Sensible advice.

The ABC should be privatised as is the American ABC. Then it can legitimately waffle on with its political bias, to an audience willing to pay for it.

I can understand the authors need for brevity, but the subject of political bias would need to be added for a more complete overview.

Dan

The comment " … may have been appropriate in the past" certainty applies to the ABC, which is no longer appropriate in 21st. Century Australia.

"The ABC, however, was formed by the government as a way to regulate broadcast services and to ensure that audiences had reasonable access to a range and high standard of radio services", is what the ABC says about itself.

'Regulate broadcast services'. How? And what's to regulate? One taxpayer-funded network regulates all the others? 'High standard of radio services'? Hardly. The main excuse, not mentioned, was to connect to rural and remote regions. That was the only reason for the existence of the ABC, I would have thought, given the cost to the private sector.

But, with satellites and the internet, the main (and only valid) reason for a billion dollar broadcaster would seem to have vanished.

In an era where governments are spending too much and taking too much from taxpayers, there is no excuse whatsoever for the white elephant that the ABC has become. Forget the political rants. It's about dollars and cents.

Every so often the extreme right-wing think-tank comes up with this nonsense, to limit our right to know, have the excesses and corruption by pollies exposed? Even send in their arm of the police to shut it down and whistleblowing ASAP. And try with all their trickery, to water down a Federal ICAC, so as to avoid scrutiny and exposure.

Our ABC is already massively underfunded and under attack by this (fifth column) element?

If the ABC is privatised? All we will have left is the Murdoch media and those voices on the extreme right who know to a genic man that climate change is BS, and that coal is good tucker, etc/etc!

We have no bill of rights and our freedom of speech is under attack by the hard right, as a prelude to totalitarianism? Elected dictatorships?

And the first casualty in this exercise, is freedom of the press and freedom of speech! As in China, Russia and Turkey to name the most glaring examples? And where whistleblowers and investigative Journalists disappear, to who knows where?

Protect the last bastion of freedom of thought/expression and investigative journalism we have left!

The AAP have folded the tent and moved on!
Alan B.

Only about two hours ago I listened to an ABC sheilah getting into young Josh our treasurer. Gawd, was this thing vicious, she was like a Jack Russell with a rat.
The Australian ABC is a Labor propaganda machine & should therefore be privatised. With that Billion Dollars we could have the best National Service in the World instead. This would guarantee a better future for Australian in a way this ABC could only ever dream about !

Dearest Alan.

What you seem not to recognise in your criticism of the ABC critics, is your defence of a personal political bias; which is exactly what you criticise in others of the opposite view to yours.

The ABC is hugely bias. Not only am I personally opposed to the whole gory glory of the organisation, but I'm hostile to it.

You'd need to be Blind Freddy, not to recognise the bias. But you simply sweep it away by declaring your own bias view of it, pronouncing your view as the acceptable status quo.

There it sits, pandering to your world view of small "l" liberal, which is exactly as posters above point out, the Labor/Green bias, when actually, there are other opinions.

That makes the ABC narrow minded and non- inclusive of the general population.

To be fair, it needs to be totally disbanded, and cost savings to Government redistributed to more inclusive and broarder community engaged investments for tax payer funds.

Dan

Sorry, Dan. Cannot agree with your take. And understand, no left-leaning political enthusiast, is ever going to advocate for a flat tax! Never!

Tax is by definition, other folk's money! To pay for services we all use and need, one of which is to be informed!

And liked by fair-minded folk on all sides of the political spectrum! No question! Especially those older folk some of who like me paid over 60 cents in the dollar as our share of a common responsibility and in keeping with a true Christian ethos!

A nation shall be judged by how they treat the less well off in their midst Or to quote, Insomuch as you do to the least among you, you also do unto me!

It was my generation and others before me who built this country and it has been extreme right-wing thinkers who sold it and us down the river, created the growing divide between the haves and have nots!

What has the never ever consulted, privatisation done for this nation, except economic harm and the loss of our modest manufacturing base!?

The ABC is not perfect, but miles better than that channel that hosts patent right-wing air-heads like Credilin etc.

Think, when we owned the telco, the bank, and a couple of airlines, rated the best in the world!

These same entities paid enough annual revenue into consolidated revenue to pay for aged pensions.

Instead of privatising the ABC and crying poor, the government should cap negative gearing in real estate at 5 houses, and eliminate capital gains subsidies for real estate investors. There's more than the total ABC budget there!

Talk paying your way and for what you use, runner?

Ok, but just make sure it's for all, just not the poor and downtrodden as the only ones paying for it and ( anti-Christian) welfare for the rich!
Alan B.

Der Diver Dan,

You say; "The ABC is hugely bias."

No it isn't, demonstrably so as it has passed review after review.

Further it is the only news organisation with a decent charter of unbiased reporting in Australia.

If your own bias leads you to disregard the empirical evidence then that is fine, but expect to be called out on it.

If people love it so much they can pay. As for those who hate marxism it is theft to take money from us to allow privileged feminist to tell us how victimised they are. Let them pay for their own crapping on whities and men hating propaganda.

passed review after review.
SteeleRedux,
Yeah, by ABC Journalists !
Show us a review of the ABC by non-academics & private enterprise journalists.

Dear individual,

Sure, here you go.

