annualannualannual reportreportreport 19981998–1998–9999–99 annual Australian Broadcasting orporation report 1998–99 Annual Report 1998 – 99 Australian Broadcasting Corporation Contents Corporate Profile This Annual Report 17 • Mission statement 1 Many views — one ABC 18 • Significant events 1998–99 2 Connecting with our audiences 42 • Programs and services 4 The ABC — an integral part • Organisation 9 of the industry 48 • Financial summary 10 Delivering a creative and efficient • Board of Directors 12 organisation 51 • Executive 15 Symphony Australia Network 58 • ABC History inside front cover Corporate Plan summary 64 • ABC Charter inside back cover Financial statements 68 Program performance statement 95 Appendices 96 History 1932 The Australian Broadcasting Commission 1975 2JJ (later to become Triple J) commences is established; broadcasting in Sydney first ABC broadcast on 12 radio stations 1975 ABC Television begins broadcasting in 1946 National radio network system begins colour 1946 Restructured Sydney Symphony 1976 ABC–FM (now ABC Classic FM) Orchestra is formed, followed by commences broadcasting from Adelaide Queensland Symphony Orchestra 1983 The Commission becomes a Corporation (1947), Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (1948) Victorian and South 1985 Important changes to program formats Australian Symphony Orchestras (1949) — Radio 1 emerges as the metropolitan and West Australian Symphony network and Radio 2 is renamed Radio Orchestra (1950) National 1947 The ABC’s independent news service 1994 The ABC commences NewsRadio service commences in State capital cities, Canberra and Newcastle broadcasting on the 1950 Radio Australia becomes an ABC service Parliamentary and News Network 1956 ABC Television begins broadcasting in 1995 ABC commences online services Sydney and Melbourne 1996 Sydney Symphony Orchestra is established 1960 ABC Television completes its expansion as a wholly owned ABC subsidiary to Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart company (followed by the Melbourne 1962 ABC Television’s extension to 13 country and Adelaide orchestras in 1997 and the regions commences West Australian orchestra in 1998) ABC Annual Report Mission As Australia’s national broadcaster and major cultural organisation, the ABC’s mission is to provide its audiences with the best programs, performances, products and services it can acquire and produce. To achieve this the ABC will: ៉ transmit independent, comprehensive and innovative national broadcasting services for all Australians; ៉ inform, entertain and contribute to a sense of national identity; ៉ reflect Australia’s regional and cultural diversity; ៉ broadcast programs of an educational nature; ៉ contribute towards the diversity of broadcasting services in Australia; ៉ broadcast programs that provide a balance between wide appeal and specialised programs, making use of and being receptive to Australian creative resources; ៉ provide an independent service for the broadcasting of news and information regarding local, Australian and overseas events; ៉ contribute to public debate concerning issues and matters of importance to Australians; ៉ encourage and promote the musical, dramatic and other performing arts in Australia; ៉ transmit broadcasting programs outside Australia; and ៉ utilise new production and delivery technologies to respond to audience needs. The ABC may also: ៉ provide subscription broadcasting services and subscription and open narrowcasting services. 1 ABC Annual Report Significant July • Extensive cross-media coverage of Federal Election. • NAIDOC Week celebrations include outside • ABC journalists secure eleven Walkley broadcasts of Stompem Ground from Awards, including Most Outstanding Broome. Contribution to Journalism to ABC South East • Launch in Launceston of first Heywire radio journalist Maurie Ferry. project, giving young people in regional • Introduction of SAP R/3 financial and rural Australia a voice. management system. • ABC Broken Hill celebrates fiftieth • New shared services business unit anniversary. established in ABC’s refurbished • Ten year anniversary of ABC Classics. Collinswood premises in Adelaide.