The Australian must be running out of things to berate ABC about. This topic comes up pretty much every year. I am not even sure why they’d need to go to the bother of an FOI request, the spend on advertising/audience research is probably published in ABC’s annual reports?
I don’t particularly have an issue with ABC spending on external advertising, it has an obligation to ensuring that audiences know what it is doing, although an almost 70% jump seems… unusual.
Ah but if there’s not FOI it doesn’t sound like they were covering it up!
The ABC will cover Anzac Day services in all states and territories tomorrow as well as local marches in towns and cities around Australia.
Anzac Day continues to be one of the largest and most important events the ABC covers with live coverage of dawn services carried across all ABC platforms.
Key commemorative events in Australia, Gallipoli and Villers-Bretonneux in France will be broadcast on ABC TV, ABC NEWS channel, and live streaming on ABC iview throughout the day. ABC audiences will also hear from reporters in regional areas and overseas to see how Australians are marking the day.
From 4.20am AEST, the ABC will broadcast the Anzac Dawn Service from Sydney followed by the Anzac Day Dawn Service live from the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, at 5.30am. Live local coverages of marches in all state and territory capital cities commences at 9am AEST.
At 12.30pm AEST, the Gallipoli Dawn Service will be broadcast from the Anzac Commemorative site located by the water at Anzac Cove.
The Villers-Bretonneux Dawn Service will be broadcast live at 1.30pm AEST from the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux.
ABC NEWS channel will have live coverage all day, with the major national services in full and crossing to marches in all state capitals.
As is customary, the Anzac Day address by the Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC will be broadcast nationally immediately before the ABC evening news bulletins at 7pm.
On ABC Radio and the ABC listen app there will be live coverage of local dawn services and marches, and Radio National will broadcast the Anzac Day Dawn Service in Canberra from 5.30am.
ABC listen will also feature a collection of ANZAC stories and history segments.
Radio National will mark Anzac Day by featuring Australian stories including spitfire pilot Jack Dawson Green’s remarkable tale of survival on The History Listen. Phillip Adams speaks to Professor Melanie Oppenheimer about women and their role in war on Late Night Live.
On Conversations, Sarah Kanowski speaks to Robyn Van Dyke, Head of the Research Centre at the Australian War Memorial about the transcription project plus an interview with artist Idris Murphy whose grandfather sent love letters from the Gallipoli trenches.
The ABC is pleased to announce leading audio executive Emily Copeland has been appointed as Head of Music in the ABC Audio team.
In this newly created role, Emily will lead and manage the music strategy across triple j, Double J, triple j Unearthed, ABC Country, ABC Classic and ABC Jazz.
Of her appointment, Emily said: “It’s an honour to have the opportunity to work with such iconic Australian music brands.
“The ABC’s music brands and platforms are world class and I’m excited to work with the team to continue to build on their incredible legacy and help lead these brands into the future.”
Emily joins the ABC with a strong background in executive roles with youth focussed audio brands.
Most recently, Emily was the Director of Audience Innovation & Music Partnerships at ARN, leading partnerships with the Australian music industry and overseeing projects focussed on audience growth and brand innovation.
Emily joined ARN in 2021 and was responsible for the strategic vision and launch of CADA, ARN’s multi-platform youth offering. She also oversaw their national country music station KIX.
She worked with major music and media organisations, including Sounds Australia, TEDxSydney and Chugg Music as the Founder and Director of partnerships agency Good Authority.
Emily has also led partnerships for Foxtel’s music television channels and served as Vice President of the Board of FBi Radio.
ABC Head of Audio Ben Latimer said he was “delighted to welcome Emily to the ABC.
“Emily brings an exceptional range of skills and experience to the role and her understanding and appreciation of Australian music across genres is phenomenal.
“Emily will play a pivotal role in bringing a focus back to the ABC as the home of Australian music.”
Emily will start in the role on 6 May.
Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Secretary General Ahmed Nadeem and Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Managing Director David Anderson have hosted more than 150 media leaders and practitioners from the Pacific and Australia at the 2024 Pacific Media Partnership Conference.
Participants in the two-day conference, held on 29 and 30 April at ABC Brisbane’s Southbank offices, attended workshops, presentations and discussions exploring media freedom, digital transformation, disinformation, the future of news and gender equality in reporting.
