Issue 34 / Spring 2010 Keep our ABC creative and commercial-free Friends raises concerns Do we need with ABC Chairman the ABC? Friends of the ABC recently met with Economist Christopher Maurice Newman (ABC Chairman) and Joye discusses our Mark Scott (Managing Director) on their visit vital need for reliable to Melbourne for an ABC Board meeting. information. Friends of the ABC was keen to learn > Details pages 2–3 about the Board’s vision for the ABC, to pro- vide FABC perspectives on current and future Clockwise from top left: Mark Scott ABC Jazz policies, and to bring to the Board’s attention (ABC Managing Director), digital radio community concern about the ABC’s increas- Maurice Newman AC (ABC Chairman), ingly commercial direction. and FABC (Vic) - Gael Barrett (Vice The new centre FABC presented to Mr Newman a petition President), Glenys Stradijot (Campaign for jazz music to the ABC Board of 10,425 signatories. Manager) and David Risstrom (President). and what it The petition, titled ‘Keep our ABC Creative could become. and Commercial-free’, objected to the Maurice Newman > Details page 3 growing trend towards commercialisation of AC, ABC Chairman the ABC – the interminable on-air promotions, (right) greets the increasing focus on program ratings, and David Risstrom, Election commercial activities that compromise the FABC President. debates belong ABC’s integrity. with the ABC Its signatories called for the ABC’s focus websites or alongside commercial advertis- to be restored to being a producer and ing; the ABC’s production core will be rebuilt Public interest being broadcaster of quality, independent content, to ensure it develops a range of high quality undermined by and asked the ABC Board to publicly confirm programs, and is no longer so dependent business interests that: there will be no advertising on any on outsourced production; and the ABC’s > Details page 4 ABC network or website; the ABC’s on-air services, including access to past programs, promotion will be limited so that it does not are accessible to all Australians without fee. Kerry O’Brien annoy audiences; the ABC will not engage in Friends will look to provide a report on the business arrangements that may damage its outcome of its meeting and the petition after leaves The integrity or influence its content, including the ABC Board has had the opportunity to 7.30 Report the placement of ABC content on commercial consider the matter. Known and feared for his sharp A most important matter intellect and probing questions Hurdles to a > Details page 4 All politicians should support the new ABC Board country’s national broadcaster and uphold its independence. Friends is hopeful that appointment system recent public comments of Malcolm Turnbull, the Coalition’s new communications spokes- The Labor Government’s admirable bill for person, in support of the ABC’s extension a new merit-based system of appointments into online and digital platforms, indicate an to the ABC Board and to restore the staff- improvement in the Coalition’s attitude to the elected director position had not progressed ABC. Friends has written to Mr Turnbull to to being voted on in the Senate, and lapsed request the Coalition reconsider the amend- when a federal election was called this year. ments it moved on the first occasion the Bill It has now been re-introduced in a parliament was introduced. with a different political composition. If the Coalition continues to oppose When the Bill was introduced before the the legislation, its carriage will depend on last election, the Coalition sought to weaken the Greens, and independent members of News+Views is the newsletter its intended prohibition on the appointment parliament from whom FABC is also seeking of Friends of the ABC (Vic) Inc. of former politicians and their senior staff to support. Friends is requesting that all politi- GPO Box 4065, the governing boards of the ABC and SBS; cians consider proposals we have put forward Melbourne, VIC 3001 so they would instead be ineligible only for to strengthen the Bill. This would achieve an tel +613 9682 0073 18 months after leaving office. It also moved assessment process that fosters independ- fax +613 9682 0074 amendments to remove the Bill’s provisions to ence, transparency, accountability and public fabcvic @ vicnet.net.au restore the staff-elected director position to confidence, and results in Board members www.fabc.org.au the ABC Board. When the Coalition’s amend- with the appropriate skills and commitment Inc No. A0034181A ments were lost, it voted against the Bill. to public broadcasting.
