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ABC, SBS staff to learn where axe falls on Monday.

ABC boss will tell staff of job losses first before making the information public, but hopes to protect content.

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senatesmsABC and SBS staff will learn how the axe will hit them as a result of government funding cuts on Monday.

ABC’s $254m funding cuts will mean job losses, but SBS is not planning redundancies.

ABC Managing Director Mark Scott told a marathon Senate Estimates hearing committee last night staff would be addressed in a national hook-up at 11am on Monday.

Scott will address staff in the Ultimo atrium on Monday, with the building locked to the public during this time. ABC staff in other states and territories will view his address via an ABC intranet.

Public statements are expected after staff have been advised first of management decisions.

Last night the ABC boss refused to be drawn on specific numbers, programming cuts or locations that would be hit under the cuts.

He reiterated the broadcaster would seek to protect local content and pledged support for iview, mobile, online and regional services in meeting audience demands and the ABC Charter.

“I’ve said in the past that ratings matter at the ABC but they’re not the only things that matter. Of course if we do an outstanding programme like the one we did during Mental Health Week we want that to find as big an audience as possible. We want to have a significant Reach on that. We want to have good audience share,” he said.

“But we clearly don’t simply allocate all our resources based around audience share. If that was the case you wouldn’t have a Radio National. You wouldn’t have a Classic FM. So the Charter holds up very well in talking about providing a balance between programmes of wide appeal and specialist broadcasting programmes in Section 6-2-A3.”

But he avoided direct answers on the question of Adelaide TV production, 7:30 Friday editions, foreign correspondents, local radio programmes and the price of Peppa Pig.

He repeated support for a mixed-model of production with the independent sector producing content in states around Australia citing recent examples such as ANZAC Girls and The Code.

But in finalising staff job losses, ABC would also have to fund redundancies, which could include selling off properties.

Remarkably, Scott also admitted he had not seen a final copy of the Lewis Report.

“To be frank, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a final version of the Lewis Report, I think I saw a late draft of the Lewis Report. But it is not the ABC’s document,” he said.

Scott conceded he was “surprised” the Report had not been leaked, but was concerned about commercial in confidence information becoming public.

“There are some elements in the back of that Report that we believe are commercial in confidence and you wouldn’t want that information getting out putting the ABC and SBS at a commercial disadvantage.”

It includes details on production costs, staffing details, contracts -but not wages.

He also criticised an editorial in The Australian that suggested the ABC was pursuing a “youth strategy” through its digital platforms, noting it showed a lack of insight into digital uptakes by older Australians.

“I think it is absolutely curious in the mind of the author, who somehow thinks that a smartphone strategy is a youth strategy,” he said.

On the question of ABC Editor in Chief, he explained that while he took responsibility for content broadcast he was not consulted on every radio guest or every news story before it went to air but noted “the buck stops here.” If Malcolm Turnbull wanted the Board to alter his role he should write to the Board.

“I think the Minister should find out what the Editor in Chief does,” he said.

“I think the Minister should reflect on that, I think if the Minister then feels he wants to raise that issue with the Board, he should write to the board.”

Scott also declined to confirm that ABC, ABC2, ABC3 and ABC News 24 would be safe from cuts, later noting $800m costs in transmission fees and moves by British broadcasters to put some channels online.

But there were savings to be made in support services and efficiency programmes underway, together with closer dealings with SBS. ABC has offered SBS a floor of its Melbourne base, currently under construction, if it can pay for the fit at “peppercorn rent.”

Scott will travel to every ABC state and territory headquarters over the coming week for face to face meetings with staff, before another round with Senate Estimates.

11 Responses

  1. The ideology of the Liberal party is to restrain the ABC, has been for many years, the continual cuts has neutered ABC , once the place to go for decent drama and docos, now a flood of cheap down market “comedy ” shows where the panel laugh at their own wise cracks. even the BBC shows are now going to be second hand after Foxtel has flogged them for 12 months.

  2. I’d prefer they make a large cut like shifting ABC2 to share with ABC3 in the evenings or axing News24 rather than lots of smaller cuts all over the place. I know the Libs will certainly not be getting my vote in the Vic election. If it wasn’t for the ABC I’d be surprised if I ever switched my tv on.

