I couldn't agrre with you more Ari, but just watch how many irate readers are going to shoot you down in flames for having the "temerity" to suggest changing their ABC.

At least Auntie tries to sift out an appraisal of what our increasingly unaccountable politicians are up to.Influenced by their masters, the commercial media has dropped the ball on political analysis.

Like the vicar's egg, Our ABC is half good, half bad. We need more Australian made content.
Programmes like 'Australian Story', 'Kimberly Cops' and some documentaries are excellent. 'Foreign Correspondent' and 'Four Corners' are winners.
Some of the trendy shows are awful but they must appeal to someone. We must have ABC with NO advertisements.
One excellent programme was 'Operatunity' where budding singers in England were given a chance to do their thing, why not have a programme where the amateur theatre groups could ,with a bit of help from wardrobe and props, stage plays and compete for a trophy.It would be interesting and challenging for such groups.
ABC must be more than current affairs and news, that would be as tedious as watching constant ads. There must be variety but let it be of value.

Spot on Ari - an excellent explanation of
a) the reasons why there is a good economic case for the public to fund the ABC, and
b) the yardstick that should be to judge what it should and should not be airing.

Alas, political and social pressure tends to mean that the ABC chases ratings almost as avidly as the commercial media. It seems plausible that accepting advertising would exacerbate this trend. I look forward to the day when the ABC can brag that its audiences are so small!

The free-to-air commercial stations make a buck selling audiences to advertisers, not selling programs to audiences, hence their financial incentive to program to the lowest common denominator. The "market failure" justification for public funding would diminish if Australia ever got a decent, competitive, unbundled commercial cable/satellite service (rather than the woeful Fox options at present). That looks a long way off, though.

Excellent Ari. Tell the Guv to keep their hands off auntie, or "we'll rip their bloody arms off, and we will too".

The ABC is a service to the people of Australia especially in keeping the Government accountable. This government inverts this like everything else with free speech, so now the ABC is a service to the Government agenda to keeping the people accountable to Government.

In other words, they refuse to keep our traditional "gentleman's arm's distance" from this service to the people, just like they refuse to keep an arms distance from the Australia Council, the Australian Film Commission, Universities, and schools. We have an anti-Australian Government in conflict with its own people.

If they kill auntie, we end up with Pravda. Pravda was the Soviet Government's voice, in translation meaning "truth". The problem is, many Australians still see the ABC being independent from the Government and believe it is the truth, and don't realise that they are being bullied by the Howard Government. The ABC staff do a great job, as well as can be expected under these conditions. In the Societ Union, however, no one believed it was truth, as they saw it for what it was.

The broader market idea is an absurd arguement. In its speciality, the ABC was giving a service private broadcasters couldn't offer. This gave the media overall diversity. Now they want a bonzai, the voice of Johnny Howard, laced with trashy real life TV. Maybe they will have something like Big Brother uplate now on the ABC, which would be like Howard chucking a real "brown-eye" to the audience, Abott having sex with even more Art Students, and Amanda Vanstone showing her...oh don't think about it, and Downer with his famous fish-net stockings doing the Time Warp, and making all drag queens puke. We know they want to. This Government perverted media, then perverts they are.

Auntie! Where's that black motor bike? Do your worst and showem the guardian over the people's voice. Is there any pride left in being Australian?

“It’s scandalous for the ABC to put its hand out for more money while simultaneously spending its existing funds so poorly.”

That is pure subjective opinion.

The next bit about broaden audience versus public outrage. Bit of a "bet each way".

“The reality is that at present the ABC can barely be distinguished from these commercial rivals.”

Motherhood statement – based on subjective opinion.

Finally “This is an important debate, but perhaps more fundamental is the debate over what role the ABC should perform: whether it should be an important component of a vibrant democracy, or a pale imitation of its commercial rivals. With a taxpayer-funded ABC blog devoted to the antics of Britney and Delta, it seems to be a debate that needs to be had.”

So why did you not address that “important debate” instead of whining on with so much pretentious drivel about scandals and subjective views on poor budgetary allocations?

You have spent an entire article criticizing those of the ABC who are employed to decide programme matters and (dare I say it) blog content. You have then suggested a “debate” on what should be discussed, doubtless that could be padded out with points of procedural order.

What you could have done and what might have been a more crative deployment of your time, would have been to use this article to make some creative suggestions or some statement of "directional agenda" which could then be the subject of genuine debate.

Brittany or Delta, who cares what is on an obscure blog somewhere, likewise balancing Kath and Kim to Nightline to Compass or Songs of Praise.
Be ready to suggest alternatives before you start tearing down what is, otherwise the ABC will have no need at all for any budget to create scandals from.

