ABC operations

Television ABC
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Don’t know why BJT2 had Australian Story on the list of Sydney-based productions, but I’ve since adjusted the scorecard accordingly! :slight_smile:

I’d probably guess that it’s easier for more feature-y or less time sensitive programs to be based outside one of the major centres, compared to something more topical like 7.30 or Four Corners which probably works best if based in a more news intensive city like Sydney, Melbourne or Canberra.

Don’t know if this is still the case with the channel now ABC ME, but didn’t ABC Melbourne produce a fair bit of ABC3 programming back in the day? I know Behind The News has always been in Adelaide though.

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If the BBC can move major shows out of London, little old ABC can do the same.

It was a mistake to base the news channel in Sydney. Should have been Melbourne (not Brisbane because of daylight savings) and I’d love to see 7:30 and MediaWatch moved out of Sydney. Shows like RN Breakfast/Drive, AM-TWT-PM, 7:30 etc should also have to do a certain number of shows in the smaller states/regional Australia too.

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Re, the news channel: Surely most major cities could have a role in keeping it on-air ​at different times of day?

For instance: You probably wouldn’t run the news channel out of Perth 24/7, but due to the time difference it’s a good location for later evening hours to be presented - or during the late afternoon/early evening while Sydney and Melbourne are busy preparing for their 7pm news bulletins.

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ABC Statement on Louise Milligan and Andrew Laming

The defamation claim brought against Louise Milligan by Andrew Laming has been settled. Resolving the claim avoids a potentially protracted and costly legal action.

In March, Ms Milligan in good faith published several Twitter posts regarding Dr Laming. One of those posts contained an honest error that had been widely reported by numerous other journalists and politicians on social and mass media. The ABC is not aware of legal proceedings in relation to statements or reporting by others.

The error concerned the circumstances in which Dr Laming took a photograph.

In June Ms Milligan deleted the tweets and posted a substantial statement correcting the record.

As previously stated, the ABC decided to pay Ms Milligan’s costs in this matter, a decision arising from particular and exceptional circumstances.

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ABC Darwin celebrated its 50th birthday on Friday, August 13.

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Response to Sophie Elsworth and The Australian

Sophie Elsworth in today’s The Australian has published a story claiming ABC Chair Ita Buttrose has threatened to protest against Sydney’s COVID lockdown.

The story fails to provide proper context and the ABC’s response is not included until the very final paragraphs, although Elsworth was provided the response while she was writing the story. Elsworth also chose not to publish the full response – omitting the important final paragraph.

Here are the questions put by Elsworth and the ABC’s response – in full, this time.

Statement from ABC Chair Ita Buttrose AC OBE to The Australian

Last week I delivered a 45-minute keynote address to the Australian HR Institute (AHRI) Public Sector Conference.

In that speech I spoke about the very serious issues we face due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I also made some light-hearted remarks to lighten the mood. They were delivered with a smile and were received by the audience with the humour they were intended.

To suggest otherwise is dishonest on your part and disingenuous to your readers. In fact I can only surmise you are motivated by malice to present my comments as anything other than levity and humour during this challenging time.

Questions from Sophie Elsworth/The Australian

ABC chair Ita Buttrose gave a speech at the AHRI virtual conference this week. In her speech she outlined that if lockdowns continued until the end of the year it would be unbearable and she would have to protest. She also spoke about how she discussed the proposition of an ABC doggy day care with former legal counsel Connie Carnabuci. Can you please assist below.

– Should the ABC’s chair be offering her views on sensitive political matters including lockdowns?

– Does this comprise the impartiality of the ABC chair’s position?

– Is the ABC still considering implementing doggy day care facilities as Ms Buttrose discussed?

– Is this appropriate for Ms Buttrose to be putting forward the idea of a doggy day care facility in the middle of a pandemic?

– Would doggy day care be available to all staff at all locations? Can you please assist with further details of how it would work.

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ABC announces recipients of Pathways Strategy to support screen careers of people with disability

The ABC and Bus Stop Films have announced the recipients of the inaugural Pathways Strategy to develop the careers of people with disability in the Australian screen industry.

Emerging filmmakers Sarah Armstrong and Blaise Borrer will work as production assistants with ABC content teams and production companies Fremantle Australia and Flying Bark Productions over a 12-month period, which will help them build skills and expertise across content development, filming and post-production.

The ABC will fund the appointments, which start this month, in line with its support for emerging creatives. Bus Stop Films, a not-for-profit organisation that opens pathways to education and employment in the screen industry for people with disabilities, has provided Inclusion in Action training to the respective production teams as part of the Pathways Strategy, which was launched at the Screen Forever conference in February.

Michael Carrington, ABC Director Entertainment & Specialist, said: “People with disability often face obstacles to employment in the Australian screen industry. The Pathways Strategy is helping to clear the way by providing opportunity, access and expertise to emerging production talent.

“We look forward to working with Sarah and Blaise as part of the ABC’s commitment to greater inclusion, on and off screen, and are proud to help them along the path to flourishing creative careers.”

