PUBLIC BROADCASTING – AUSTRALIA

Hold your tongue, staff told by ABC news boss

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 4 : 6-Jul-18

ABC presenters Jon Faine and Phillip Adams are among the public broadcaster’s employees who will address rallies organised by lobby group ABC Friends. The rallies are being held in response to the funding cuts that were announced in the Federal Government’s May 2018 Budget. The ABC’s director of news, Gaven Morris, has issued a memo to staff advising them not to engage in the political debate concerning the broadcaster.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, ABC FRIENDS

Battered ABC chief throws counter-punches

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Original article by Stephen Brook, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 20-Jun-18

ABC MD Michelle Guthrie has defended the public broadcaster in a Melbourne Press Club speech. She argued that the ABC contributes at least $A1bn to the broader economy each year, and it directly or indirectly supports about 6,500 jobs. Guthrie added that the ABC is still highly valued by the general public, and any move to privatise it would be opposed by both the public and the commercial media sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, MELBOURNE PRESS CLUB, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Fifield attacks ABC on independence

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 24 : 4-Jun-18

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has made his sixth complaint to the ABC in just five months with regard to the public broadcaster’s news coverage. The latest complaint concerns the ABC’s reports on the selection of the date for five upcoming by-elections. Meanwhile, Fifield has stressed the need for the ABC to be impartial and independent, and argues that all media organisations in Australia should be open to feedback from politicians and the general public.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

ABC to spend up big on digital ads

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 3 : 25-May-18

The ABC’s CFO Louise Higgins has revealed that the public broadcaster will allocate around $1.4m to advertising on Facebook during 2018, while its budget for Google’s AdWords will be about $A500,000. However, Higgins has rejected suggestions that the ABC is using taxpayers’ funds to compete with commercial TV networks. She also told a Senate estimates committee hearing that the ABC has an obligation to make consumers aware of the content it produces.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Aunty coy about how budget affects news

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 2 : 24-May-18

The ABC’s CFO Louise Higgins has warned that the Federal Government’s looming funding freeze will force the public broadcaster to decide which services it continues to provide. The three-year funding freeze announced in the May 2018 Budgets takes effect in mid-2019, and Higgins says the ABC will negotiate with the government in the interim. Meanwhile, SBS CEO Michael Ebeid says there is no scope for further joint cost-saving initiatives by the public broadcasters.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS

ABC in rescue plan to lift dire ratings

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 24 : 21-May-18

The ABC will revamp its flagship evening news bulletin, with a focus on major stories, exclusive content and interviews. A strategy document also shows that the public broadcaster wants to ensure that "ABC News" is better integrated with "7:30" so the latter does not cover the same stories. The ABC is seeking to arrest a decline in the ratings of its 7pm news, which boasted an audience of just 660,000 across the five main capital cities in mid-May. Its audience is also heavily skewed toward the 50+ age demographic.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Performance bonuses here to stay at ABC

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 3 : 17-May-18

The ABC has defended its remuneration system in the wake of revelations that staff received bonuses totalling $A2.6m in 2017. A spokesman has indicated that fixed remuneration rates for ABC executives are consistent with market rates, while performance pay scales are below market rates. Communications Minister Mitch Fifield notes that federal government departments abolished executive bonus schemes in 2008, but the government has no power to direct the ABC to do so.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NBN CO LIMITED, COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC SECTOR UNION

ABC determined to fight $84m funding cut

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 10-May-18

ABC MD Michelle Guthrie has told the public broadcaster’s staff that a funding freeze in the May 2018 Budget will affect its ability to comply with the requirements of its charter. The ABCs budget will be unchanged at $A3.16bn over the three years from July 2019, effectively reducing its funding by $A83.7m over this period. Guthrie says the ABC’s management will "seek every opportunity" to have the funding cuts scrapped before they take effect. Funding for SBS will be increased by $A14.6m over two years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

ABC to feel the pinch with funding freeze

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Original article by Michael Koziol
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 6 : 9-May-18

The May 2018 Budget includes a freeze on the ABC’s funding until 2022, amounting to savings of $A83.7 million. Despite the freeze, the public broadcaster will still receive funding of over $A1 billion a year. Some $A50 million of the $A83.7 million saved as a result of the funding freeze will be spent over four years on the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the landing of Captain James Cook. Unlike the ABC, SBS will not have its funding frozen.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

ABC gives soft-sell China website the chop

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Original article by Primrose Riordan
The Australian – Page: 3 : 24-Apr-18

The ABC will shut down a series of news websites that are published under the Australia Plus banner, including a Mandarin-language version of the site. There have been allegations in the past that a version of the site that is accessible in China has censored content that is critical of the Chinese government. A spokesman for the public broadcaster said the closure of the Australia Plus sites is in response to a review of the ABC’s digital assets.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY