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ABC partners with parkrun to promote healthy communities
The ABC is proud to announce a new partnership with parkrun to promote the benefits of an active lifestyle and community participation.
parkruns are free weekly community events held all around the world. In parks and open spaces across Australia 5km parkrun events are held on Saturdays and 2km junior parkruns for children aged four to 14 on Sundays.
The partnership will provide opportunities for ABC Sport to share stories from the more than 400 parkruns around Australia.
âLike parkrun, the ABC reaches all across Australia,â said parkrunâs Asia Pacific strategic director Tim Oberg.
âWeâre excited to tell the stories of the people and their communities.â
ABC Sport Editor James Coventry said the partnership would enable the ABC to work closely with communities across Australia.
âparkrun is a global phenomenon and a big part of its appeal is that anyone can be involved,â he said.
âAs Australia emerges from the pandemic itâs important for people to re-engage with physical activity and reconnect with their local communities. parkrun and the ABC can play an important role in that.â
ABC News Breakfast presenter Lisa Millar kicked off the partnership on the weekend with a piece about how parkrun has played a big part in her life.
Learn more about parkrun and find your local event by visiting the parkrun website.
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Correcting Sharri Markson and Remy Varga in The Australian
A story by Sharri Markson and Remy Varga in The Australian (6/4/2022) has described Zoe Daniel as an âABC independentâ and as an âABC journalist running as an independentâ in reporting on a letter Ms Daniel signed in 2021.
This is incorrect.
Zoe Daniel left the ABC in July 2020.
We have asked that the copy and the headline on the online story be transparently corrected.
Gosh what a surprise
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ABC celebrates opening of new Hervey Bay mini bureau
The ABCâs first-ever media bureau in Hervey Bay, serving the Fraser Coast region, was launched today as part of the corporationâs expansion of its regional and rural services.
Hervey Bay is one of 10 new sites established by the ABC across Australia, along with Charleville in South West Queensland, which was opened last month.
The ABC has recruited 55 regionally-based journalists as a result of commercial deals struck with Facebook and Google in November last year, following the passage of the Federal Governmentâs News Media Bargaining Code earlier in 2021. The 55 new roles have boosted numbers in existing ABC bureaux as well as establishing the 10 new bureaux, taking the number of ABC employees working outside capital cities to around 600.
The ABCâs new Hervey Bay reporters are Jake Kearnan and Lucy Loram, both of whom grew up in Central Queensland. They have previously worked for ABC Wide Bay as reporters in Bundaberg. Prior to that they honed their skills in other regional and metropolitan ABC locations including ABC North Qld, ABC Sunshine Coast, ABC Brisbane and ABC Capricornia.
ABCâs Wide Bay Chief of Staff, Scott Lamond, welcomed the new bureau to the region, saying it would give the ABC greater capacity to tell the unique stories of the Fraser Coast. âWeâve always loved telling yarns from this amazing region through the ABC Wide Bay team but now we can do it with journalists who are actually living and working in Hervey Bay,â he said.
The ABCâs Managing Director, David Anderson, said the opening of the ABCâs Hervey Bay mini bureau represented a significant boost to its regional services on the Fraser Coast. âWeâve always covered this region but having two journalists who live and work in Hervey Bay will mean we can provide a much broader range of stories from this important part of Queensland. I welcome journalists Jake Kearnan and Lucy Loram to our Fraser Coast team and look forward to hearing the local stories they uncover across all our broadcast platforms.â
The bureauâs opening was marked with a live Breakfast show broadcast from Scarness Jetty, introducing Jake and Lucy to local audiences and supported by the ABC Wide Bay team. The show also featured a live appearance by the ABCâs popular Gardening Australia presenter, Costa Georgiadis.
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Sustaining the Nation
National Farmersâ Federation Conference, Canberra (virtual presentation)
Ita Buttrose AC, OBE
ABC launches ABC Gamer: new YouTube channel dedicated to gaming
The ABC is thrilled to announce the launch of ABC Gamer , a new YouTube channel for established and emerging Australian voices in gaming.
