Unfortunate that it looks a bit like a graphic for Covid.
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Yeah. Nah.
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ABC in Fiji to cover landmark Pacific Island Forum
The ABC will support Pacific media to cover the upcoming Pacific Island Forum as well as providing its own comprehensive on-the-ground coverage of the landmark event, which will be held in Suva, Fiji from 11-14 July.
The ABC’s coverage will be available in Australia and across the Pacific on ABC Radio Australia, ABC Radio Australia Facebook, ABC Australia and on the ABC News website and ABC News app.
ABC Radio Australia’s Pacific Beat program will broadcast live from the PIF venue each day from 6am PNG time/8 am Fiji time. The PM edition of Pacific Beat will also have up-to-the-minute coverage each day at 3pm PNG time/5 pm Fiji time.
Matthew O’Sullivan, the ABC’s Managing Editor of Asia Pacific News, said Australia’s engagement in the Pacific was being closely scrutinised and discussed at home and across the region.
“The ABC is sending crews in-country to ensure our local and Pacific audiences have a strong and independent media voice covering the meetings from on the ground,” he said.
ABC International Development will support eight Pacific journalists to travel to Suva to cover the meeting, under the aegis of the DFAT-funded Media Development Initiative and the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme and in partnership with the PIF Secretariat and Pacific Islands News Association (PINA).
The Pacific journalists will report for their own media organisations throughout the week. They will be joined by eight Fijian journalists and will also participate in media masterclasses run by veteran media practitioners Dorothy Wickham (Solomon Islands) and Rita Narayan (Fiji).
Claire Gorman, the ABC’s Head of International Services, said the ABC was committed to engaging meaningfully with the diverse people and cultures that make up the Pacific region and Timor Leste.
“The ABC is in a unique position in the Australian media landscape in its scale of coverage of Pacific affairs and its support for Pacific media,” she said.
“Our activities in covering this historic PIF will enable audiences across the region and in Australia to better understand the Forum and its impact.”
ABC International Development has been supporting Pacific journalists to cover significant Pacific Islands Forum meetings since 2017.
Three WA formats selected for ABC Factual Formats Initiative
Screenwest and the ABC are pleased to announce Deighties: Dating in Your Eighties, Old Dog, New Tricks and Monumental are the three successful WA formats heading into development as part of the ABC Factual Formats Initiative.
Launched earlier this year, the ABC Factual Formats Initiative is a major Western Australian joint initiative designed to discover the next great returnable factual series out of Western Australia.
The three formats will be developed over the coming months with at least one going into production in Western Australia later this year, for broadcast on ABC iview and the family friendly 8pm Tuesday primetime slot on ABC TV in 2023.
The three successful WA formats are:
Deighties: Dating in Your Eighties
A diverse group of single octogenarians embarks on a quest to find love in a confronting new world of modern dating.
- Format: 6 x 30 minutes
- Production Company: Feisty Dame Productions & Alpenhorn
- Key Creatives:
- Executive Producer: Donna Andrews
- Producers: Tania Chambers & Pascal Mercay
- Development Producers: Brendan Hutchens and Rose Grandile-Pizzi
- Director: Mason Fleming
- Created by: Pascal Mercay & Mason Fleming
Old Dog, New Tricks
Mental ill-health and loneliness in Australia have increased to pandemic levels, so have dogs in pounds. A solution is: a mutual rescue. Dog behaviourist Laura V rehabilitates dogs on death row and pairs them with a family in need.
- Format: 6 x 30 minutes
- Production Company: Artemis Media
- Key Creatives:
- Executive Producers: Celia Tait & Nia Pericles
Monumental
Aussie communities build a monument to celebrate their town with Australia and the world! It’s big, it’s bold, it’s… monumental.
- Format: 6 x 30 minutes
- Production Company: Catch & Release
- Key Creatives:
- Executive Producer & Creator: Nathan Gibbs
- Co-Producer: Andrew Farrell
“We were inundated with imaginative and premium format ideas, which made the selection process incredibly competitive. I’m so pleased with the three formats we’ve selected and look forward to seeing one of them go into production in WA later this year.” said Paul Williams, Screenwest Documentary Executive.
