Rick Kalowski departs as ABC Head of Comedy
ABC Head of Comedy Rick Kalowski is departing the public broadcaster after more than six years working across acclaimed programs such as Utopia, Rosehaven, The Letdown, Get Krack!n, Frayed, Please Like Me, Upper Middle Bogan, Ronny Chieng: International Student, The Moodys and The Katering Show .
Rickâs output since joining the ABC in 2013 has numbered some 80 titles across scripted comedy series, pilots, digital shorts and podcasts. His dedication to distinctive Australian content culminated in a record 18 nominations for ABC scripted comedy at the 2019 AACTA Awards â including a first time clean sweep of all nominations in the Best Television Comedy Series and Best Television Comedy Performance categories.
Rick has chosen to leave the ABC in February 2020 to take on new career opportunities in the Australian and global screen industry. He said: âBeing ABC Head of Comedy has been the great honour of my professional life. To work with some of the most brilliant comedy minds in the world, to help nurture the careers of new comedy talent of every background, has changed me not just as a creative but as a person.
âDepartures are never easy. But after the banner year ABC scripted comedy has enjoyed with audiences and awards, the time felt right for new challenges (and some sleep). I will dearly miss my ABC colleagues and wish them every success.â
Michael Carrington, ABC Director of Entertainment and Specialist, said: âRick has a lot to be proud of. His dedication, drive and sheer force of will have delivered outstanding Australian comedy content to our audiences, winning plaudits here and overseas for the strength and diversity of our programs. He has helped Australians laugh more, which is no mean thing. He leaves ABC Comedy in great shape for the future and we wish him well.â
Sally Riley, ABC Head of Drama, Comedy and Indigenous, said: âRickâs commitment to remarkable Australian content is boundless. He has helped lift ABC Comedy to great heights, cementing our reputation as the home of âkrack!nâ comedies and creativity. His passion for supporting emerging and diverse talent has seen a whole new generation of Australian comedians and creatives shine on the local and international stage. His hard work and unbridled enthusiasm for making people laugh will be sorely missed.â
During Rickâs tenure as Head of Comedy, ABC scripted comedies have won multiple awards in Australia and overseas, including, most recently, the 2019 AACTA Award for Best Comedy Program for The Letdown and an International Emmy Award nomination for Indigenous drama/comedy Wrong Kind of Black.
Rick has worked with producers and with media companies such as Netflix, Amazon, Sky (UK), Google, Comedy Central (US), Participant Media (US), NBCU, AMC/Sundance and the BBC, to greatly expand international investment in ABC scripted comedy.
He also drove significant growth in the development and production of ABC scripted comedies in regional areas outside Sydney and Melbourne, and helped foster the next generation of Australian comic talent through initiatives such as the ABC Comedy Showroom pilot season and the creation of a dedicated comedy podcast team with ABC Audio Studios.
The ABC will announce the appointment of a new Head of Comedy in 2020.
Nicole Sheffield to Lead ABC Advisory Council
ABC Chair Ita Buttrose AC OBE has announced that Nicole Sheffield has been appointed to lead the ABC Advisory Council. Ms Sheffield is Executive General Manager, Community & Consumer at Australia Post and will chair the ABC Advisory Council in a part-time capacity.
Ms Buttrose said, âAs the national broadcaster, it is vital that the ABC reflects and listens to the Australian public. Nicoleâs passion for consumer interests will ensure that the Advisory Council is an effective advocate for the ABCâs diverse audiences. Under her leadership the Council will serve as an important conduit between the ABC Board and the Australian community.
Nicoleâs extensive knowledge of the media and digital technologies, most recently at News Corp, and her experience at Australia Post building strong connections with regional communities will stand her in good stead understanding the needs and expectations of the ABC audience.â
Ms Buttrose thanked the outgoing Chair, Professor Emeritus Andrea Hull AO, for her commitment to public broadcasting and substantial contribution to the Council over the last five years. Ms Buttrose also acknowledged retiring members Fiona Duggan and Sam Almaliki for their valued participation on the Council. New Council members will be announced in the near future and the Council will convene for its first meeting of 2020 in March.
ABC Advisory Council
Established under the ABC Act 1983, the role of the ABC Advisory Council is, either on its own initiative or at the request of the Board, to advise the Board on matters relating to the Corporationâs broadcasting programs.