Issue 34 / Spring 2010 Page 1 An economist’s perspective on public broadcasting
Do we need the ABC? By Christopher Joye
Radio New Zealand, and the US a decentral- mass-market pro- Economists like to think ised network of stations called the PBS. grams. Here it is also that there are two essential In each nation the PBS is freely accessible useful to remember to members of society via the main mediums: that Sky News, which things that we need to live: originally it was radio, then TV and now the is a late addition to the food and shelter. Today I am internet. While private markets have always current affairs game, is supplemented this core news with a great a closed, subscriber- going to argue that there is deal of other money-making ‘content’, policy only network that is a third, often overlooked, makers have universally concluded that the forcibly bundled together with other costly state must produce, and protect the integrity services. Despite claims to the contrary, sine qua non for life: reliable of, a minimum level of objective information. Sky News could never substitute for a PBS. information. In Australia, this manifests most strikingly in Whatever news and analysis is yielded by the form of the ABS and the ABC. the private media is always subject to the In today’s sophisticated world modern socie- No matter how technologies change or editorial and commercial influence of their ties have determined they need to connect what commercial and political pressures arise owners who may change over time. As is his their citizens daily, to empower them to make all Australians know that government will offer right, Alan Jones at 2GB projects a forcefully the best possible decisions, to enable an them access to dependable current affairs conservative line, as does the Editor-in-Chief objective appraisal of the performance of information via the ABC. of The Australian. government, and to foster democracy. I am The value and viability of the ABC in turn But the mere fact that The Australian talking about free, readily accessible and hinges on its ability to rapidly propagate has long waged a campaign to promote credible information. bias-free information throughout the com- conservative economic and political interests Consider the role of the Australian Bureau munity. Private content providers, such as The demonstrates that it is incapable of fulfilling of Statistics (ABS) and its equivalents around Australian and The Australian Financial Review the functions of the ABC. the world, such as FedStats in the US or the (AFR), tend to have quite explicit economic, The most successful private media content National Bureau of Statistics in China. political and policy agendas that advance the is normally found not in news or current The information they collect is freely interests of their readers and/or proprietors. affairs, but in areas where consumers are will- available to everyone ing to part with hard cash: and forms the basis of entertainment. Think all our decision-making. of movies, mini-series, It enables governments sports, and hobby shows. and businesses to form It is probably now clear policies; and people to that these thoughts are audit the performance motivated as a response of democratically-elected to criticisms from industry governments. and academics that the This information is a ABC is ‘crowding out’ fundamental part of a private activity and, at the healthy society which limit, should be abolished needs to be available altogether. to everyone cost free, As one example, the something the private highly regarded biparti- sector would find difficult san academic, Professor to do. This is an example Stephen King of Monash of what economists call University, recently a ‘public good’ which claimed in the AFR that is something that when “traditional newspaper consumed by one person owners have a legitimate does not reduce its avail- gripe” with the ABC and ability to another. BBC vigorously cross- In economics, the promoting their internet, ‘public good problem’ MasterChef: Commercial TV reminds us why we need the ABC. audio and video news, arises when we cannot Cartoon by Nicholson www.nicholsoncartoons.com.au. First published The Australian. and maintained that “this be certain that private competition is clearly markets will produce the desired quantities The private media manufacture content unfair”. He argued that taxpayer funding of of these services. And so we pay taxes and that they either make available through the ABC and BBC gives them an unreasonable elect governments to ensure that we have (relatively) free-to-air channels like TV, radio or advantage in experimenting with technology hospitals, sewerage and many other services. the internet, funded by advertising revenues, platforms that in turn make it “difficult for the There are, of course, grey areas where the or by subscription. private news providers to compete”. private sector chooses to offer us additional There are sound reasons why no The crux of Professor King’s argument is services for a higher price e.g. private schools, mainstream private media organisation in that the internet, awash with freely available toll-roads. Australia produces free content that remotely news (until it is placed behind paywalls), has One service that western democracies resembles the ABC’s 7.30 Report and Lateline eviscerated the need for a national PBS. have decided must be freely available is regu- or Four Corners, Q&A, and Media Watch. He has called on the Government to revisit larly transmitted and (notionally) unbiased In short, these shows do not offer adequate the role of the ABC, and suggested that it news and current affairs. Thus most countries commercial returns. might be time to “pull the plug”. Professor have established a ‘public broadcasting Instead Channel 7 and Channel 9 enthral King best encapsulates his position with the service’ (PBS). In the UK they have the BBC, millions of viewers with Today Tonight and rhetorical question, “Should taxpayers be Canada has the CBC, New Zealand TVNZ and A Current Affair, which are money-making funding the ABC to compete against private
Page 2 News + Views An economist’s perspective on public broadcasting
