Radio National reform: ‘no radical change’. As Crikey reported last week, ABC Radio National managers were locked in talks about the future of programming and the need to attract a younger audience. Emerging from the two-day workshop, acting manager Michael Mason said “there’s a lot of work ahead but that this is the right time to do it”. Executive producers identified areas to examine, including “new content genres” and how to “reframe and better schedule” existing programs.
He said: “As a result of our discussions we also identified some areas of our content and presentation that we could easily work on between now and the end of this year that would enable us to start refreshing our sound. The changes have our existing, loyal audience in mind, front and centre. We hope too that the people who will become our next loyal audience will respond to these refinements.” He notes four points:
- We are committed to retaining and improving specialisation on the network.
- We want to sound more “live” when the listeners’ look to us to sound “live” (for example, at the time of a major breaking news story or event).
- Nurturing genuine and real intellectual ideas and debate is core to us and our purpose.
- We are not being driven by cuts or threats with this Network Alignment process.
Recommendations will be made for 2011 in July and August ahead of more consultation. New ideas will be tested in September with new programs up for commission in October-November. As Crikey reported, staff have praised Mason’s openness in consultations that began in March. “Internal and external media and our audience will also be kept informed following appropriate consultations with any staff that may be affected by change,” Mason said. “I emphasise that, at this stage, there are no plans to radically change ABC Radio National but to instead ensure that the network evolves along with our audience and their varying needs.” — Jason Whittaker
Oz exclusive from a US sceptic. “In one of The Australian‘s excellent “EXCLUSIVES” this morning, Greg Sheridan quotes US Republican Jim Sensenbrenner as saying Australia would be embracing “unilateral economic disarmament” if it proceeded with a carbon tax. Sensenbrenner, Sheridan writes, is “a key figure in the US politics of climate change” and “the senior Republican on the climate change committee until it was abolished when the Republicans won control of the house last year.”
Fair enough you might say, a quote from Sensenbrenner seems strong enough to hang a yarn off — but some casual research reveals Sheridan is denying readers the full story. In addition to his high-ranking grandeur on Capitol Hill, Sheridan’s man is one of the most prominent climate change sceptics in US public office. He has argued ferociously against the US cap and trade bill and called for the climate change committee not to be abolished because he wanted to use it to rein in the Obama administration’s efforts on global warming.
And just like Christopher Monckton, Sensenbrenner likes to call client scientists fascists in public. It would have been helpful for Sheridan to explain the full background to ensure readers don’t mistakenly get the impression his quotee is an impartial oracle of wisdom. Tomorrow, perhaps. — Andrew Crook
Another day, another TV vision theft. Last Friday an alleged abduction on Brisbane’s southside had the Seven News helicopter tracking the suspect vehicle at 11.20am as events unfolded. At 11.30am Seven broadcast the footage with a watermark splashed straight through the middle.
Meanwhile, the Nine helicopter arrived on scene at 11.40am, at which stage there’s not a lot left to actually film. For the 2pm news update and then for promos and updates at 6pm, Nine hyper zooms Seven’s footage to use the top half that doesn’t include the watermark strip.