Sydney-based writer, actress and filmmaker Sarah Armstrong’s credits include her films My Past and Now My Future and My Place in Your Place. “My dream is coming alive to be on the teams at Fremantle Australia and the ABC,” she said. “I cannot wait to meet and work with them.”

Blaise Borrer, a recent graduate of the Australian Film Television and Radio School, started his career creating short films in his hometown of Bellingen, in northern NSW. More recently, he worked as a script supervisor on ABC Kids’ show Lah-Lah’s Stripy Sock Club. “I’m honoured to be selected as part of the Pathways Strategy,” he said. “I’m incredibly passionate about children’s content, so I’m thrilled to get the opportunity to work with leaders in that area in Flying Bark Productions and the ABC.”

Tracey Corbin-Matchett, CEO of Bus Stop Films, said: “It’s been an honour to work with the teams at the ABC, Fremantle and Flying Bark, to ensure they feel confident and culturally aware in supporting their new Pathways interns and others living with disability, in their workplaces…I wish Sarah and Blaise all the best with their amazing new roles.”

Amanda Regetas, Head of Human Resources at Fremantle Australia, said: “We are beyond excited to be working with Bus Stop Films and the ABC on such a fantastic opportunity. Initiatives such as the Pathways Strategy will provide a meaningful opportunity and, I hope, form the basis for an ongoing screen career. The calibre of candidates was exceptional and we are thrilled to welcome Sarah to the team.”

Barbara Stephen, chief executive of Flying Bark Productions, said: “At Flying Bark we believe in an inclusive workplace and the power of diverse thinking for reaching and connecting with our audience, which is why we are proud to partner with the ABC on this fabulous program.”

The Pathways Strategy is in line with the ABC’s commitment under its Five-Year Plan 2020-25 to look and sound like contemporary Australia. The strategy is supported by the ABC’s Diversity & Inclusion Commissioning Guidelines – Screen Content and Diversity & Inclusion Plan 2019-2022.

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ABC partners with Siren Sport to promote women’s voices

The ABC is proud to announce a new partnership with Siren Sport which will see us work together to advance the coverage of Australian women in sport.

Siren Sport is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to elevate women’s voices, as well as those from diverse and marginalised groups, in Australia’s sports media.

Over the next 12 months the partnership will provide opportunities for experienced and emerging sport writers to have stories published on the ABC Sport website.

“We are thrilled to be able to partner with our national broadcaster to continue to build on our work championing women in sport and add more to the ABC’s already great women’s sports coverage,” said Siren co-founder Danielle Warby.

“Together, we’re giving women in sport the visibility they deserve. This partnership with ABC Sport empowers us to continue our work and connect with a broader audience, which is really exciting.”

ABC Sport committed to the 50:50 Equality Project at the beginning of 2020 with the goal of growing our female audience by producing more sport stories targeted to women, as well as achieving equal gender representation across our content.

“We’ve made great strides in our coverage of women in sport over the past two years and this partnership with Siren will greatly complement that work,” said ABC Sport Editor James Coventry.

“Our audience can only benefit from the variety of perspectives that Siren’s writers will bring to our coverage.”

The partnership will also include a program aimed at developing emerging writers from diverse backgrounds.

“ABC Sport is as passionate as we are to create pathways in sports media and we are excited to continue this work, together,” said Warby.

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Across ABC News, women make up 59 per cent of the editorial staff (journalists and producers) but there’s a significant shortage of women working in the news operations area and just 10 per cent of field camera operators are women.

It’s a deficit the organisation is trying to fix.

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EDIT: statement from the ABC

An independent external review of EXPOSED: The Ghost Train Series has found the program performed “an important public service”.

Conducted by Chris Masters and Rod Tiffen, and commissioned by the ABC, the review says EXPOSED “brings to life a major tragedy in Sydney’s history. It brings together more than five dozen on-camera interviews and scours through a huge amount of documentary research on official transcripts and reports.

“This is a depth and breadth of research that very few television series achieve, and the result is much fresh, revealing and important material. Since its broadcast, there have been responses by the coroner and by the police, who are now offering a reward for information about the fire, and widespread calls in parliament and elsewhere for a new inquiry.”

The review contains a critical opinion about one aspect of EXPOSED – an historical allegation regarding former NSW Premier Neville Wran, to which ABC News has responded.

The ABC commissions external reviews from respected practitioners and subject specialists as an educative tool – because we strive to meet the highest standards. The ABC always looks for ways content can be better and values the insights of external reviewers.

External reviews are qualitative reviews, not compliance reviews or audits. Audience & Consumer Affairs investigated EXPOSED, including a complaint regarding Mr Wran, and found there was no breach of editorial standards.

EXPOSED focuses on the tragic deaths of six young boys and one man, who was the father of two of the boys; the involvement of corrupt senior NSW Police in the original investigation; and the inadequacies of the investigation that followed. It also conveys calls from families of the victims, as well as witnesses, magistrates, former investigators and judicial figures, for a fresh inquiry into the tragedy.

