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Friends of the ABC (NSW) Inc Friends of the ABC (NSW) Inc. qu a rt e r ly news l e t t e r December 2005 Vol 15, No. 4 in c o rp o rat i n g ba ck g round briefing na tional magaz i n e up d a t e friends of the abc Russell Balding’s big bid: “Crunch Point” The ABC’s MD may not have been at the Senate to Santo Santoro’s chagrin but, a few days later, perhaps more profitably he appeared in the Financial Review - the author of a blunt, unvarnished plea for greater funding for the ABC. Here are some of his arguments. “Funding of the ABC over the we screen far more British than past 20 years has declined signifi- Australian history - programs like Is the Media cantly. There is so much the Monarchy? failing Australia? nation misses out on as a result – One, because Australians love missed opportunities to enrich it and will watch it. Two, because Basically…”Yes!” our lives through the powerful it’s far less expensive to import media of radio, television and on- Professor Robert Manne these programs than to produce line.” discussed his point of view our own.” and those in his new book Mr Balding then gives as an Balding points out that in 2002 “Do Not Disturb: Is the Media example, the television documen- David Starkey signed a $4.9 mil- Failing Australia?” on RN’s tary Frank Hurley: The Man who lion deal with Channel Four to Media Report with Richard Made History, pointing out these present the Monarchy series while Aedy. There was, he said, a stories cost “more often than not Simon Schama made a television- lot to fix. these days more than the ABC book deal with BBC and alone can afford.” Such as? “…for me the biggest HarperCollins for $7.3 million. element of the problem is the “Consider Hurley’s credits: “(But) no matter how great our a b s u rd size of the Murd o c h Film Australia, the NSW FTO, the patriotism, no one will watch a p ress (with) News Corporation Film Finance Corporation, the program simply because it’s i n t e rested in shaping minds… I production company Real Pictures Australian history – the produc- think Murdoch is the most and the ABC of course…the BBC, tion benchmark must be reached. influential neo-conservative on AVRO (Netherlands), NDR the globe and 60 or 70% of the “Here’s the crunch: the ABC can Germany, and History Television Australian mainstream press is no longer bring to the screen from Canada. Nine partners! It owned by News Corp. took almost three years for the depth of programming to match producer to round up funding. the depth of our history or the “Second, the ABC has been story must too often be told on a attacked so often it no longer “If the ABC was able to con- scale too modest to match the p rovides a kind of ballast in the tribute more to projects like this expectations of its audience.” (continued on page 15) at beginning, it would…ensure more Australian documentaries Now is the Time (were) commissioned and broad- “Surely we owe it to ourselves cast by the ABC.” to see the immense power of I N S I D E : Beyond our reach? television brought to the cause of Around the branches 2-4 Australia’s history. The President’s Report 3 “Are these programs too, like drama, moving steadily beyond “Next year we will celebrate Somerville 4 the reach of the ABC… If a central 50 years of television in Australia. Triennial Funding Battle 7 role for the ABC is to reflect our Those who want programs that Senator Santoro Runs Amok 9 own culture and inform us about reflect more about who we are ABC Australian Content Quota 14 ourselves and the world, why do (continued on page 8) Page 1 “The ABC, the ears and eyes of Australia” Central Coast FABC. Eric Campbell The crowd at Northern Rivers Branch has launched another letter writing program for the ABC with No r t h e r n Rivers FABC, a “the ears and eyes of magnet for speakers Australia” as its slogan. All members and supporters Friends of the ABC continue Eric fielded a wide array of were called to the Central Coast setting high standards questions - the millionaires' fair Leagues club at 2.00pm on for public forums on the in Moscow, embedded journ a l- 10th December to sit and write Northern Rivers, and consis- ism, Osama bin Laden and as widely as possible. tently big audiences for s u p p o rters, corruption and Al major ABC guest speakers, Jazeera as “an Arabic version of Numerous issues to be can- the most recent of whom Fox News.” vassed: from funding to Board was ABC Foreign He discussed the advantage of appointments and not overlook- Correspondent Eric Campbell the ABC having foreign corre- ing bids for the contract for the With well over 100 Friends spondents in a range of loca- Asia-Pacific broadcast service in c rowding the regular venue, the tions - often in isolation fro m 2006 and that certain media L i s m o re Workers' Club, Eric other Australian journalists. He moguls have their eyes on this outlined his experiences in was pessimistic about the ABC important element in the ABC's M o s c o w, Beijing, Kosovo, being able to re s t o re the cadet area of responsibility. Afghanistan, Iraq and Niger, j o u rnalist program that was some of it already summarised once a hallmark of the org a n i s a- The whole range in his book A b s u rd i s t a n. tion and he questioned the integrity of those who made But to support the slogan He made it plain that in view claims about bias on the part of of the loss of his close friend "The ABC, the ears and eyes of ABC journalists. Instead of Australia" letters were to be con- and cameraman Paul Moran in issues in only black and white the early days of the Iraq Wa r sidered in support of the whole t e rms, his aim was to explore range of ABC current affairs pro- and narrowly missing being seri- shades of grey by pro v i d i n g grams, radio and television. ously injured himself, he had viewers with background infor- no intention of re t u rning to mation from a variety of Our branch has embarked on a Iraq because of the continued p e r s p e c t i v e s . violence and “bad memories”. membership and publicity drive He had no wish to revisit that Eric's visit to Nort h e rn Rivers by making use of public libraries p a rticular nightmare . was the latest in a series of talks and community centres which by distinguished ABC re p o rt e r s , have shown a willingness to Discussing Afghanistan, he including Greg Wilesmith, noted the Taliban leaders took a accept forms and flyers advertis- Sean Dorney and John ing our various programs through- fundamentalist approach on Highfield. “We are encouraged out the year. Members volunteer almost every issue except dru g by the support we have re c e i v e d t r a fficking; also his meetings for each event - especially fro m for duty to visit the centres in with Taliban leaders were often ABC North Coast and the local their suburb and ensure that the p ro b l e m a t i c . media," branch president Neville material is available and well dis- On China as an emerg i n g Jennings said. played. s u p e r p o w e r, while acknowledg- The next event Nort h e rn The FABC Central Coast’ s ing it's economic growth, he Rivers Friends were org a n i s i n g AGM will be held on Saturday felt China was heading for a was to be a "conversation" on massive correction where fur- media policy between Mungo 11th. February at 2.00 pm in the ther economic growth would be McCallum and Mick O'Regan at Central Coast Leagues Club, stymied by the political system. the Billinudgel Pub in mid- Gosford. He was aware this view wasn’t N o v e m b e r. that of the government but John Hale, Convenor. he was drawing on his personal Neville Jennings, Pre s i d e n t , Central Coast Friends of the ABC experience of the regime to N o rt h e rn Rivers Friends of the ABC make his prediction. Page 2 THETHE PRESIDENT’SPRESIDENT’S REPORREPORTT A further spate of unwarr a n t e d vides both sides of a story. Yo u r ABC Charter stipulating that no attacks on the ABC has again newspaper is regularly critical of a d v e rtising is to be carried on the galvanised our members into the ABC, accusing it of left-wing ABC, such a proposal must be staunchly defending the national bias. Your actions in perm i t t i n g s t rongly opposed. The gre a t b ro a d c a s t e r. Pre d i c t a b l y, it has Paul Gray a free kick at the investigative tradition of the ABC come from two sources – the ABC while ignoring altern a t e cannot be compromised in any M u rdoch camp and Queensland views smacks of bias of the worst way by advertising or sponsor- S e n a t o r, Santo Santoro – and the k i n d .
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