ABC NewsRadio is simulcasting ABC News Channel (TV) this evening due to the Bondi tragedy.
3PNN off in Ballarat, backup tape with looped apology message on 94.3. No sign of issues with ABC Local or Triple J which are sited elsewhere.
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News Radioâs first broadcast of federal parliament for 2026 begins tomorrow (Monday) as both houses have been recalled early to debate and vote on the new gun reform and hate speech bills.
This is something that Iâve noticed on News Radio and across all ABC news bulletins on all networks. Why canât they dampen or reduce the noise from the clicking of mice - it sounds rather distracting. To me, it sounds unprofessional.
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What is also rather unprofessional and outright annoying is their âlistenâ site, everytime a search is done, just get empty pages. They use to put almost every interview they aired on abc newsradio up. Scott Wales had a great interview this afternoon with John Blackburn about the energy crisis engulfing the world. When looking this up, just got another blank page. Yes ABC, I only heard half the interview, would really appreciate if these interviews could be posted.
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Another issue i have with news radio is their inconsistency in the evenings. Some days they go right up until 9PM with local programming, sometimes itâs straight after PM at 6:30 and itâs the World Service. They wouldnât dare do this to the News Channel, why do they do it with the radio?
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Iâve been listening to NewsRadio since the old PNN days back in the late â90s, so Iâve seen (and heard) it evolve over a long period of time. Unfortunately, the impact of recent cost-cutting measures is becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
There was a time when NewsRadio had a much stronger sense of identity and local presence. From early morning right through to midnight, there was a solid lineup of locally produced content, with presenters who felt connected to the audience and the stories they were covering. It gave the station a distinctly Australian voice, even while carrying international programming.
The online side of things reflected that as well. Presenter profiles on the website meant you could actually put a face to the voices you were hearing every day, which helped build a sense of familiarity and trust. There was also a clear and detailed broadcast schedule, so you always knew when programs like All Things Considered were airing. It made it much easier to plan your listening and stay engaged with the content you enjoyed.
Weekends, too, felt more curated and less reliant on extended blocks of long-form programming. There was greater variety and a better balance, rather than leaning so heavily on programs like The Health Report to fill large chunks of airtime.
All of these changes on their own might seem small, but taken together theyâve noticeably diminished the overall listening experience. What was once a well-rounded, locally anchored service now feels a bit thinner and less connected to its audience.
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I completely agree! They used to even have their own website that had that schedule! I need to lodge a complain about the lack of schedule detail. They would never have the schedule for the News Channel just say âcontinuous newsâ. It also is patently false because on weekends they repeat Radio National programs so it is not always news!
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I get that the nature of newsradio means that the schedule can change at the drop of a hat - Thatâs part and parcel of a news service. but at least 90% of the time they run to a fixed schedule and this should be available online. my feeling is that its been removed to hide how much long form programming they take and how little of the old rolling news format is in the schedule
I mean they can change the tv news channel schedule at the drop of the hat and the app and radio station website for all other abc stations have dynamic schedules that can change, itâs a deliberate choice. I also think itâs to hide how much World Service Content they are broadcasting instead of local abc programming. Iâm going to do it, Iâll send a complaint in and I encourage everyone else to do so!
Not true. The decline in quality has been across the board.
As late as nine years ago (to stay on topic, using NR as an example), you could toggle the schedules between analogue and digital.
Now the LR schedule is fixed and never reflect analogue sports coverage, and NR has refused to publish schedules at all since winter 2017. There we go.
BBC is carried on NR between 9pm (weekdays)/6pm (weekends) and 6am.
I was talking about other abc stations like Radio national and local radio:
For example two weeks ago on Tuesday the RN schedule did not have Critics corner after By Design, and now they have inserted it. (see two screenshots to compare.
So my point was that if all other ABC stations can do it, then News Radio should be doing it.
News Radio carries the BBC World Service regularly, but the difference today is you get to listen to the BBCâs TOH âbillboardâ between :00:00 and :01:00 each hour. They run a couple of promos and tease the upcoming program in this slot, and then the TOH News runs from :01:00 to :06:00 with an optional opt-out at :04:00.
Normally ABC NR replaces this slot from :00:00 to :06:00 with national news and weather before joining the start of the BBC WS program.
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Problems today? Simulcasting news channel this arvo.
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Looks like Afternoon Briefing is now being simulcasted on NewsRadio
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Why theyâre doing it, Iâll never know. Adds nothing.
At least the program is better suited for radio (due to it just being interviews) than when they simulcast the standard news channel bulletins which arenât exactly radio friendly at times with references to visual graphics, etc, that listeners canât see.
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When would the Parliament Broadcasting Act be amended to prevent the need for 6PB (News Radio) to continue on 585?