The ABC has a DUTY to promote healthy values.

Those of the 'makeitupasugo' school will suggest it 'DOES' promote values. Sure...ok...right... err.. which ones ?

Do we take the view

a) "The Media simply reflects society as it is" or...

b) "The Media SHAPES the community, and then reflects it"

c) "Both"

Ok..its a bit chicken and egg, but here is a wonderful example which suggests the Media SHAPES a community.

THE PORN PLAGUE.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19567811-601,00.html
It was filthy, just red with dust. And at both ends of the bed there was a stack of pornography, hard-core pornography, at least a foot high.
"I looked at the man who had led me there and I thought: 'What are you playing at?' But later I realised, this is normal. This is how men in these communities have learned to behave."

Umm... did i read 'LEARNED' ? yes. indeed I DID..

Where did they LEARN it from ? WHERE ?

Hmmmmm perhaps from the SLACK/ PATHETIC/ HUMANISTIC/ "how dare we CENSOR stuff" MONEY GRUBBING/ SEX SELLS/ ADULTS ARE ENTITLED TO VIEW WHAT THEY LIKE/ HOW DARE YOU TELL ME WHAT I CAN OR CANNOT READorLOOKAT mindset which pervades not just the ABC but all our major media outlets and worst of all.....US.

EVERY service station is SUBMERGED in degrading filth on open display.
They highlight 'SEALED SECTIONS' for added titilation...

SHAME !

yes.. I REPEAT SHAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE .....on all of us. for not doing MORE to rid ourselves of this attitude which allows this.

Its the old "how many children have to die before we get boom gates at this level crossing" thing.

May I have a little 'Bible Bash' now ? can ? ..good.. here it is.

ROMANS 1

Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.

Yep..sounds pretty up2date2me

Place people on the ABC who will FIX this.

He Ari, in regard to our old faithfull ABC/aunty your decree concerning the "frothy" news stories goes:

"There is no great positive externality generated by the broadcast of these sorts of programs: they add nothing to our democracy or society that wouldn’t be present if commercial broadcasters were to broadcast the material."

I'm not sure about this. I.e. lets take the story of Britney Spears and how she wants the media to "leave her alone". If the ABC could be bothered they might consider cross referencing it to something more pressing about the media generally; like the story of Dianna and what affect the media had on her life. The distinction between high and low brow "entertainment" is possibly blurred in this case. The ramifications of cross referencing as part of the ABC's ethos in the aforementioned context might even re-invigorate interest British politics and how the "Mother" country affects Australia (if at all). ABC may even go so far as to jumpstart a whole debate on Australia and the Republic issue... You never really know where the story might lead you. Its really a matter of how the ABC, our old faithfull, wants to represent these issues, not to produce a kind of benign frivolity, but rather something to stimulate intellectual debate. Which ofcourse would then be subject to state provisions and so forth.

Does it really matter how the news is generated? The "Shallow End" can always become a conduit to something deeper...

Well now that Keith Windshuttle is on the ABC board it can be the all-singing, all-dancing something-for-everyone who hates Aborigines and Australian historians.

Better Windshuttle, than the Rainier-clone windbags, we've had to endure up till now

Horus, do you count Albrechtsen, Brunton and Skala as "Rainier-clone windbags"? I think Windschuttle will fit right in (Right being the operative word).

I agree with the articles perspective but disagree with the conclusions that have been drawn

This article riles against ABC coverage of popular culture but misses the essential distinction between the ABC and the commercial coverage; the ABC coverage provides non-commercially biased analysis of popular culture.

Celebrity News such as The Shallow End – You may have guessed that this is somewhat satirical.
Light weight TV shows such as Kath and Kim - Again, social satire
Music videos shows such as Rage – Public access to non-commercially driven music with an emphasis on Australia.

You might not want to accept these thing as part of Australian Culture, but they are and thus need analysis which is not provided by the commercial sector.

I would also like to note that, as the author who has their own blog knows, blogs cost virtually nothing.

Ari it may come of a surprice to you that large parts of Oz don't have any channel other then ABC. So it does need to provide some of that stuff. BD there is no god so way bring him up on a thread about the ABC?

Johnj ,
The proof of the pudding is in the eating:
Whatever the gastronomic preferences of the bakery’s management, the cooks in the kitchen have been consistently turning out some very left-tasting puddings.

Kenny

as to 'There is no god' ...this is of course an issue of faith.
You already know my views on this, so that is why I bring up the Almighty in regard to the ABC and its impact regarding values.

Most of my post did not refer to God, I added the last little section as an explanation of 'why' we have arrived at where we are 'at' morally.

Whether one accepts my view on this does not change the pitiable and lamentable state we are in.

The sad thing is, it is not just the aboriginal communities which are plagued by Porn of every description, there are hopeless, weak, vulnerable and misguided people in our own communities, who will, in the absense of any abiding hope for the future, grasp out for anything which will give them a 'hit' of pleasure, no matter how perverted.

On the other hand, I noticed a long time ago that sin is not the exclusive domain of those mentioned in the above paragraph, it dwells in all of us, but is more 'sophisticated' in those of higher intellect and education.

I raise the issue of shaping values in connection with the ABC because people have to make DECISIONS about what they will air, and the mood and tone of commentary which accompanies it. If they convey the mood of 'its all good...its all just up to the individual... or..as Queen sang "Nothing really matters, at all"...then we will undoubtedly reap the social consequences of such an approach.

All the Aboriginal communities are showing us, is OURSELVES but perhaps in a more vivid portrayal.
When the media sends the 'para' message that Porn is fine, (up to you) then, were all diminished,degraded and destroyed as humans.

I'm making the point that the ABC via its board, should be guided

Well, Ari, I never considered a show like "Countdown", where numerous video clips extolled the virtues of illegal drug abuse, violence against women, the use of weapons for solving disputes, and the idea that young girls should act like amateur harlots, as "quality entertainment." But I don't see you complaining about that.

The fact is, that for too long the ABC has simply been the Propaganda Ministry for the ALP, the Greens and the Democrats. I gave up watching the ABC News acouple of years ago. All I ever got was Cornelia Rau, David Hicks, Asylum Seekers, Detention centres, and Mark Latham. Anybody watching the ABC prior to the last Federal election would have thought that Mark Latham was the new Messiah, he could walk on water, and he had already been elected PM.

We the public, expect the ABC to reflect the values and attitudes of the entire community, not just the anti everything trendoids to which always being a critic of the responsible part of society has become something of a fashion statement.

The inclusion of very fine journalists like Janet Albrechtson is a step in the right direction. And now we have heard that Keith Windshuttle, who exposed the airbrushing of Australian colonial history by post Marxist academics, has joined the team. It is obvious that people like Ari are crushed that the ABC is now being made to exhibit a bit of balance. This is what the public, fed up of the rampant ABC political bias, now want.

The subsequent crying and moaning of the ABC trendoids, who feel their power to influence gullible young minds slipping away, is music to my ears.

There has been a steady shift in the image of ABC television

Commercials for ABC Shops, as well as programme promos now run heavily in station breaks, several at a time, giving the station a very SBS look.

Certainly, programme promotions, both on television and radio, are
important to audience awareness. Their slick creative execution
enhances viewer acceptance, by embodying the proven marketing
techniques of the advertising industry.
However, the high number of commercials for the ABC’s various business arms, appears excessive.
Station breaks, saturated with shop and concert advertising plus promos, are matched to the creative themes of various station ID's to achieve a
co-coordinated marketing burst between programmes.
National TV seems to have moved closer in presentation style to its
commercial counterparts.

Another disturbing trend is towards events marketing in news and current affairs programming, both on TV and radio.
Irrelevant stories about show business artists, or imminent concerts, are presented under the guise of news.
The generally positive storyline treatment suggests that the public
relations and marketing industry may either be manipulating producers, or itself being targeted subtly by Aunty as potential future business clients.

Discussions about commercialisation, funding bids, management changes, and internet policy development exist alongside blurred
demarcation between editorial and advertising content in our independent national broadcaster.

Is this changing presentation style part of a strategy to condition viewers for paid advertising on the ABC?
I hope not!
It is doubtful that its demographic, the socio-economic A’s and B’s, would accept any loss of traditional commercial-free broadcasting.

A few points on “market failure.” Markets are very efficient devices for providing and processing information, for organising production and distribution of goods and services so as to allocate resources to their highest valued use and thus maximise community income. Their superiority to central planning is well attested.

There may, however, be cases where markets do not produce the most efficient outcome, where there is “market failure.” This tends to arise in particular circumstances, for example when there is a natural monopoly, where externalities are not taken into account, where there is information asymmetry or in the case of public goods.

The identification of market failure alone is not, however, sufficient reason for government intervention. There can be no presumption that governments outperform markets: indeed, “government failure” is more common. To justify intervention it is not enough to know that the market is failing; it is also necessary to be confident that the government can do better.

Should the cost to the community of market failure be significant, government should first see whether it is possible to improve the workings of the market. If not, it must assess its capacity to produce a better outcome, and the costs and benefits of any intervention. The results of many studies suggest the prospect of a net benefit from intervention must be considered doubtful.

