BY FERNANDO GAGGERO
Unlike commercial providers, public media organisations have non-financial objectives that are critical to the society they serve. In the case of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), it is a commitment to being an independent trusted media organisation valued by all Australians.
This is also why public media organisations are usually surrounded by grassroots groups who actively support those objectives for the benefit of society. One of those groups is ABC Friends, a not-for-profit, non-partisan, volunteer-based organisation founded in 1976, with presence around Australia.
Peter Lindenmayer, Secretary of ABC Friends, NSW, and ACT explained “I have an interest as a consumer in having access to high-quality material, from radio, television, and digital media, as well as ABC news on the Internet, and podcasts. But also, I think as a citizen, I see the value of a national public radio service to our democracy and to our social fabric. Culture and cohesion are important too.”
Lindenmayer grew up in regional Australia, where the ABC was, and still is, an important tool for emergency services, as well as for staying connected with the rest of the world. A member of ABC Friends for more than 10 years, he joined the organisation to ensure ABC’s core values were protected.
“Governments of both Labour and Liberal have slashed its budget at different times and have criticised it because governments inherently dislike having close scrutiny,” he said.
Before the last election, ABC Friends campaigned strongly in support of the ABC, reaching 70,000 members and supporters across the country. The organisation is self-funded with membership fees and non-corporate donations.
“At that stage, there were a lot of people worried that if the Coalition government returned, they would implement major cuts to the ABC, so a lot of people joined us then,” Lindenmayer said.
[Video] Kerry O’Brien at the Rally to support our ABC (ABC Friends)
In June this year, the ABC made public its 2023-28 five-year plan, with a detailed background document highlighting the challenges the public broadcaster faces today, both locally and globally. With younger audiences bypassing traditional TV and radio in favour of internet digital platforms, the ABC is now embarked in the transformation of its broadcasting-centric operations towards digital content creation workflows.
“The ABC has often been successful in doing that,” Lindenmayer said. “It was the first in Australia to introduce catch-up TV with iView, before the commercial providers. The ABC was also the first to have a substantial podcast system. In fact, its podcasts are really valued all over the world.”
At the same time, the ABC will need to balance the need to serve existing audiences that depend on the legacy technology in regional Australia with the need to attract new audiences through digital platforms. All this in a complex economic environment, where ABC operating costs are likely to increase and Federal Government spending might need to be contained, as highlighted in the ABC background document.
“Another challenge is that digital work is through personalising content. So, it’s curated for individuals based on their preferences,” he said. “Then, how does that relate to a news delivery? For example, does that mean I only get the news that fits my personal biases? So, you can start to see some risks from personalisation too.”
The five-year outlook identified polarisation in society as a distinct and significant challenge for the ABC, as it needs to reflect divergent views in a constructive manner. The way it delivers its content to different audiences will determine whether it can stimulate national conversations on important topics.
When asked about what could happen if the ABC gets its strategy wrong, Lindenmayer responded: “The ABC would cease to be such a central part of the Australian media landscape, it might become less relevant. For example, if it can’t continue to attract younger audiences, and if its audience gets older and older, it’ll be less influential and less important. And I think Australian democracy and Australian culture would suffer as a result.”
With such risk in mind, it was not a surprise when ABC Friends wrote a letter and later met with ABC Management Director, David Anderson in response to the first measures announced by the ABC in June, which included the axing of the Political Editor position.
In the letter, ABC Friends let Mr Anderson know that “many of our 71,000 members and supporters were particularly concerned that the removal of the Political Editor role would adversely impact the ABC’s crucial role in holding our national political leaders accountable.”
The ABC’s five-year transformation has just started, and it is worth remembering that organisational transformations are difficult endeavours. In fact research shows that their efforts fail about 70 per cent of the time. So, at least for clarity of purpose, the ABC has friends who will be there to ensure the ABC does not forget the values that they feel are critical to Australian society.
“There are so many issues that we’re facing for the future that it’s really important that we have media organisations that will give us information that’s credible, that’s accurate, that’s useful in helping us as citizens to make decisions,” Lindenmayer said. “Independent public broadcasters are far better placed to do that than commercial media organisations that have all sorts of reasons not to provide quality independent news and opinion.”
Journalism Writing | Diploma, Screen and Media – TAFE NSW, Ultimo – Sydney | Produced in November 2023
Featured image: Stormy sky over ABC Ultimo Building – Photo: Fernando Gaggero