An audit of Q&A, probably the most often accused of bias by you lot, done by a "non-academic & private enterprise journalist" Ray Martin.

Here is what he said; "Inevitably, when you analyse Q&A over a lengthy period — as we have now done — you come to the conclusion that it is a balanced, entertaining and informative program."
http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/tv-shows/ray-martin-delivers-his-verdict-on-qa/news-story/1f2231b6c273b0fe026f6e5472888801

This is the link to the full report.
http://about.abc.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/ABCEditorialReview6.pdf

What else do you need?

yes, i agree that ABC is vital.

However, i think it can raise some of its own money through advertising.

IMO, SBS is at least as good as the ABC with regard to tv and relies partly on advertising. I actually watch more SBS than ABC these days.

PBS gets little govt funding, and is also top quality.

My dearest Al.

I'm going to allow a little ABC to seep in here, to support my argument.
The compass survey.
My dot could not be more exactly in the centre. It's probably why I have a shine for Scott Morrison.
I cannot be accused of left or right wing bias.

It's that infuriating excuse of balanced debate called QandA, which ultimately prompted me to abandon all hope for it. The tipping point.

Talk about a totally biased stacking of the odds in favour of a liberal conclusion. A good test for it would be to use its current form of small "l" liberal conclusion, and interview Donald Trump.
Be honest, could you imagine a standard QandA audience sitting respectfully through that?
Obviously the ABC pick their own audience.

Let's have some balance to it. I suggest exactly half the audience are members of the LNP, and the other half Labor.
Not that I'd be encouraged to watch it, since QandA was one huge reason my TV set went airborn out the back door years ago.

SR.
I'm rolling in the aisles again at your suggestion private enterprise media is without bias.
You obviously think we're a bunch of idiots here, but even Forest Gump would disagree with that proposition.

Dan

SteeleRedux,
Haha, very funny, Ray Martin's just crawling in the hope to still get onto their gravy train.
Not a very valid endorsement !

Dear individual,

A prime time journalist and one of the original 60 minutes reporter and later producer of one of the most well known mainstream tv shows and yet he is out because he might be harbouring thoughts of working for the ABC one day?

Get your hand off it mate.

You asked, I delivered and all you have in rebuttal is some lame excuse.

Par for the course I'm afraid and pretty pathetic.

I'm afraid and pretty pathetic.
SteeleRedux,
Spot-on self appraisal !

Come off it SR, Ray Martin is, like most of the media, so far left he can probably only make anti clockwise circles.

After 20 or 30 years with my radio rusted on to the ABC, I ditched the growing biased outfit about a dozen years ago.

The other day I had a very early morning requirement, so fired up the old clock radio, still so tuned.

Some ratbag woman came on with the radio, getting me out of bed in record time, to shut her down.

I guess I have to admit, this proved the ABC is good for something after all, but certainly not worth more than a dollar per annum of my money.

I agree Chris Lewis, I have not watched ABC TV more than half a dozen times a year for a decade or more. All the good docos that used to be ABC fare have moved to SBS these days.

Sell the rest, I could not care less, but keep Radio National.

It has its faults. There are too many god programs. Its main conservative presenters (like Switzer and Vanstone) are twits. Its arts programs, especially books, have also been invaded by self-regarding lightweights.

But also, it still provides a good range of largely apolitical science, evidence and information that I am just never going to get from commercial sources.

Dear Hasbeen,

Leave off old cock, individual specifically asked "Show us a review of the ABC by non-academics & private enterprise journalists." which I did and then he scurried for the hills. Not sure why you felt the need to stick the beak in.

As to you falling out of favour with the ABC as you have gotten older do you ever think it might just be you have progressively become more curmudgeonly? Nothing to be ashamed of, I see it in my self. Suffering fools less lightly and all of that.

I can't imagine the vast majority of young to middle aged Australians enjoying the kind of radio you would want blaring across the mens shed. Alan Jones seems to be the go in your demographic now. Doesn't cost you a penny either so enjoy.

Actually, ABC Radio is somewhat better than ABC TV.

No doubt the luvvies will be reporting Sarah Hanson Young supporting a man slapping his wife. Could you imagine it was a conservative. The abc are chief hypocrites at tax payer expense.

individual,

<<Actually, ABC Radio is somewhat better than ABC TV.>>

Since I rarely listen to ABC radio, I read ABC News online and watch TV News and 7.30. I find the latter to be a left-wing bore.

I have been encouraged by the good coverage of ABC Rural News on the drought and flood in the outback. Some of it comes via the Landline programme. Take these examples of

(a) The drought: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-14/day-zero-approaching-as-towns-run-out-of-water/11271430

(b) the floods: http://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-03-05/heavy-rainfall-for-nsw-farmers-helps-boost-mental-health/12030130

ABC has so many journalists on the ground to cover these situations. I was in discussion with a non-ABC news editor who complained that that newspaper was unable to compete with the ABC budget for journalists and programs. I think her point was genuine when the ABC is funded to the tune of $1 billion a year by the Aust govt: http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/BudgetReview201819/Fundingfornationalbroadcasters

For me, it raises the issue of which is the best funding model for the ABC? My view is that the ABC should seek some advertising (like SBS) and the govt. funding should be reduced accordingly.