“We’re thrilled to be working on this initiative with our colleagues in the West, and a congratulations to the successful projects selected for development for ABC iview and primetime. Not only were there an impressive number of applications but the quality was outstanding. I look forward to seeing these three develop further over coming months.” said ABC Acting Director Entertainment & Specialist, Jennifer Collins.
Western Australia has produced a number of fantastic documentaries which have been broadcast on the ABC including Will Australia Ever Have A Black Prime Minister?, Laura’s Choice, Don’t Stop the Music, Girl Like You, A Friend in Death, Jaimen Hudson: From Sky to Sea, The Fathering Project, Who’s Been Sleeping in My House? as well as the upcoming art documentary Walking Man (2022) and major three-part documentary series Ningaloo with Tim Winton (2023).
ABC mentoring helps Pacific women tackle sports commentary
A group of Pacific women mentored and trained by the ABC will take centre stage commentating on two international sporting events in Fiji next week.
Over the past six months the group has worked closely with respected former Director of ABC Sport and senior sports commentator Peter Longman.
Across the next two weeks Mr Longman will work with the sports journalists in Fiji to strengthen their live commentary skills and knowledge with hands-on training at the 2022 Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Women’s Nations Cup and Oceania Netball World Cup Qualifiers.
The training is delivered by the Women In News and Sports initiative (WINS) run by ABC International Development to promote gender balance in sports broadcasting.
“This is an incredibly exciting project for WINS,” Mr Longman said. “It comes at a time when women’s sport is undergoing enormous growth in the Pacific.
“Broadcasters in the region want female sports commentators to work on local and international events. This training is helping to produce female commentators who can commentate at the highest level. We are so impressed by the female commentary talent in the Pacific countries.”
The WINS initiative is a training and mentoring program that provides female journalists in the Pacific and Asia with the tools to carve out a career in sports media.
“As a trusted partner of the Pacific media community, we are committed to improving opportunities for women in sports journalism and commentary roles and increasing representation for women in sports and news coverage,” said Jo Elsom, ABC International Development Lead.
“This is such a fantastic opportunity. Thanks to our partners, women in the commentary box will keep avid sports fans across these important competitions.”
The OFC Women’s Nations Cup will be held in Fiji from 13-20 July 2022. The Oceania Regional Netball World Cup Qualifiers will also take place in Fiji and run from 16-23 July 2022.
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ABC and Doc Society partner with state agencies to find short environment and climate solutions documentaries
The ABC and Doc Society are partnering with State and Territory funding agencies Screenwest, Screen Tasmania, Screen Queensland, VicScreen and Screen Territory to offer early career filmmakers an opportunity to create a short documentary for ABC TV and ABC iview under the mentorship of Doc Society and ABC.
The initiative will provide production funding as well as a mentorship program to create a 5-10-minute short documentary film focussing on solutions to the climate and environmental challenges we face. Up to two projects from each participating state and territory will be greenlit.
Richard Huddleston, Acting Head of Factual and Culture said: “The ABC is thrilled to partner with Doc Society and State and Territory agencies to help emerging talent hone their documentary craft and have their work seen by a wide audience on ABC TV and ABC iview. They will also build invaluable relationships with the ABC Factual commissioning team who will mentor them through all stages of the film making process as well as grow connections with a global network of change makers.”
Drawing on Doc Society’s global network of specialist expertise in environmental impact documentary storytelling and audience engagement, successful applicants will participate in a series of online Lab workshops led by Doc Society’s Malinda Wink, Global Director of Good Pitch and their Director of Australian Programs, Hollie Fifer. They will be joined by Teri Calder ABC Factual Impact & Partnerships Executive Producer and other key executives from the ABC Factual Commissioning team who will provide ongoing mentoring to the teams.
Malinda Wink, Doc Society’s Global Director of Good Pitch said, “Doc Society’s Climate Story Unit is proud to support a diversity of documentary filmmakers across the world.
