Report: ABC may trim foreign bureau crews

There are more fears for ABC foreign bureaus today with speculation crews could be trimmed in Tokyo, Bangkok, New Delhi and New Zealand bureaus.

Guardian Australia reports about 20 international jobs including camera operators, producers and local fixers could go from 11 foreign bureaus, as part of looming ABC budget cuts.

It speculates four foreign correspondent “hubs” in Washington, London, Jakarta and Beijing would cover a wider area with fly-in / fly-out journalists and camera crews for regional stories, drawing upon video journalists working from home.

That would be a major downgrade from broadcast camera operators working as part of a foreign TV bureau.

A Middle East bureau covering Jerusalem and Beirut is also under review.

A source told Guardian it would be “idiotic” to downgrade the role of the cameramen in Bangkok and Tokyo, having recently covering protests, coups and natural disasters.

“We’ve used a cameraman in Bangkok for years. Without him we would have been in danger in such a volatile area. He is a lifesaver. To think that we might move to a model where we would have to survive without him is horrendous,” they said.

Guardian also suggests Foreign Correspondent may be trimmed once more, from 30 to 26 episodes a year.

An ABC spokeswoman said staff would be advised once plans were finalised.

UPDATED: Fairfax reports ABC and SBS are facing combined job losses as high as 400 to 500 people, while the pay-out figure from the expected cuts will run into the tens of millions of dollars.

As well as job cuts, a range of programs could go and the two broadcasters will be encouraged to make savings on transmission contracts, distribution costs for TV catch-up services SBS On Demand and ABC iView and contracts for services such as mobile phones.