Nicole Sheffield bio
Nicole Sheffield is a highly accomplished senior executive with extensive experience in the media, marketing and digital industries. In her role at Australia Post, Nicole is accountable for delivering key customer channels, including Australiaâs largest retail network with over 4,300 post offices, the customer contact centre and digital channels. She is also responsible for brand, marketing, community and corporate responsibility. Prior to joining Australia Post, Nicole held a number of influential leadership roles in print, broadcast and digital media. Most recently, she was the Chief Digital Officer for News Corp Australia, responsible for the companyâs digital revenue growth and strategy, audience and subscription growth, content optimisation and marketing. Her career also spans roles in broadcast media, publishing and telecommunications. Ms Sheffield holds a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Law from Macquarie University and a Masters of Business from the University of Technology Sydney.
ABC Learn English reaches 5 million followers
The Australian Broadcasting Corporationâs largest Facebook community, ABC Education Learn English, has topped 5 million followers, confirming its status as one of the worldâs most popular English-language learning programs.
The free service, launched in 2010, provides audio and video resources and tips to people in more than 90 countries across every continent who are learning English as a second language, including series such as English on the Go and Everyday English.
To celebrate the 5 million-milestone, ABC Learn English today launched a series of English-language videos called Life Chat, to help people navigate everyday tasks such as staying healthy or getting a refund.
Head of ABC Education Annabel Astbury said the ABCâs English-language services had built connections between Australia and millions of people worldwide over the past 80 years. âThe ABC has a strong commitment to growing meaningful engagement with our neighbours, who are curious about Australia, Australian stories and learning âAustralianâ English.
âThank you to every one of our 5 million-plus Facebook followers, including many English-language teachers in Australia, for your love of learning and generosity to other members of this growing community.â
The ABC Education Learn English Facebook page is supported by the Learn English website and resources on Twitter, YouTube, ABC iview and on ABC Australia internationally. ABC Learn Englishâs Facebook users are from all over the world, including India, Vietnam, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Syria, Columbia and Australia. Three-quarters of Learn Englishâs followers are aged between 18 and 34.
From tonightâs Media Watch:
The IPA have done a bloody good job of stifling the ability for people to criticize or critique the ABC without being considered âright wingâ
Why the ABC even gives this shit airtime is baffling
The cumulative audience for ABC Radio in Sydney across the week is 2.3 million people, according the last radio ratings for 2019. Thatâs not too bad. They wouldnât listen if they didnât trust the ABC, I think.
Agreed.
While the ABC certainly isnât without their issues (coverage of Sport and other live special events such as NYE is an area that probably should be left to commercial broadcasters, on television at least anyway), for the most part I think they actually would be regarded as being the countryâs most trusted broadcaster by a majority of the population.
BBC has all but moved to Manchester
Channel 4 is now HQâd in Leeds
Maybe itâs not a terrible idea
I wouldnât say the BBC has âall but moved to Manchesterâ. The bulk of national operations is still done at Broadcasting House in London.
I thought Ultimo was already purpose-built for the ABC?
Iâm not opposed to a move but you wouldnât get much change from $330M to buy land, build new facilities and relocate out to Parramatta or anywhere in Sydney these days. A leasing model (like Nine) would not be appropriate given the partisan hostility that the ABC has faced in recent years, it takes away yet more of their already limited financial certainty.
The ABCâs current facilities at Ultimo arenât even that old? TV only moved from Gore Hill to there in the Early 2000s, if Iâm not mistaken.
That rules out the model of sale then leaseback of Ultimo and Southbank premises.
ABCâs Ultimo facility had been there since 1991, in which it housed radio, which moved from Darlinghurst. As youâve mentioned, TV production moved from Gore Hill to Ultimo in January 2003.
If the ABC is reduced to only broadcasting niche content which no one wants to watch, that gives them even more ammunition to claim that the ABC should be defunded (âcoz no one watches it and they only show transgender unicorn communist art concerts, lolâ).
I think the ABC should be broadcasting more content that appeals to the masses, but they are obviously hampered by funding constraints. Which sucks.
Please. The ABC is only broadcasting NYE and soccer because no commercial networks want it.