ABC Gamer represents a new chapter for gaming content from the ABC, with a suite of fresh, funny and informative new formats joining refreshed archival videos from Good Game and Good Game: Spawn Point.
ABC Gamer will bring a revitalised perspective on gaming coverage in Australia, courtesy of an array of original programming dedicated to delivering the latest news, reviews and highlights from the world of video games.
In collaboration with triple j , new content series The Break Room will feature presenters Bryce Mills and Dave Woodhead as they take a seat on the couch and compete against the various bands, musicians and other guests who drop by to enjoy a cup of lukewarm cordial and play some games.
Weekly, youâll cop new eps of The Loot Drop â ABC Gamerâs take on gaming news, anchored by comedian Harry Jun . Expect salty opinions, insightful analysis, and jokes that sometimes land, along with all the latest gaming news and culture to start the week.
GGSP host Angharad âRadâ Yeo will bring her wealth of experience in games and tech media to the team, anchoring Play or Pass and Sweet Sixteen .
Play or Pass is ABC Gamerâs new online-only review series. Hook in for easily digestible, trustworthy game recommendations that will let you know if a new release is worth your clams.
In gameplay-driven series Sweet Sixteen , hear some hot takes and unedited riffing as Rad and the ABC Gamer team play through an uninterrupted sixteen minutes of a hotly anticipated new game. The best in watercooler chit-chat with gameplay from brand newies fed directly into your eyeballs.
Alongside the slate of new content, the channel will also regularly resurface all the best moments from ten years of ABCâs Good Game , and feature brand-new episodes of ABC MEâs Good Game Spawn Point (GGSP) every week.
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ABC Regional Storyteller Scholarship winners announced
The ABCâs 2022 Regional Storyteller Scholarship has been awarded to two content makers with disability from regional NSW and Queensland.
They are Jessica Horner from Wagga Wagga, NSW and Raven Cook from Cairns, Queensland.
The scholarship promotes emerging content makers with disability who live outside capital cities, helping them to challenge perceptions they face within the broader community, as well as break down unnecessary barriers. Each year it attracts applicants from across the country, pitching their creative ideas and telling their personal stories of what it is like living with disability in a regional community.
ABC Regional & Local Director, Judith Whelan, congratulated the winners and said she was looking forward to their contributions to the program, now in its fifth year.
âEach year we have seen some exceptional talent emerge and some exceptional storytelling produced, all of which have resonated strongly with our audiences.â
Ms Whelan said the two scholarship winners will work with various ABC teams over three months to develop their skills, produce content and gain valuable employment experience.
Jessica Horner said the scholarship presented a unique opportunity to learn and grow in the media space and to do so in a supported and stimulating environment.
âReceiving the Regional Storyteller Scholarship is an exciting opportunity to help create spaces where Autistic voices can be heard firsthand,â she said.
âAll too often Autistic adult narratives are rendered almost invisible in the media. It is my hope that through this scholarship I can contribute to the process of changing the Autistic narrative and contribute to what I hope can become a broader conversation, about the importance of Autistic voices being heard and understood more fully in society and in everyday life.â
Raven Cook said he applied for the scholarship because âI want to make a difference in the community.â
âThe Regional Storyteller Scholarship will enable me to create an audio series to give people with disability a chance to tell their story,â he said.
âI remember the first time someone wanted to hear my story, and what an impact that had on me. I want to help people in their journey and make people with disability feel valued and heard.â
Applications for 2023 will open later in the year. Emerging content makers with disability living in regional and rural Australia are encouraged to apply.
ABC searches for Australiaâs brightest emerging minds in 2022
The ABC has started the search for Australiaâs next generation of research talent across Science, the Humanities, and the Arts.
Applications for the 2022 intake for the ABC TOP 5 media residencies are now open.
The residencies enable emerging scholars to engage with the ABCâs expert communicators, so that the scholars can better share their research with all Australians.
