One of the things that really used to annoy me about the ABC was the lack of effort in pronunciation.

One of the worst aspects was those silly little girls who were no doubt good at English & perhaps other languages at school, who today infest the ABC news departments, & now those of other broadcasters.

Mon Tizer, used to indicate that mining city in Western Queensland used to be very painful, before I finally gave up listening to the ABC at all. Now I find the commercial stations are full of the same silly little girls, or their blood brethren, meaning I have been forced to migrate to the net for my news.

It was probably the presentation of yet another story about "BRAVE" little Tom, Dick or Harry, who stubbed his toe, & required 2 stiches that forced me to look else where. Once news became as puerile as those dreadful morning chat shoes some women watch, there was no longer any point in watching.

Just in passing, why is it that these silly little girls all have such dreadful voices, & why don't the media require some elocution work by their presenters

For some strange reason there's a standard Strine. In UK, people in Scortlan can't follow warst carntry.

A timely and interesting article. Slovenly speech and writing do not constitute language change to conform with societal change, but rather are products of laziness and (worse) affectation and (worse still) affectation imported from America.

An ugly common speech affectation at present is the uptick at the end of each phrase making it sound like a question, with only the last phrase allowed to sound like part of a sentence. I used to think it was a Sydney affectation but it's common in America so is probably imported.

One place to hear good, normal, grammatical speech is in commentary during AFL football matches. No fuss, just normal spoken English.
(I'd except the deadly boring pre-game on-camera performances of commentators bragging to each other about their knowledge of games of yesteryear: the English is OK but the content is the pits.)

The ABC is a major distorter of language without offending against grammar and syntax but trashing the meanings of words in order to support an ideological mission: to protect the march of the Islamic cult. Thus the term "anti-racist" is used to describe protecting not any race but a religion. Dhimmitude is woven into the fabric of the ABC which deplores intolerance of the most intolerant major religion on earth.

"Race" and "religion" have totally different meanings. Race is protected from negative discrimination in the minds of virtually all today's Australians (as it should be) so use of the term to refer to a religion which is bigotry on steroids is an attempt to extend this linguistic truce imperceptibly to that religion. Watch out for it!

I can cope with the nasal delivery.
I manage with the accents.
I can tolerate the colloquial,but I find the lack of knowledge of simple grammar, deplorable, and as each class year graduates the knowledge becomes less and less.
I estimate that by 2020 we, who were educated in English grammar, will need interpreters to understand what is being said.