providers who both want to and can do Fourth, it seems odd to argue that a PBS sufficiently to cover the costs of the existing everything that the ABC can do?” has a comparative advantage in technology infrastructure. This means that these expenses I would submit that his analysis is flawed. innovation over private companies. Most must be cut or removed altogether. And First, the ABC has been in the news and media technology these days is developed by traditional media will have to shift away from current affairs business, which is its public third-parties, not content providers. commodity news and manufacture deeper mandate, for nearly 80 years. The real ques- Fifth, and significantly, the real threat faced and more differentiated content that people tion is whether traditional media can make by traditional media companies has nothing will pay for. money by supplying the same thing. to do with the long established PBS but has Most of the missiles directed at the ABC The empirical evidence locally and over- been crystallised by the internet. amount to little more than the straw-men seas indicates that media companies have In this respect, the sector most adversely erected by incumbents that have witnessed a higher probability of generating profits by affected has been newspapers. Cable, TV and their once highly profitable industry structures concentrating on non-commodity areas, such radio companies continue to thrive whereas irreversibly change for the worse. The ABC’s as entertainment, or by specialising in highly newspapers have, in effect, lost their grip on challenge is to maniacally commit to never ‘value-added’ content that consumers and/or two oligopolies. contaminating its primary product – credible advertisers are willing to pay for. The first was the highly lucrative employ- and reliable information about the society in Second, it is wrong to allege that “private ment, real estate and auto classifieds. As which we live – with any form of bias, or the providers ... want to and can do everything these crucial revenue streams migrated to perception of such. that the ABC can do”. Most private media new online competitors, traditional newspa- charge for their content, have explicit com- pers have been devastated. This is an edited version of Christopher Joye’s mercial and/or political biases, and cannot The second oligopoly was conveniently- article on the ABC’s opinion site, The Drum guarantee what information they will supply accessed (and mobile) morning news. Yet now http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/29930.html or its frequency. They produce only for profit. most of us get the same free information as with many comments on this article. Third, the national PBS has a responsibility soon as we switch on our ubiquitous comput-
to the community to make its news and analy- ing devices. Christopher Joye is the managing director of sis available to them via every conventional The ‘old news’ being produced by the print Rismark International, a global funds manage- medium. The ABC already offers a 24-hour media’s teams of journalists was not being ment and advisory business. He writes an textual internet news service. Its extension funded by the price of the paper but by the economics, finance and real estate blog for of this to 24-hour free-to-air digital TV at no classified revenues. Business Spectator. incremental cost to taxpayers is just smart If these business models are to endure, management. they must adapt. Consumers don’t value news
What the ABC could do with more money ABC Jazz digital radio
ABC Jazz is one of three exciting digital music services launched by the ABC in 2009 and made available on digital radio in the mainland State capital cities, on digital TV as an audio-only service and online. The others are ABC Dig Music (which features a range
of distinctive Australian music) ABC Jazz radio session with Warren Vaché, American trumpet player and and ABC Country. flugelhornist (2nd left).
ABC Jazz features releases from the best She informed the ABC of her concern that with traditional analogue radio stations. local and international jazz musicians, and music played too often without a presenter Setting up radio stations with fully-produced original jazz performances. ABC Classic FM’s degenerates into musac, and suggested ABC and presented programs, even ones that Jazztrack and Jazz Up Late are also broadcast Jazz have more programs with presenters are aggregated from a variety of sources, on ABC Jazz. by incorporating jazz programs from radio is expensive and currently beyond the The ABC Jazz website has become a centre stations around the world, similar to the way ABC’s resources. for jazz news and information about perfor- that ABC News Radio 1026 incorporates news So ABC Jazz and the other ABC digital mances. It has audio on demand features so programs from abroad. radio stations will remain as they are, unless audiences can listen to exclusive ABC record- Elspeth believes it is unrealistic to expect ABC resources are expanded and any increase ings, as well as interviews and feature albums. listeners to “keep rushing to a computer to in funding is not targeted solely to television Nevertheless, if ABC Jazz had more staff, check the ‘Just Played’ list for every item”, and online, as it was in the Labor Government’s FABC member and jazz enthusiast Elspeth and suggested to ABC Jazz that a weekly first budget to deal with ABC funding. McCracken-Hewson believes it could be so program be published online and preferably much better – with more presented programs, in The Age Green Guide, so that audiences Listen to ABC Jazz on your computer right more exclusive recordings of Australian can plan when to listen. now at www.abcjazz.net.au musicians, more special feature programs In its reply, the ABC explained: new and interviews. automated digital production and playout Elspeth suggested to ABC Jazz that audi- technology has provided the ABC with a Plans are underway for the future extension ences would appreciate more live recordings means of delivering its digital radio stations in of ABC digital radio services to other capital from Bennetts Lane and other jazz clubs. new ways without the higher costs associated cities and regional areas.
