Another nail in the coffin of the ABC

[anakie]

The governments assault on the ABC continues with the appoitment of Ms Janet Albrechtsen. Howards mate Mcdonald, arch conservative Kroger with another appointment to be announced shortly. On the short list Alston, Reith, Ziggy s, Piers Ackermann etc.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

1. .

[Matilda]

2. You know what's really sad?

The first really big funding cuts were made by Hawke and Keating,
and that was the beginning of the end.

Howard is just putting the final nails in the coffin.

[Phoebe_in_Sydney]

3. And you know what's really frightening?

... Seeing how gutless commercial media is in the US and the role it's playing in the dismantling of democracy there.

[Esra Star]

4. Fortunately the regressives won't be in power

for that much longer.
When they are out, the ABC will normalize.
The world without the ABC would be a much poorer place.
Philip Adams even discussed the Gannon/Guckert thing
the other night.
I usually listen to Radio National whenever possible.
It's the best radio station in the world.:thumbsup:

[Matilda]

5. Unfortunately, so much damage has been done already,

that even a sizeable increase in the ABC budget by a future Labor
government won't be enough to regenerate it.

My personal knowledge is principally of drama, where most of the
heaviest cutting has been made. Until the mid-eighties, the ABC
produced most of the best drama in the country - it was quite normal
to have four or five productions going on at once, from serials to
one-off plays; now we are lucky to get one production a year in
Sydney and one in Melbourne, but the damage goes deeper than the
lack of finance to film new productions. Infrastructure such as
OB vans, used for outdoor filming, and the ABC's extensive costume
department, have been sold off, along with the huge Gore Hill studios
in Sydney, and it would take hundreds of millions to begin to replace
it. And that's not counting the budget required to hire the actors
and crew. We'll never get it back.

And that's just the one area I know more about than others.

[Djinn]

12. can't see the Greens winning power

and the ALP are as reactionary as the Libs I'm afraid.

Australia started busting unions, locking up refugees, cutting social budgets and privatising everything under the sun under the Hawke/Keating government.

That said...Janet "plagiarism" Albrechtson, bloody hell why not add Andrew Bolt while we're at it.

[velvet]

6. Alston in action

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200503/s1313564.htm?fp_news_stor

"The Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) has confirmed the ABC breached its own code of practice four times in its Iraq war broadcasts on the AM program in 2003. The ABA was asked to investigate 43 alleged breaches of its code by former communications minister Richard Alston. Mr Alston had complained that the AM reports were biased and anti-American. The authority has found four of the 43 matters constituted breaches of the code."

<snip>

"ABC managing director Russell Balding says he remains of the view that AM's coverage of the war in Iraq was professional, comprehensive and balanced. He says the four breaches the ABA has found related to a few minutes out of many hours of coverage of the war. Mr Balding notes the ABA's comment that "the ABC may wish to consider whether the code should more clearly differentiate between news programs and current affairs programs".

"I will ensure the ABA's comments are taken into consideration when the code is reviewed shortly," he said. But he says that the ABC continues to be concerned about the basis for the ABA's conclusions. "These concerns were set out in the ABC's submission to the ABA in January 2005 and in the interests of informing public debate on these matters, I am releasing this submission," Mr Balding said."


The ABC submission (in pdf format)linked below this story makes interesting reading.

[Matilda]

7. Thanks for the link - makes interesting reading.

One has to conclude that the ABA Board are doing a big crawl to the
Howard Government. They simply had to find the ABC guilty of
something, or they might just be facing the chop. The ABA assertions
are such crap, and the ABC responses so reasonable and logical, it's
a wonder the ABA Board can look anyone in the face. And the charge
that the ABC is "anti-American" makes me so angry - is it contra-
vening the ABC charter to imply any criticism of the U.S? For God's
sake!

Did you see David Marr and David Flint sparring on Lateline last
night? Flint was so seriously stupid that David Marr at one point
referred to his "kindergarten intellect". A pity the interview
was so short - Tony Jones was clearly enjoying himself, and I think
it might have ended with David Flint in tears if it had gone on!

[no safe haven]

8. Flint was interviewed on RN Monday or Tuesday

trying to promote his new book (a real page-turner, I'll bet!!). Bad move on his part. He got hammered by the presenter over the Alan Jones letters instead and she esposed his obvious bias to the govt line.

Yeah, it makes me furious too that our news is censored by the US, which I believe it was. That so-called anti-American, anti-Iraq war AM piece came under attack first, IIRC, by US Ambassador Schieffer (a Tx buddy of gw**). HoWard and his "conga line of suck holes" then screamed ABC left wing bias and threatened to cut funding. Did you know that the content of ABC news and current affairs was being monitored for any "bias" (anti-Americanism) since then? Even slight nuances in language that would make the listener doubt the official line. Yeah, it sucks.

Tony Jones and Kerry O'Brien are our last hope. Fran Kelly is returning to Australia, which might shake things up a bit. Yay. Wish I had caught David Marr doing his thing. He ripped into Fred Nile a couple of days ago and almost made him cry too.

[velvet]

9. Howard's Way :

It's un-Australian to be anti-American. :eyes:

I missed the Flint thing, alas.

[no safe haven]

10. LOL

Next HoWard will be calling us un-American. :scared:

[Esra Star]

11. David Flint was on the "Media Report" today.

Richard Adee just allowed him to expose himself as
a self possessed jerk.
This he did quite well.
The media report will be broadcast again, probably.
If you miss it. You can always read the transcript later
on the net.