gail Jarvis, has

resigned after just 9 months in the job. MsJarvis is the fifth of Jonathan Shier’s seniorhand-picked appointments, to resign suddenly.

Darce Cassidy in his press release said:“The responsibility for this turmoil lies with theManaging Director and the ABC Board. TheABC Board should urgently investigate whetheror not the Managing Director is capable ofselecting and maintaining an effective manage-ment team.” 3/6/01

WRITE TO THE ABC NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCILThe role of the Council, under Section 11 of the ABC

Act, is to 'either on its own initiative or at the request ofthe Board, to furnish advice to the Board on matters relat-ing to broadcasting programs and television programs ofthe Corporation.’

National Advisory Councilc/o Manager Government and Community AffairsBox 9994 GPO Sydney 2001Phone 02) 9333 5310Fax 02) 9333 5305 E-mail: nac@your.abc.net.au Or visit their wesite:http://www.abc.net.au/corp/nac/default.htm

The FABC have been tryingto establish a CampaignCommittee in each of the 27Federal Electorates in NSWwhich have, up to now,depended on second prefer-ence votes.

So far, we have found oneor more members is each ofthese electorates (exceptGreenway) who are willing toinitiate a Campaign Committee.Our next step was to write toevery one of our members inthe electorate and ask thosemembers to give their contactdetails to the volunteerCampaign Committee Initiators.

The first task we are askingthese c'tees to undertake, is toorganise a deputation to theirlocal member of Parliament tolobby for the independence andfunding, etc., of the ABC.

So far, there has been agood response from memberswho have made themselvesknown.

A special Kit has been pre-pared to help with the organisa-tion of the deputation and sub-sequent tasks, such as publicis-ing the MPs response, and fur-ther lobbying of all significantcandidates in the electorates.

The Kit will be sent shortly.The preparation of this Kit hasbeen delayed while we gatherthe best arguments, informationand nationally agreed upondemands.

The electorates we havechosen to target at this stageare; Banks, Barton, Charlton,Hume, Hughes, Gwydir,Cowper, Calare, Bennelong,

Greenway, Parramatta, Gilmore,Page, Robertson, Lowe,Paterson, Dobell, Eden-Monaro,Wentworth, Newcastle,Macarthur, Richmond, Parkes,New England, and .Lindsay

An Electoral CampaignSub-committee has beenformed of people who have vol-unteered to act as liaisonbetween the activists in eachelectorate and the FABCManagement Committee.

They will act as mentorsand look after their electoratesby being available for help andinformation, etc.

Overall, we feel that theFABC is having a very powerfulimpact on the political situationand has put the ABC on theagenda as an electoral issue,which it most certainly was notearly this year. However muchremains to be done and every-body's effort counts enormously.

Irenie Rennie.

Gov’t. insider revealsrelentless attacks towear down the ABC

The ABC was a frequent targetfor funding cuts because it wasregarded as ‘troublesome’, a formergovernment insider has revealed.Greg Barnes, former chief of stafffor Finance Minister John Fahey,said governments ‘did over’ theABC because of its forthright report-ing. The result was self-censoring.

“It's not because they regardthem as being left wing or rightwing, they simply regard them asbeing troublesome. I sat in theExpenditure Review Committee.Why do governments cut the ABC?Because they don't think they selfcensor enough. They think that thisis our big chance, we've been wait-ing to do over this organisation,unlike Australia Post it actually sayssomething and has views, and let'sdo it.” Mr Barnes was speaking on aLate Night Live forum on bias in theABC.

“And I think that's the real issuehere. The issue about self-censor-ship is to some extent right buteverybody does that in news organi-sations. So I don't think the ABC isimmune from that. But I think thereal issue is the fact that you do geta little bit of cowering and you'recurrently getting it because relent-less attacks by Ministers in theGovernment and Board members ofthe ABC eventually wears youdown. That's the real issue.”

Rick Wallace Herald Sun 15/5/01

Perhaps the ABC should con-sider a new reality TV show - a kindof Survivor meets Media Watch.Viewers could vote in who nextshould leave the executive ranks ofthe national broadcaster and in whatmanner they should be drummedout of the Ultimo headquarters. Itwould not lack dramatic edge.

Anne Davies SMH 22/2./01

Friends Campaign Committees up and runningTargeting 27 second preference vulnerable electorates

Page 15

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