The review ultimately concludes that: “The program makers uncovered much suspicious evidence around arson being the cause of the fire, exposed the incompetence of the police investigation, reported on the inadequacies of earlier investigations, revealed the way policy making by the NSW government benefited Saffron, and the corrupt circle of influence around Saffron. They mounted a compelling case for a new investigation.”

Following the meticulous investigative reporting by the EXPOSED team, an application seeking a fresh inquest into the Ghost Train fire was made to the NSW coroner; a majority of the Upper House of the NSW Parliament voted in support of an independent special commission of inquiry; the NSW Police Unsolved Homicide Squad set up Strike Force Sedgeman to investigate the cause and origin of the fire at the direction of the Coroner; and NSW Police offered a $1 million reward for new information regarding the fire.

The ABC is proud of EXPOSED: The Ghost Train Fire series and the talented, diligent and hard-working team of journalists who made it.

The ABC thanks Chris Masters and Rod Tiffen for their work.

The review and the ABC News response are published here.

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News shooting is just point and shoot, there are thankfully heaps of women in features and scripted doing camera these days.

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ABC News director Gaven Morris denied the program asserted Wran’s guilt.

“ABC News doesn’t accept the reviewers’ opinion that the graphic was misleading,” Morris said. “The series did not purport to have proven the allegation. The review does not question the decision to include any of that material in the series but contends that viewers would have been left with the impression that the program was asserting Mr Wran’s guilt. That was not the program’s intention or assertion.”

Full response

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Actor John Bell to put Shakespeare centre stage in ABC Boyer Lectures

Acclaimed Australian actor and theatre director John Bell AO OBE will set the stage for William Shakespeare’s lessons on life and leadership in the 21st century in this year’s ABC Boyer Lectures.

Bell’s lecture series titled “Shakespeare: Soul of the Age”, to be broadcast on ABC Radio National from 7 November, will examine how the Bard’s life and works have profound relevance to contemporary issues, such as political self-interest, gender inequality and the growing need for good governance.

Shakespeare’s plays shine a spotlight on the perils of poor leadership around the world today, from political populism and slogans to the “chaotic presidency” of Donald Trump, Bell said.

“Through this year’s ABC Boyer Lectures, I want to encourage more engagement with Shakespeare, who continues to have a profound effect on the ways we think, speak and see the world, even when we don’t realise it,” he said.

“In Hamlet, Shakespeare says that the purpose of theatre is to hold ‘the mirror up to nature’. In the same way, I want to use his plays to reflect and comment on the world around us – the age and body of our time.”

More details.

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Correcting Sophie Elsworth, The Australian and the IPA

On Monday The Australian published a story by media writer Sophie Elsworth under the headline “ABC discusses News Corp and Murdoch 1700 times in just 30 days”

It claimed: “Analysis by the Institute of Public Affairs (using) media monitoring data for the period from August 1 through to August 30” showed “the public broadcaster (mentioned) ‘News Corp’ or ‘Murdoch’ more than 56 times a day”.

However, when ABC journalist Jamie Travers obtained the raw media monitoring data from the IPA, it showed a very different story to Elsworth’s.

There were nowhere near 1700 unique relevant mentions of “News Corp” or “Murdoch” on ABC platforms during the 30 days. In fact, the real number was probably less than 10% of that figure. These mentions related to four main stories: YouTube banning News Corp-owned Sky News Australia from uploading content for seven days; a story about News Corp papers publishing daily court lists; News Corp making changes in its print mastheads; and the two-part Four Corners special investigation into Fox News, “Fox & the Big Lie“.

Looking at the raw data, two basic errors in the interpretation by The Australian and the IPA are easy to spot.

First, they count one mention of their search terms (“Murdoch” and “News Corp”) in one program that is heard in multiple markets as being multiple mentions. For example, one night it seems a listener called Peter rang into national late-night radio show Nightlife and referenced a report in “the Murdoch paper today”. Because Nightlife is heard across Australia, The Australian and the IPA counted Peter’s comment as being more than 50 separate mentions.

This approach is not statistically valid.

Secondly, simply counting how many times the words “Murdoch” or “News Corp” are used is meaningless. A quick look shows the mentions counted by The Australian include:

  • Mentions of chef Lauren Murdoch (one 4 August radio interview was counted as being 17 separate mentions) and various other people with the surname “Murdoch” (eg Lindsay Murdoch, Peter Murdoch, Brent Murdoch, Roger Murdoch, Jordan Murdoch)
  • Mentions of the News Corp shareprice in stockmarket reports. Just one of these, on 6 August (“The best performers today include News Corp after it delivered a strong full-year profit”) was counted as being 13 separate mentions
  • Mentions of Murdoch University and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
  • Mentions of News Corp journalists whose work was being quoted
  • Mentions of stories in News Corp papers that are being quoted
  • Mentions of News Corp papers during wraps of the morning media

In fact The Australian has even included traffic reports as multiple instances of the ABC “discussing Murdoch”.

The Australian’s story is false, misleading and frankly ridiculous. The ABC has sought a correction from The Australian.

And drivers should be careful of traffic conditions in Murdoch St, Cremorne, and Murdoch Road, South Morang.