  3. @victor
    To suggest that the ABC staff through previous redundancies has been whittled down to just the mediocre employees is highly offensive.
    At this time, it should be remembered that what you are actually talking about is real people with real responsibilities, families and mortgages etc.
    Furthermore it should be remembered that ABC staff are some of the best and most experienced in the country who are used to producing great content on shoe string budgets and work extremely efficiently. Many are multi skilled and absolutely love and take pride in what they produce.

  4. I only saw the last hour or so of the session (via ABC24) but what a frustrating experience. I was almost shouting at the TV out of frustration at the senators. Clearly the LNP ones were playing hard ball while attempting to be competent, and the ALP senator was abruptly cut off for daring to go over 5 minutes. Someone may correct me but I’m not sure that the others were fiercely forced to comply with that limit.

    And then the Nationals senator insisting for guarantee that no cuts be made to Local Radio. Perhaps the senator should realise it is her coalition that has made these $ cuts. They’re happy to cut the $ but want guarantees it doesn’t hit their electorates. (see also Christopher Pyne)

  5. The ABC is not driving out commercial operators. Because it has always had national coverage it is just well placed to expand platforms and it has a duty to offer content widely. Redundancy payments are a huge issue for the ABC because they’re so generous and it has led to many mediocre staff being kept because they’re too expensive to make redundant. When voluntary redundancies have been offered at the ABC it is often the best who leave knowing they can easily work elsewhere. While I have little sympathy for the government’s motives towards the ABC I think Turnbull is right to suggest it needs a Chief Financial Officer as a matter of urgency, someone who can cut through the bureaucracy and leave Mark Scott to worry about the ABC’s direction and content quality.

  6. @Pertinax
    Yes, I agree 100% with what you say but there are still quite a few full time staff production people in both Syd and Melb. Just watching the credits on Mad as Hell I can identify over 75% of the crew are ABC full time staff. My hunch is that when ABC Melb moves out of Ripponlea, not a lot of the staff will go over to the new building at Southbank. Ultimo will continue to be the epicentre and the other states will be manned by a handful of executives.

  7. It’s not the fault of public broadcasters that the commercial side of the industry is in dire straits. Nor is it their aim to run others out of town. Yet that’s the way the argument is being framed. They are being asked to make sacrifices to prop up the failings of others. So frustrating. As for “efficiency” … the reality is that the most efficient way to run things would be to do almost everything out of Sydney. If the government wants or expects production in other regions to continue, then they’re going to have to accept that some inefficiency is inevitable.

  8. @pipon2
    The ABC already outsources all of its drama, comedy and much of its light entertainment to independent producers mostly in Sydney in Melbourne. It where the talent and the industry are. Its the way the industry works, it what the commercial networks, BBC and US networks do (though US networks own their own independent producers for vertical integration).

    It doesn’t matter in which studio stuff is shot or edited in. It’s where the location shots are done and where the writing sets it that matter for local feel.

    Adelaide only produces a few hours of TV a year, mostly through independent producers. When Hobart was doing Collectors they were flying cast and guests in from Melbourne and other states every week.

    News and Current Affairs, which is most of what the ABC makes itself, remains local.

  9. It was interesting watching Mark Scott at the Senate Estimates hearing last night. Like a lot of industries, television is going through huge changes at the moment and the ABC is no exception (although it’s changing at a slower pace and under more public scrutiny). I believe the ‘mixed model production’ is the one favoured by the hierarchy, where ABC TV will become more and more a playout centre for indie content, with very little full in-house production. I expect that Adelaide will loose TV production and that the ABC will become even more Sydney centric. A lot of retrenched Production staff often find themselves back at the ABC as contractors/freelancers which, I believe, is the preferred staffing model. Time, of course, will tell.

  10. Scott has publically stated that the ABC needs to target and retain younger viewers to have a future. Putting skits in the 7:30 report, cutting back current affairs shows watched by older viewers and not making a series of Miss Fisher for 2014 is part of funding Scotts empire building.

    The Australian is attacking the ABC’s digital moves because it they are fighting for their own survival. But it is true that the ABC driving commercial operators out of business is not what they exist for. And in trying to take out News Corp the ABC will inflict most damage on Fairfax.

    The BBC was doing this to, (though it gets 3 times the relative funding as the ABC). At a time when ITV is facing declining ad revenue and newspapers and talk radio are struggling because of internet competition it was becoming a threat to media diversity. It’s funding was cut, the licence fee frozen and an…

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