The Economist’s summary: “The skills of government in addressing market failure are often exaggerated. Government intervention must overcome three formidable difficulties: the tendency of regulated firms to “capture” their regulators, weak incentives for efficiency within the public sector, and missing information (where markets lack it, governments are likely to lack it as well). … The record of intervention is poor … history suggests that the burden of proof should lie with those who would extend the government’s role.”

So in respect of the ABC, you need to ask, in the modern world of many information sources and global communications, where is the market failure? How important is it? How can it best be addressed? The answer might very well not be the ABC in its present form.

I think Ari overstates the case. While I personally don't enjoy The Deep End, the ABC Charter obliges the ABC to both make programs of broad appeal (that is, popular programs) as well as specialist material for minority audiences.

By and large the ABC does this pretty well - particularly in radio where the number of different networks enables each network to have its own style.

Enemies of the ABC frequently complain that only ten or fifteen percent of people use the ABC. This is of course a lie - something like 75% of Australians use the ABC each week - but it is true that better educated people use the ABC more often.

If the ABC were ever to be in a position where only 15% of the population tuned in, it would not only be breaching its own Charter, but it would also become very vulnerable.

Darce Cassidy

The ABC is passed its use by date.
When I listen to my country ABC station, & get a Brisbane interview, with some "B" grade entertainer, re their Brisbane concert, tonight, its passed its use by date.
When I get a talk back session with a Brisbane councilor, on the same country station, its passed its use by date.
When that Brisbane presenter then extols the virtues of my "LOCAL" ABC, its passed its use by date.
When, at 2 O'clock in the morning, with rain pouring down, I turn on the ABC, to check for flooding, & get advice that there's a storm in Sydney, its passed its use by date.
In fact, if you don,t live with in 30 kilometers of one of 4 capital cities, its passed its use by date, & I resent having to pay for such a useless artifact.

The new CEO says that the ABC is all about entertainment. I'd like some more entertainment, some more of the existing entertainment really, to enjoy. Being outside the 'footprint' of ABC classic FM most of the time is just not acceptable in this high tech world. The existing ABC TV tower nearby could easily carry the transponder. Forget the wild and wooly, let's colour in the existing first.

Redneck, I must take issue with your evaluation of Windschuttle as the man who "exposed the airbrushing of Australian colonial history". I read the WHOLE of Windschuttle's "The Fabrication of Aboriginal History, Volume One: Van Diemen's Land 1803-1847" and I found it the most miserable collection of footnote-sniping it has ever been my misfortune to peruse. I'd have been failed in my history MA if I'd submitted this kind of pedantry as an essay. Call me a starry-eyed idealist if you like, but my view is that the study of history is about doing credible reearch, not insulting other historians.

Windschuttle can dish it out, but he's pretty thin-skinned when it comes to receiving it: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/act/ACTSC/2002/64.html - Windschuttle got upset when Catharine Lumby questioned his credentials.

But I guess if you think Albrechtsen is a "fine journalist" then the Windbag looks probably looks like a "fine historian". You're certainly entitled to your opinion, even if you are wrong.

Johnj
My heart bleeds for you. You spent all those years (rote) learning the orthodox black-armband view of history, under the suzerainty of Henry Reynolds & clique.
And now the Lib’s go and undermine it by appointing your mentors’ archrival Windschuttle to the ABC board. If he starts shouting -‘the emperor has no clothes’ – your standing will be ruined –how insensitive of them!

(This one appointment has the potential to have a greater adverse impact on trendy history academics career prospects & status that the whole of Howard’s industrial legislation)

Still if the mere news of Windschuttle’s appointment puts the wind-up a few leftists, as it seems to have done, it can’t be too bad a move.

And as for errors & misrepresentations – You don’t need to look any further than Reynolds, Rose & MacIntyre etc . No one can beat (or repair) the damage they & their camp (in all senses of the word) followers have done to Aust. history & psyche.

I support the ABC more than ever today. After the winds of Larry and the rains brought on by Monica, I say "thank-gads" for the ABC.

In Cape York many of us were isolated and cut-off. We spoke to eachother through ABC F.N.Qld Radio AND we had access to the resources of Radio National - to keep us up-dated and safe. The ABC team were remarkable... we were All for a few hard weeks...(24/7)... totally one community.

I also feel the 730 Report and the interviews and stance of Lateline is unlike any other reporting programme. These programmes help me remain alert - critical of the need to see more questions, more debate.... to believe we can be a progressive Australia.

If only more of our leader's took notice of these arguements and less time two-up-ping-ing eachothers ocka abuse.

We do get more than enough rope from the ABC!

I need the ABC - Thank-you.

http://www.miacat.com