ABC Managing Director David Anderson said: “The ABC has been delighted to welcome to Brisbane media professionals from across the Pacific and Australia for this important gathering, which reaffirms the ABC’s commitment to our Pacific media partners and our region’s multilateral media infrastructure. ABC Brisbane is a fitting location for the conference given its recent emergence as a hub for the ABC’s Pacific content makers.”
ABU Secretary General Ahmed Nadeem said: “I would like to thank the ABC for hosting this meeting of the ABU’s Pacific members and partners. In a rapidly changing media landscape, it’s important all broadcasters – large and small – have the opportunity to learn about the latest industry developments, enhance skills and share experiences from within the region and beyond. The ABC plays a very important role supporting its fellow members and we value its contribution to ABU activities such as the Pacific Media Partnership Meeting.”
The conference follows a high-level summit of Pacific Media Leaders held in Sydney in February 2024, also hosted by Mr. Anderson and the ABC.
Delegates issued the following communique at the end of the conference:
In the lead up to World Press Freedom Day on May 3, this meeting of Pacific broadcasters in Brisbane calls on governments and organisations across the Pacific to acknowledge the important work done by journalists and to commit to helping their local newsrooms provide timely and accurate information.
Accurate and factual information empowers audiences and informs decision making. It enhances community understanding and development. World Press Freedom Day is an opportunity to reflect on the important role of media freedom in supporting the public good with facts.
This year, UNESCO has dedicated World Press Freedom Day to highlighting the importance of journalism and freedom of expression in the context of the current global environmental crisis. It notes misinformation and disinformation about environmental issues can undermine public and political support for climate action, effective policies and efforts to protect vulnerable communities.
Withholding information is as threatening to democracy and good governance as misinformation. This meeting of Pacific broadcasters appeals to all those in positions of power and authority, who lead governments, institutions, businesses and community organisations – to actively support journalists in their work so that the media can fulfil its role in supporting the development and protection of our communities.
This meeting of Pacific broadcasters also calls for support in addressing the following priority areas as part of a shared Pacific vision:
Sustainable financial models for national broadcasters
- The urgent digitalisation of media archives documenting cultural heritage.
- Investment in training and development and support for the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation’s initiative to establish a regional Multimedia Training Hub at its Suva headquarters.
- The importance of strengthening and coordinating emergency broadcasting to ensure support in the event of a major disaster.
The broadcasters noted the value of continuing to gather annually at the ABU’s Pacific Media Partners Conference (PMPC) and commended the ABU for their ongoing commitment to Pacific members. The broadcasters look forward to the PMPC in 2025, to be hosted by FBC in Fiji and the ABC’s commitment to continue to support this valuable annual event. The conference makes a substantial contribution to information sharing, professional development, coordination, collaboration and solidarity amongst Pacific media in these uncertain and challenging times.
The ABC has officially opened its new broadcast facility in Parramatta with key ABC Sydney presenters now live on-air from the site with ABC News, Audio and Digital teams joining them over the next few months.
An event to mark the opening of ABC Parramatta was led by ABC Chair Kim Williams AM, ABC Managing Director David Anderson, and Member for Parramatta Dr Andrew Charlton MP. Other dignitaries included City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Councillor Pierre Esber, State Member for Parramatta Donna Davis MP, Executive Director of Business Western Sydney David Borger, members of the ABC Leadership Team and key members of the ABC’s content and support teams.
ABC Chair Kim Williams said the new ABC Parramatta “will serve as a model for the ABC in the future; a sophisticated technology facility that promotes new production practices with agile content sharing and distribution.
“From here the ABC will deliver on its continuing obligation to the Australian community as a foundation stone of our democracy, providing news, sharing knowledge and myriad rich stories which reflect our nation. As always, the work done here as with all ABC output provides a core element in contributing to our sense of national identity.”
Mr Williams said the ABC had throughout its nine-decade history demonstrated its ability to adapt and innovate to meet the changing needs of the Australian public.
“The move of local news and local radio to Parramatta is another chapter in that adaptive history, meeting audience expectations and honouring legislative obligations. ABC Parramatta will increase our presence in the nation’s fastest growing residential region, boosting the ABC’s effectiveness in Greater Western Sydney.”
ABC Managing Director David Anderson said: “Today is the culmination of several years planning and it is exciting to be here at the stage where new and loyal audiences can experience the ABC broadcasting from this technology-driven facility.
