Scout: With your elitist talk of lowest common denominator, you started the point scoring and personal invective. This is why many in the left are rightly despised for their hypocrisy -- they openly disdain the average person, yet then claim to be for them. I notice you're happy to benefit from the taxes of the lowest common denominator though.

Your belief that objectively, the ABC is quality viewing and the commercial stations "pap" or "boringly mainstream" is why you're a bigot. Besides, it's absurd to try to argue the objectivity of one's personal tastes, which is why I don't try to argue for or against particular (entertainment) programmes. At a stretch, I might accept the importance of Question Time, or perhaps (at a greater stretch) alternative journalism.

Maybe the ABC would have to do the following: attract more viewers/listeners, charge realistic subscriptions like cable TV (so you pay for what you use), and/or include some form of sponsorship or advertisement (like RRR and PBS do).

I do believe in privatisation, which excludes both the corporate welfare of big business and the ABC. I don't want anyone else paying for my own tastes either, as wonderful as I consider them. The outcome that matters to me is everyone leaving everyone else alone.

Also, what exactly do you consider "independence", and from whom? Surely independence means some level of accountability or response to the public. I have more chance with the democracy (even if I'm in the minority) of ratings than I do with the ABC where I have no say against whatever ideological agenda (left or right) has power.

To be cynical about it, I believe my taxes are for funding the government gravy train, and also for the politicians to use as a tool to divide those who are productive and those who aren't. Governments (of any description) exist to promote and maintain their own power. Their intention is to maintain a docile and dependent class, and then extort money from the productive class as protection money. If anyone else did it, we'd call them the mob and be outraged.