Issue 34 / Spring 2010 Page 3 Public interest being undermined by business interests Election debates belong with the ABC
The community’s interest is not well served by commercial broadcasters that want to take over the ABC’s role of conducting major political debates.
Commercial television once regarded Cartoon by interviews with politicians as bad for ratings. Nicholson. Now, some outlets compete against the ABC First published to conduct key election debates – presumably The Australian. an effort to gain recognition as serious news providers, in order to grow the long-term audiences that they seek to increase profits. Competition between media outlets that vie to conduct the leaders’ election debates its paid subscribers were able to directly view Importantly, the ABC also has the trust of the results in the political parties setting the terms the event on television. Australian public and reaches all Australians of the debate, selecting who will conduct the The ABC, as the national public broad- with free-to-air and online services. interview and the form it will take. caster, is the appropriate body to conduct Control of the format and conduct of elec- The result: the 2010 televised leaders’ major election debates. It has the impartiality. tion debates must be returned solely to the election debate was unenlightening. A town- Its skilled news and current affairs journalists ABC if they are to provide voters with serious hall style public forum that was organised by a are adept in the pursuit of answers from scrutiny of party policies and the performance pay-tv company at the height of the election politicians to important questions and are of leaders. campaign was of dubious integrity, and only experienced adjudicators of public debates.
GIDEON HAIGH A change of guard Guest Speaker 2010 AGM Kerry O’Brien leaves The 7.30 Report Smoking Without Inhaling: Life as an ABC Outsider/Offsider After 15 years as Editor and Fri 12 November Iwaki Auditorium, Host of the ABC’s flagship current ABC Southbank affairs program The 7:30 Report, Meeting at 6.45pm for 7.00pm start and six previously fronting Speaker 8.00pm Lateline, Kerry O’Brien will step public welcome. down from the demanding Friends Officers task of daily news and current PRESIDENT: David Risstrom // VICE-PRESIDENT: Gael Barrett // affairs in December. SECRETARY: Georgina Simmonds // MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: Pam Caven // TREASURER: Peter Monie // CAMPAIGN MANAGER/EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Glenys Stradijot // ADMIN OFFICER: Elizabeth Paull O’Brien has been misunderstood by a small questioning of his political opponent, when it Friends Newsletter number of viewers who fail to understand the suddenly dawned on him: oh no, I’m next! persistence needed to secure answers from The entire community – whether or not EDITOR: Glenys Stradijot // DESIGN: Dan Milne // PRINTING: Arena Printing & Publishing prominent people who seek to avoid giving individuals are viewers of The 7.30 Report – Issued three times a year. Letters from members are welcome. them, and instead cloud matters in spin. has benefited from O’Brien’s interest in almost Send to: The Editor, News & Views, GPO Box 4065, Melbourne, He has been loathed by some politicians, every major issue, his sharp intellect, and his VIC 3001 or email: [email protected] Letters may be edited and their supporters, who in government meticulous and probing questions in search for length. Unattributed items are by the editor. Items attributed to other authors do not necessarily represent the views of FABC. wanted to shut down public scrutiny. Friends of the truth. The number of instances in which of the ABC rose ready to defend O’Brien he has called powerful people to account www.fabc.org.au when in the early 2000s it came to public on important matters that affect our lives is WEBSITE MANAGER: Peter Monie attention that Jonathan Shier – the infamous innumerable. News + Views and more is available. Subscribe to receive free former managing director appointed by the The nation has benefited enormously from email updates at www.fabc.org.au Howard government-stacked ABC Board – O’Brien’s outstanding integrity and dedication Facebook: Friends of the ABC (Vic) wanted to remove him. to the public interest. Kerry O’Brien deserves Twitter: Friends of the ABC Overwhelming, O’Brien is admired as our praise and our heartfelt thanks. He is an impartial and highly skilled journalist by indeed a national treasure and should be Useful contacts politicians and the public alike. FABC recalls formally recognised for his service to the The Hon Julia Gillard MP, Prime Minister, the comments of one senior politician about people of Australia. Parliament House, Canberra 2600 his experience waiting to be interviewed ABC– phone: (03) 9626 1500, GPO Box 9994, Sydney 2001 Maurice Newman – Chairman, ABC Board; by O’Brien. He explained that he was in Kerry O’Brien will begin a new role as Mark Scott – ABC Managing Director awe, relishing O’Brien’s tough and pertinent presenter of ABC Four Corners in 2011.
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