How AIM missed its target
by John Lombard, former chief presenter of The News Channel (now defunct).
I I am very angry, disappointed and mixture of hardened journalistic ex content. A sad pathetic sop to the frustrated that Australian Infor perience and the exuberance of need to have some sort of news pro mation Media (AIM) has col young educated newcomers to the gramming on their pay TV channels. lapsed, particularly The News industry. The news room hummed So, where to now? What can be Channel (TNC) where I was to be the with a keenness so sadly missing in done to rescue this shambles? My chief presenter of the evening news the ABC. In less than two months, we plea - the ABC should take over The bulletin. worked up a product of excellence. It News Channel (dissolve the Fairfax/ Angry with the Federal Govern wasn’t always seamless television, but Cox Communications partnership) ment for mismanaging the whole pay it was exciting, it was up-to-date, it and run a 24-hour fully-digitised free- TV policy; angry with the ABC for not was ‘live’ television. It had a splendid to-air TV news service across Aus giving TNC the support it deserved; mix of national and international news tralia using a second channel. and angry, disappointed and frus (much of it scripted, voiced and ed The Federal Government should trated with AIM management for not ited by TNC’s own staff, some of it provide the channel and maybe some nailing down a non-exclusive deal to shot by TNC cameras). It gave a more seed finance to set it up. distribute TNC before hiring 109 ‘poor comprehensive, more diverse cover We should use the considerable bastards’ (Philip Adams’ description) age of finance, sport, entertainment resources of the ABC news rooms, who were sacked on October 6 when and everyday happenings right across journalists, producers, camera crews, no satellite distribution could be se Australia as well as the usual fare of helicopters, news gathering equip cured. federal and state politics than either ment, here and overseas. And we After a 13-year career with the the ABC or any of the commercial should put to air a 24-hour service of ABC in Canberra, Singapore, Mos networks. national and international news, fi cow, and for three years as anchor on It was outward looking. It es nance, sport, science, entertainment World at Noon, I was excited by the chewed petty parochialism. It aimed and weather. prospect of working at TNC. to make the news of the day as inter In addition, each State would pro Kim Williams, the AIM CEO, was esting to the people of Meekatharra duce its own half-hour of local news, an enthusiastic proselyte for the state- as to the citizens of Melbourne. And politics, sport etc, to run on the sec of-the-art non-linear system being it was presented in a lively authorita ond channel at the traditional 7pm. installed. For 12 months, he entreated tive style. But the rest of the programming me to be one of the the main TNC In short, TNC was a contemporary would come out of Sydney using the presenters. David Hill, then ABC all-Australian product that looked and TNC studio and the non-linear tech managing director, was no less ex sounded pretty dam n good. Too good nology installed for TNC. cited with the venture and urged me perhaps. It was clearly regarded as a We would produce a commercial- to make the move. So did Paddy threat to the free-to-air news services free round-the-clock cost-effective Conroy, then director of ABC TV and on 7,9, 10 and the ABC because our television news second to none in Chris Anderson, then managing edi 24-hour television news allowed the world. The productivity gains tor of ABC news and current affairs. viewers to choose when they wanted would be enormous. The infrastruc All true and passionate believers to watch rather than having it im ture is already there, so are the peo in the concept we were developing posed on them at fixed times. Much ple. Isolating the news (and maybe in establ ishing Austral ia’s first 24-hour of it was news ‘live’ as it happened. some current affairs programs like news service. Where are they now? And because news was our only prod Lateline and the 7.30 Report) would Certainly not at the AIM barricade. uct, we were able to spend more time free up the existing ABC channel to At the insistence of ABC manage to analyse and background the issues expand the programming of drama, ment, I resigned. On March 28 this without worrying about the next game documentaries, features, and sport. year, I accepted an offer of employ show. Aiming at the stars? Maybe. But ment at AIM, writing that I thought Now, Kerry Packer and Rupert believe me, from my experience with TNC ‘the most exciting development Murdoch have decided to set up a TNC, I have seen the future of televi in television in 20 years.’ cheap 24-hour news service that will sion news in Australia. And it was. The 109 staff were a have less than 20 per cent Australian It’s exciting and it works. □
Communications Update ♦ 7 ♦ October 1995