The TOP 5 program is open to early-career PhD qualified researchers in science, in partnership with the Australian National University, and the humanities, in partnership with the University of Sydney.
The TOP 5 Arts scheme is in partnership with the University of Melbourne and the Australia Council for the Arts, with a focus on PhD scholars and graduate practitioners working in the areas of visual or performing arts, literature, screen, architecture and design.
Five successful applicants from each of the three fields will receive intensive two-week media training and practical experience in residence at either ABC Radio National in Sydney (Science & Humanities) or Melbourne (Arts), working alongside some of Australiaâs best journalists and broadcasters.
Cath Dwyer, Manager of ABC Radio National said âThe pandemic has made us all even more aware how vital clear, reliable accurate information is. Itâs also the core of what we do here at the ABC, and these media residencies are a chance for Arts, Humanities and Science scholars to become exceptional communicators â illuminating their important work to the broad community.
Given the tough times the Arts and University sectors have experienced, we are proud to be working with our project partners at the University of Melbourne, the Australia Council for the Arts, Australian National University and University of Sydney, and we look forward to being joined by another group of extraordinary researchers,â she said.
The 2021 TOP 5 residencies were held virtually due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022 the ABC intends to present the residencies with a face-to-face component, pending any further COVID-19 restrictions.
Key TOP 5 dates
- Applications open: Friday 29th April 2022 8.30am AEST
- Applications close: Tuesday 31st May 2022 midnight AEST
Who can apply for the TOP 5 programs?
- Science: PhD-qualified early career researchers in science, technology, engineering, maths and research (STEMM). The two-week media residency will be hosted by the ABC at its Sydney office in Ultimo from Monday 19th â Friday 30th Sept inclusive
- Humanities: PhD-qualified early career researchers in humanities, arts and social sciences (HASS). The two-week media residency will be hosted by the ABC at its Sydney office in Ultimo from Monday 22nd Aug â Friday 02nd Sept inclusive
- Arts: Graduate, independent or freelance professional artists, or arts practitioners working for an Australian arts organisation, and PhD early career researchers who are working at an Australian university or a research organisation. The two-week residency will be hosted by the ABC in Melbourne from Monday 17th â Friday 28th Oct inclusive.
Up to 10 applicants will be shortlisted and interviewed for each program by a judging panel.
The winners will be eligible for domestic travel and accommodation expenses for the face-to-face part of the two-week residencies at the ABC in 2022.
The judging panel and ambassadors for each residency are listed on the Top 5 website.
For further details and how to apply for a TOP 5 residency, go to: abc.net.au/top5
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ABC opens new Karratha building
The ABCâs Director of Regional & Local services, Judith Whelan, has called on communities across the northwest to engage with the ABC and to celebrate the things that make the region unique.
Ms Whelan made the comments at the opening this morning of the ABCâs new Pilbara studios in The Pelago, on Sharpe Avenue in Karratha. The studios have relocated from their previous site in De Grey Place.
The event also marked the opening of the ABCâs new mini-bureau in Carnarvon, one of five new bureaux that have opened recently across the country as part of the ABCâs expansion of its regional services.
Ms Whelan said the new roles, along with a rural reporter role based in Port Hedland, made ABC Pilbara the largest regional reporting team in the state. âWe now have the capacity to cover more local stories from the more remote parts of the region,â she said.
She welcomed the ABCâs two new Carnarvon-based reporters, Kate Ferguson and Bianca Carbone to the ABC Pilbara team as well as the new Karratha-based reporter, Cameron Carr. The Carnarvon bureau will cover the broader region including Shark Bay, Coral Bay, Exmouth and Gascoyne Junction.
ABC Pilbaraâs new location provides excellent protection from cyclones, which means the bureau will be able to continue to broadcast from the studios, providing uninterrupted coverage during an emergency.
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Does anyone know why ABC HD channel 202 is gone from Foxtel ?
The suggestion is to do a rescan. Some Foxtel boxes lost the ABC channels completely during the outage last night and never recovered. A rescan should bring them back.