Shaun Brown leaves SBS with no regrets
“It is only apt the departing head of the multicultural broadcaster SBS, Shaun Brown, goes with a figurative je ne regrette rien. ‘I probably don’t have regrets as such because I’m a bit too much of a pragmatist,’ says Brown, who marked his departure last week with a ‘final’ party at the Sydney Opera House. ‘I tend not to go through life reflecting too much or regretting things’.” — The Australian
LulzSec hackers call it quits after 50 days
“Lulz Security has announced it is done with terrorising the cyber world following a 50-day campaign.” — Sky News
A newsroom that doesn’t need news
“What is remarkable about TMZ is that it matters little what celebrities have done and not done. It’s hunting them down and sticking a camera in their face that makes for good television. This is a newsroom where the news is often beside the point.” — New York Times
Paywalls gaining support
“Online news, video, and music providers are becoming increasingly open to charging for at least part of their content as paywall experiments by pioneers like London’s Times show that some customers will pay. Music-video streaming site Vevo, Huffington Post owner AOL Inc. (AOL), and London’s Independent newspaper said this month they may introduce paid subscriptions, joining The New York Times and London’s Times in charging for online material. Making that pay will require careful execution and compelling content.” — Bloomberg
Digital first’s impact on mothers
“My mum wanted a copy of the Guardian so she could read about the death of peace campaigner Brian Haw because ‘it’s hardly been mentioned on the radio’. She is 89. She has been a dedicated Guardian reader for most of her life, from when it was the Manchester Guardian.” — The Media Briefing
BSkyB only the beginning for News Corp
“News Corporation’s James Murdoch has indicated that the takeover of BSkyB is just the beginning of a major expansion over the next decade, arguing that compared with ‘monolithic’ technology and telecoms companies such as Google the global media business is ‘not big enough’.” — The Guardian
One improvement for Radio National would be to rename it Radio Suburban – there is no way it’s National. 20km from the ‘city’ of Swan Hill in Victoria I have to listen online – the transmission simply runs out of puff between me and the tower – and it’s all flat plain.
I could listen to ABC Local radio, which I receive five by five, but frankly I’d rather stick a pickle fork in my eye.
The trouble is that online listening in rural areas is not a real alternative because of the swingeing cost of Telstra’s Bigpond service … but don’t get me started on that!
“Sheridan using Sensenbrenner” – reminded me of our own C-Mail “quoting” John Yoo on Guantanamo (sans background).
@Rob, fair go but. Some years back I asked ABC why they don’t broadcast RN on FM in Brissie, since they can, and would give me hiss-free radio.
Answer: FM licencing is a rip-off and they’d rather pay for AM slots, and increase footprint.
So they might not get where you want, but their desires are closer to your heart than mine!
Greg Sheridan another one of santas little helpers
surely god bothering demeans an opinion on anthropogenic
interference with the biosphere..
I’m sure Greg thinks its the commies as he does tend to channel
Oswald Mosley.
Radio National staff should be rightly circumspect about the review recently announced at Auntie.
Acting Manager Mason had oversight of the review of Coast FM in 2002-3. His mission, he said, was to give the Gold Coast the program mix it “deserved” and to lift audience attention.
If the Coast experience is any measure, where neither audience numbers nor common perceptions of quality or value improved, the only effective changes will be to shed staff at RN who sit uncomfortably with the current regime. This was the only tangible outcome on the Gold Coast.
Radio National, by the way, now has a larger audience share in Gold Coast City than the local station.
This might have something to do with the fact that local staff on the local station now broadcast for not much more than 30% of the time in any week, diminishing their capacity to start and hold a unique “conversation” in one of this countries more challenging communities.
Over 60% of content on Coast FM is now programming in common with 612 in Brisbane which, with superior production resources and overlap in immediacy and relevance, also enjoys a better share of the Gold Coast market than Coast FM.
The challenge to the value of Coast FM was there in 2002-3, it just didn’t go away after MM’s review. In fact it got worse… when the open secret was adequate support for unique and compelling local content, as and when the audience wants and needs it (as close to 24 hours a day as possible). This is the “local” in Local Radio.
This is so with Coast FM’s future, free to air, as much as it has been with Radio National’s successes online, where in 2009-10 the ABC reported “18 million downloads of Radio National content, demonstrating the value that audiences place on being able to access specialist content in a manner and at a time that suits them”.
Perhaps RN pods could be turned to local slots, pointing back and promoting the longer form, well researched and well produced programs on RN. This because the absence of recognition and promotion of RN’s unique offer appears to substantially fail the network, not some contorted notion that matters of age are in play.
In any event, the notion of “live” coupled with “debate” leads most often to inadequately resourced talkback programs instead of time consuming, well researched and the expensive specialist journalism which characterises RN and is sorely absent elsewhere.
In the spirit of social engagement, perhaps audiences should be directly consulted?