“Over coming months more of our journalists, producers and digital content teams will be based here, connecting and engaging with one of Australia’s most diverse and fastest growing communities.
“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.
“I want to thank everyone involved in the development of this facility, in particular the team members who will be based here and who have supported the move with such professionalism.”
Mornings on ABC Radio Sydney was the first show to broadcast from the new state-of-the-art facility, located at 6-8 Parramatta Square.
The opening today is the first in a series of upcoming milestones. Further programs including Sydney Drive and Weekends will commence broadcasting from ABC Parramatta in the coming weeks, and Afternoons later today.
In the coming months, two ground floor studios will open for use by ABC News and ABC Sydney teams.
Pointless
If these are both TV news studios, why do they need two. They are still going to use the NC studio at Ultimo, so doesn’t make sense that they build two TV studios when they are both only going to be used for one or two shifts, and 90ish minutes at night.
Also no mention if Breakfast is going to move over to Paramatta.
Thank God It’s Friday (which is broadcasted as part of the Drive program) still has some shows listed until end of May for the Utilmo studios, so I presume it will move at the start of June.
What a complete waste of money.
Especially since this move was apparently part of the ABC’s plan to reduce it’s Sydney centric focus. I’d argue that since they moved some operations further into suburban Sydney, it’s only going to create a more Sydney centric focus. At least near the CBD they are near major banking and other institutions.
IIRC ABC has got plenty of spare space in Adelaide and Darwin, maybe move some of it’s functions there (i.e. classic returning back to it’s original home in Adelaide, etc).
So indulgent. ABC keeps pouring money into Australia’s second city while ABC Melbourne barely has any local news online or in its 7pm bulletin.
The ABC should be making a concerted effort to move whole parts of the organisation out of NSW, not just Sydney. Classic back to Adelaide, online back to Brisbane, and give Melbourne more NC hours (ideally NC control), RN, Newsradio and tv/iview content commissioning.
I wonder when Melbourne will build a second location in its western suburbs, just because we need to decentralise the ABC away from the city.
What a waste of tax funded money. 
I dont want to make light of the point you’re making (because its a good one), but the unintended spelling mistake on this one is a cracker
Failing to see the point of this when you’re just moving them 20km up the highway. Paramatta is still Sydney.
They whine that Facebook won’t give them anymore money for news in regional areas while they funnel tens of millions worth of pointless upgrades into the city they’re supposedly trying to diversify from.
Even quicker if there’s no traffic. It’s a waste.
Just like the ABC clamming that Paramatta and Sydney are two separate cities 
It really leans into a terrible cultural trope that has developed in Sydney that the toffs of the “east” are unrepresentative of the working class “west”.
It has always existed to a point but has ramped up in the last decade or so. I think too much is read into it by the ABC who seem to be thin-skinned about having their Sydney presence being so “inner” city (although their previous location on the lower north shore wouldn’t have been viewed any better) rather than considering that the reason they’re not getting the cut through in the city is because their content is quite frankly a bit crap on the whole.
By relocating further west, people seem to think it will change the balance of representation when realistically it does fuck all except make staff commute further (and potentially make it tricky to get people in the studio for things like radio interviews). What it has done is shift the ABC (at least their Sydney presence) out of the corridor of media that exists from North Sydney through to Redfern - pretty much every other media outlet in the city has a presence in this zone.
The same trope is being used to try and force SBS to relocate closer to the “multicultural” centre of the city too, although this is probably a better sell.
For anyone reading this sentence, I can clarify ‘ABC Sydney’ is referring to ‘ABC Radio Sydney’ (702).
One could assume there’s one radio studio and one TV studio on the ground floor. Not two TV studios.
I think the idea is that only national TV and radio networks (ABC News, Radio National, Triple J, News Radio, Classic FM) and national radio shows like Grandstand will broadcast from Ultimo. Local shows on ABC Radio Sydney and the 7pm NSW TV bulletin will broadcast from Parramatta.
Except that the ABC has stated that it will be broadcasting at least one block of the news channel from Paramatta, so it isn’t keeping all national content from Ultimo. Plus they were going to movie Radio National until backlash from staff forced the ABC to keep them at Ultimo, although the argument staff made was that they needed to be near other national teams.
Given that ABC Radio Sydney already launched their studio this morning, and the ground floor studios are months away, I’d say it’s highly likely that they are both TV studios.