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ABC wins Privacy by Design Awards
The ABC has won three awards at the inaugural CyberCX Privacy by Design Awards after scoring highest in two award categories and receiving Federal Government recognition as the âTop Performerâ for the way weâre building privacy and data protection into everything we do, so that our audiences continue to trust us with their personal information.
Privacy by Design is a process for embedding good privacy practices into the design specifications of technologies, business practices and physical infrastructures. Seven key principles are applied to ensure privacy and data protection considerations are incorporated into the design of all systems, processes and products that touch personal information.
In the lead up to the award ceremony, CyberCX analysed the digital âshopfrontsâ of leading Australian consumer brands across 11 industry sectors against the Privacy by Design Principles. The ABC was the strongest performer in the âPrinciple 6: Visibility and Transparency â Keep it Openâ award category where we were recognised for the overall presentation of our privacy-related information, privacy features, and ease of understanding with our privacy notices.
The ABC was also acknowledged as the strongest performer in the âPrinciple 7: Respect for User Privacy â Keep it User-Centricâ award category for the design of our digital platforms where the privacy of our audience membersâ personal information is at the forefront of everything we do.
In recognition of the privacy assurances being embedded to ensure audiences maintain their trust in our role as the national broadcaster, the ABC also won the Government âTop Performerâ Award.
ABC and Screenwest partner for the ABC Factual Formats Initiative
Screenwest and the ABC are excited to announce a major Western Australian joint initiative, the ABC Factual Formats Initiative, designed to discover the next great returnable factual series out of Western Australia.
The initiative will provide funding support to Western Australian producers to develop factual programs for ABC iview and the family friendly 8pm Tuesday primetime slot on ABC TV. Up to three ideas will be selected for development with at least one going into production in Western Australia later this year.
ABC Head of Factual and Culture Jennifer Collins says âWestern Australia has a long track record of producing high quality documentaries for the ABC. This is an exciting opportunity to develop closer ties with the local production community and Iâm looking forward to seeing the ideas being dreamt up for our ABC audiencesâ.
The ABC produces high quality, award-winning, factual programs that feature Australian voices, places and stories. This initiative aims at developing new relationships that will deliver entertaining and distinctive factual content from Western Australia to a national audience across ABC platforms. This initiative also supports the ABCâs strategic priority to strengthen local connections and tell stories from more places outside of Sydney and Melbourne.
âThe documentary sector is the bedrock for the screen industry in WA. We have a long history of producing world class factual programming. This initiative will continue to build on the pipeline of original, local documentary projects being produced in WA with strong Western Australian creative and industrial outcomes.â said Rikki Lea Bestall, Screenwest CEO.
The organisationâs strategic priorities include supporting talent development, diversity and innovation across all aspects of the screen industry, promoting Western Australian stories, talent, culture, and Country, and growing the economic contribution of the screen industry in Western Australia.
Western Australia is home to some groundbreaking documentaries including feature documentary Under the Volcano , ratings smash hits such as Every Family Has A Secret, Outback Truckers, Aussie Gold Hunters and Outback Opal Hunters, as well as the upcoming Ningaloo with Tim Winton â a major three-part series for the ABC and Shipwreck Hunters Australia â the first Australian documentary for Disney+.
Full guidelines, eligibility and applications are now available at screenwest.com.au
Independent Review of ABC Complaints Handling Procedures
The independent review into complaints handling procedures commissioned by the ABC Board has endorsed the national broadcasterâs record in handling complaints and made recommendations to strengthen public trust and confidence in this important process.
The review was conducted by former Commonwealth and NSW Ombudsman Professor John McMillan and former SBS Director News and Current Affairs Jim Carroll.
It was commissioned by the ABC Board in October 2021 with Professor McMillan and Mr Carroll undertaking a forensic examination of complaints handling, including public submissions and discussions with relevant individuals.
The ABC Board has released the independent review in full. All recommendations have been accepted and the Board is now considering how they will be implemented.
The reviewâs key recommendation is that the ABC should retain an in-house process as the frontline in complaints resolution and introduce the new role of ABC Ombudsman to lead it.
ABC Chair Ita Buttrose said: âThe Board believes the program of change outlined in this review is essential to maintaining the strong bond of trust and confidence the public has in the ABC.
âThe report notes that the independence that is bedrock to the ABC also comes with enormous responsibility. As part of our vital service to the Australian people, the ABC is committed to ensuring complaints handling is fair and responsive to audiences.
âThe ABC has the most extensive and robust complaints handling process of any media organisation in Australia. This is consistent with the high standards Australians know and expect from us.
âWe welcome the input of the reviewers in outlining actions we can take to further improve our processes and ensure we continue to meet those standards.â
ABC Ombudsman
After considering the case for both internal and external complaints handling models, the reviewers have recommended the creation of a new position of ABC Ombudsman appointed by, and reporting to, the ABC Board for a fixed term.
This role would be in addition to the existing two-tier model of in-house complaints handling and external review by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
This approach supports editorial independence and is consistent with other public media organisations, including the BBC, CBC and SBS.
The new ABC Ombudsman would head an expanded Editorial Complaints Unit and would have the power to review a complaint finding.
Complaint Handling Procedures
Professor McMillan and Mr Carroll found the ABC has a well-established framework for editorial complaints handling, that is for the most part âperformed efficiently and in accordance with best-practice complaint standardsâ. However, they have identified communication and accessibility issues and the need for an appropriate appeal procedure.
Recommended updates to the complaints processes include:
- A review or reconsideration process for a dissatisfied complainant
- An extended time limit for making a complaint, to three months
- Reconsidering the requirement for a complainant to have a âsufficient interest in the subject matter of a complaintâ
- Improved consultation with complainants
- Providing greater assistance to complainants in navigating the system
- A more flexible online form
- The option of fast-track resolution
- Greater transparency of complaint outcomes
Other Findings
The reviewers noted that the existing internal complaints handling unit, Audience and Consumer Affairs, âdeals efficiently and professionally with a large number of complaints (and) nothing arising in this review has caused us to doubt the professionalism and dedication of ACA staffâ.
They rejected claims that an internal complaints system was âan exercise in the ABC marking its own homeworkâ as ânot the realityâ but said there was âa significant perception problem that will not be easy to overcome without major change to the complaint processâ.
The reviewers noted the âconsiderable transparencyâ of ABC complaint findings and said the low percentage of upheld complaints should be considered in the context of the large volume of cases accepted for investigation and the informal methods by which many were resolved. They noted the BBC Executive Complaints Unit assesses around 0.3% of audience responses compared to 10% for ACA.
The reviewers also considered examples of what they describe as a âdismissive ABC attitudeâ toward complainants, although they noted âto the extent there is a problem it is not widespread among ABC content producersâ.
The Independent Review of ABC Complaints Handling Procedures also calls for more training and for the ABC to lead a review of its editorial standards, including inviting public submissions, in the next 12 months.
The ABC Board periodically reviews the ABCâs Editorial Policies and the next review will commence later this year.
Professor McMillan and Mr Carroll say that their intent is ensure the ABC editorial complaint process is effective, transparent and respected and not onerous or complicated.
They say: âThis review has been mindful ⌠of avoiding an audience and complaint strategy and framework that would make content makers fearful of being innovative, creative, and forceful. Any change to the complaint framework should not compromise quality and robust storytelling and investigations.â
The ABC Board has thanked them for their dedicated work on the review.
Independent Review of ABC Complaints Handling Procedures
Publicly available submissions to the Review of ABC Complaints Handling Procedures
This the same ABC that the right wing loonies accuse of being biased to the left?
In that case, it makes the ABC quite balanced lol.
Also wouldnât go quoting a video from Friendly Jordies as fact for anything related to the ABC as his bias against and straight up hatred of the organisation is well documented.
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