[Swprograms] [On-air anger as ABC axes some radio programs]

[Daniel Say <say@xxxxxx>]

		This will affect lots of 
		Radio Australia progamming often 
\		a patchcord into Radio National.

   The Sydney Morning Herald: national, world, business, entertainment,
   sport and technology news from Australia's leading newspaper. 

ABC flagship radio shows axed

   Kelly Burke
   October 15, 2008

Other related coverage

     * [34]On-air anger as ABC axes some radio programs

   A raft of the ABC's flagship radio programs have been axed at the same
   time the national broadcaster moves to sack dozens of employees
   elsewhere in the organisation.

   When staff at Radio National were informed this week of the 2009
   line-up, missing from the list were the weekly 8.30am specialist
   programs The Religion Report, The Media Report and The Sports Factor.

   The long-running documentary program Radio Eye, the science-focused
   interview program In Conversation and the social documentary program
   Street Stories will also go, while the future of the nightly
   five-minute opinion-makers spot Perspective remains under a cloud, as
   does another religious-based weekly program, The Ark.

   While most staff had been made aware of the changes by Monday, it was
   left to the outspoken Radio National presenter Stephen Crittenden to
   make the cuts public, in a strongly-worded two-minute preamble to his
   program The Religion Report this morning.

   "The decision to axe one of this network's most distinctive and
   important programs has been approved by the director of ABC Radio, Sue
   Howard, and it will condemn Radio National to even greater
   irrelevance," Crittenden said on air, adding that his program had put
   many powerful noses out of joint over the years.

   "The ABC's specialist units have been under attack for years, but the
   decapitation of the flagship program of the Religion Department
   effectively spells the death of religion at the ABC."

   The program's podcast facility was subsequently removed from the
   broadcaster's website and Crittenden was ordered by ABC management to
   remove his opening comments if he wanted his program to be
   re-broadcast at the usual time of 8.05pm today.

   Crittenden obeyed, later telling the Herald that, after 10 years of
   specialisation at the ABC, he was being removed from its "gutted"
   religion department.

   "I've been told that since [the 2001 US terrorist attacks on]
   September 11, reporting on religion has become mainstream. Everyone is
   doing it so it doesn't need specialisation any more," he said. "People
   are appalled."

   The head of radio marketing, Warwick Tiernan, said Crittenden's on-air
   comments were made independently without the knowledge or approval of
   network management.

   "The matter is under review," he said.

   In a prepared statement, ABC's Radio National manager, Jane Connors,
   said the cancellation of programs was part of a shift in resources
   from on air, which attracted an audience over the age of 50, to
   online, which attracted a much younger audience. Since 2006 the
   station's monthly average for downloaded podcasts had more than
   doubled, to 1.7 million.

   "Decisions to wind up programs are never easy, as all of the network's
   shows are made with passion and care, and each have their devoted
   following," Dr Connors said, adding there would be no job losses as a
   result of the changes.
   However, more than 30 jobs will go in the ABC's television production
   division, with the broadcaster expecting to shed more than 15 per cent
   of its television producers as part of the forced redundancies.

   A further 17 jobs will be axed in the resources division, which
   handles post-production.

   The high profile presenter of the short-lived program In Conversation,
   Robyn Williams, will retain his weekly Saturday midday spot on The
   Science Show.

   He said the cuts to Radio National were part of the gradual erosion of
   serious content on the ABC because of ongoing inadequate funding.

   "I don't want to sound like the traditional ABC whinger, but we are
   broke," he said.

   Despite a KPMG report arguing the ABC needed an extra $48.1 million
   for 2008/2009 to sustain its current output, May's federal budget
   delivered no funding increase.

   Excluding transmission and additional funds related to public access
   of digital television services, the ABC received $683.4 million.

   The Victorian-based campaign manager for The Friends of the ABC,
   Glenys Stradijot, said her organisation was outraged at the axing of
   the specialist programs.

   "These cuts amount to a major downgrading of Radio National," she
   said. "Moves to increase content delivery options must not be at the
   expense of traditional services that are needed and are accessible to
   all Australians."
     *

   45]On-air anger as ABC axes some radio programs

   45. http://www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/tv--radio/onair-anger-as-abc-axes-some-radio-programs/2008/10/15/1223750130999.html
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