We commend the leadership and collaboration of the ABC and partner Screen Agencies to uplift emerging Australian screen talent as they grapple with scale of the climate challenge and imagine a pathway for communities and the natural world to thrive.
We look forward to working with this cohort to elevate their storytelling and impact through festivals, broadcast and beyond.”
The films will form part of the ABC’s significant natural history content for 2023 that will be distributed on ABC TV, ABC TV Plus and ABC iview.
So it appears ABC radio Sydney and RN will be moving out to Parramatta by end of 2023.
Seems silly to me.
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agree… pointless.
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Heads of Agreement signed for ABC Parramatta
The ABC has today announced the signing of a Heads of Agreement for the Lease for a new workplace at Parramatta in western Sydney.
ABC Parramatta – located at 6-8 Parramatta Square – was selected following an extensive procurement process.
The relocation to western Sydney is a key part of the commitment outlined in the ABC’s Five-Year Plan to see 75% of content makers working outside its Ultimo head office by 2025.
It will make the ABC even more connected, relevant and engaged with some of Sydney’s most diverse and fastest-growing communities.
Audiences can expect to see and hear from their favourite presenters and respected journalists from ABC Sydney, ABC News and ABC RN from early 2024.
David Anderson, ABC Managing Director, said: “Establishing this new facility in Parramatta is a significant step in meeting our commitment to be more local and engaged with the community and less centralised in the Sydney CBD.
“As a new facility, ABC Parramatta provides a rare opportunity to build something from the ground up. It will be a home for innovation and collaboration, designed and equipped to help us better serve Australians, now and into the future.”
Parramatta Square has been developed by Walker and its Executive Chairman Lang Walker AO welcomed the national broadcaster’s expanded presence in the new heart of western Sydney.
“The ABC will become an integral part of Parramatta Square, which is welcoming all of Sydney as a great place to work, live and socialise,” Mr Walker said.
“ABC staff will have access to state-of-the-art workspaces above excellent cafes and restaurants in the plaza as well as some of the best transport connections, with access to trains, buses, light rail, ferries and the future metro.”
It is anticipated that the process to develop the Parramatta workspace, confirm teams and roles to be based there, and relocate approximately 300 employees, will be complete by 2024.
This initiative is only one part of the ABC’s plans to locate more content-makers closer to the communities they serve.
Most recently, the ABC significantly expanded its regional and rural coverage following the recruitment of 57 regionally-based journalists.
The ABC will continue to consider a range of options in respect to its property holdings, operations, and production in other state capitals and in regional Australia.
The final lease agreement for Parramatta Square is expected to be concluded by the end of August. The next stage in the development of ABC Parramatta will then be review of the proposal by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works as is the usual practice.
This is great. Good to see the ABC moving to a heartland area. Hopefully it reflects in their coverage.
Is it? Moving, what 20km(?) won’t change much.
I do not see this changing one thing in terms of what we see or hear on the ABC. It is a waste of money. I really do not understand the criticism of being based out of “the inner city”. Who cares? There’s nothing wrong with the inner city. It is criticised by people on the right like the inner city and the people who reside there are a bad thing.
And no I do not live in the inner city.
The issue I think is it attracts a certain type of demo and person to work there. That then Permeates through news, culture, programming, content etc
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So what?
I’m sure you know.
Most Australians don’t live in the inner city.
They live in middle and outer suburbs.
And ABC is meant to have programming for all Australians.
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Sadly the horse bolted years ago when they built at Ultimo. Next issue will be Sydney having 2 ABC facilities while some smaller towns only have one or even none.
Most ABC issues are HR related: many people(me included) have not been able to get work in the ABC in job titles where we have worked the same role in commercial radio or TV. ABC seems way biased towards academic qualifications over work experience and younger Uni grads are probably seen to be a better fit for their teams and the group political/social views. The various rolling redundancies over the years seem to have stripped the place out completely of older WASP types(male and female).
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The attraction of an inner city location is it is at the hub of a public transport system making it accessible to workers from all points. Once you move away from there it starts to make it harder for those from some areas to access.
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Then stop centralising the ABC’s functions in Sydney - moving from one part of Sydney to another does fuck all to achieve this.
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