— • Passage of the Television Broadcasting Services1998 (Digital Conversion) Act 1998. November August • Wildside wins five AFI Awards. • ABC Classic FM broadcasts live Sydney • ABC for Kids Club launched by ABC Symphony US tour concerts from Enterprises. Symphony Hall Boston and Long Island. • 1998 Boyer Lectures by David Malouf, The September Spirit of Play, broadcast on Radio National. • Australian Music Week celebrated on ABC • ABC radio drama Rita’s Lullaby wins Radio. prestigious Prix Italia. • Official launch in Melbourne of ABC • ABC hosts inaugural National Poetry Day. Online’s Gateway to Arts and Culture, The • Audiostreaming NewsRadio Online begins Space. on trial basis. • New ABC facilities open at Bega and • Launch of Money, Markets and the Economy, Kalgoorlie. a co-production between Radio Australia, • 2BL Sydney celebrates seventy-fifth Radio National and Monash University. anniversary. • More than 90 hours of Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games coverage broadcast on Local Radio. December • News Online records more than one million • NewsRadio joins German public accesses in a week for first time. broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, to stage • Two Fat Ladies tour Australia for ABC symposium on future directions in the Enterprises. Australian and European media. • South Australian television program The Invincibles broadcast nationally at 8.30pm October achieving the year’s highest rating ABC program for this timeslot. • Three ABC Science Media Fellowships, funded by the Department of Industry, • Radio and television news and current affairs Science and Tourism, commence. collocated in new Adelaide newsroom. • ABC Classic FM celebrates sixtieth • Commencement of first digital Remote Area anniversary of Orson Welles’ radio Broadcasting Service in Western Australia. adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The War of the • Passing of National Transmitter Network Sale Worlds. Act 1998. 2 ABC Annual Report events January • Sale of Frenchs Forest drama facilities. • ABC’s Enterprise Bargaining Agreement • Triple J’s Hottest 100 Poll attracts record proposal presented to staff. number of votes: over half a million. • Local Radio metropolitan stations introduce new rural update segment. May February • ABC celebrates National Science Week. • Triple J presents Brisbane Unearthed, • Albany multimedia trial for regional centres attracting more than 2000 entries. begins. • ABC Online accesses peak at 2.6 million a — • First use of digital File Transfer Protocol week. technology1999 to send overseas • ABC Radio Sport provides the only radio correspondents’ audio reports via Internet. coverage of World Cup cricket. • ABC Board approves Sydney property • Victorian Parliamentary Economic redevelopment proposal. Development Committee tables report into ‘The effects of government funded national March broadcasting on Victoria’. • First Indonesian station rebroadcasts Radio • Heywire 1998 wins National Youth Media Australia in Bahasa. Award for Best Feature/Interview on Radio presented by the Department of Education, • Traineeships begin for radio sports Training and Youth Affairs. broadcaster, three specialist sound engineers, six television production • Sale of the National Transmission Network operations trainees and six cadet journalists. to NTL Australia completed; transmission funds transferred to ABC. • Landline reporter Ian Henschke wins inaugural ABC–British Government Reuter Foundation Scholarship to study at Oxford June University. • Biggest foreign reporting operation in years • Coverage of Indonesian elections includes to cover Kosovo crisis. bilingual online site with text, audio and images, a collaboration between Radio • Rural online gateway launched; News Australia and ABC News Online. Online begins streaming video images. • ABC–Cinemedia Multimedia Production • National Networks assumes editorial and Accord ratified by Victorian Treasurer Alan financial responsibility for television Stockdale. production following realignment of commissioning and production. • House of Representatives Standing Committee on Communications, Transport • ABC Board notes major property and the Arts announces an inquiry into the development proposals for Canberra, Perth ‘Impact of the decision by ABC Radio to and Brisbane and approves construction of discontinue its radio racing service’. new drama sound stage at Gore Hill. • Final Australia Television news bulletin broadcast from Darwin. April • Launch of Digital Radio Broadcasting trials consortium. • Eight of Corporation’s ten entries to the Logie Awards win their categories. • Mr Squiggle’s fortieth Anniversary. • The Arts Show premieres on ABC Television. 3 ABC Annual Report Programs & National Networks music, with a strong commitment to Australian music, as well as news, information • Australia’s national television service. and entertainment for young Australians. • Four national specialist radio networks. • An international radio service. NewsRadio on the Parliamentary and News Network • A dynamic internet service. NewsRadio is Australia’s only continuous news Vision and current affairs radio service. Its comprehensive and innovative programming To provide all Australians with the most is based on immediacy, accuracy, impartiality comprehensive information, entertainment and reliability. It is broadcast in all capital and cultural programming and an Australian cities and Newcastle on the Parliamentary and voice to Asia and the Pacific.