Thanks in this time of news speak and partisan reporting we dearly need some anchor of truth. Your books should go someway towards demonstrating the impartiality of the ABC as well as threats.
Such threats are real as exemplified by the BBC/Government wrangle over Iraq and our former Communications minister's attack on theABC for its report in the lead up to Iraq. Each political party does its best to have its spin on the air waves, Mrs Thatcher perhaps achieving this as well as any. As somebody said be alert and aware but check before claiming conspiracy.

Great advertisement for The Melbourne Herald-Sun.
What has the ABC got to do with The Melbourne Herald-Sun?
I don't want to know.

If a solid burst of media activity can reverse a government decision taken to deny a leukemia sufferer a disability pension, as happened yesterday, a similar degree of embarrassment to the government over its intention to commercialise the ABC can effect a change. The problem is that the problem only gets air time when it's too late. The chicken's head cut off cannot be replaced and Ken Inglis's warning therefore has to be heeded now, not later.
If the government can get away with consistent lies while the ABC is independent, what will it do when the ABC is muzzled?

Lyall Chittleborough

I cannot understand the opposition to advertising on the ABC. After all, the programs are already full of ads, it's just that currently they are all for the ABC. The main objection that is put about is that it would affect the ABC's independence. SBS has carried advertising for years; does anyone consider that they are not still independent?

The real problem for people such as myself is that the whole ABC position is so one-sided. For an organisation that regards Hezbollah as the moral equivalent of Israel, to the great concern of many people, it simply does not present the other side of many issues. The best examples are:

The death penalty, which many people consider carries majority support, but to my knowledge no supporter has ever been given time to state their views;

Those opposed to illegal immigration (and those opposed to all immigration) again never have their side presented.

To the ABC these issues have the quality of religious dogma and cannot be discussed except in accordance with the ABC view.

In fairness to the ABC its attitudes to issues like these are usually shared by the rest of the media, which other commentators have described as the main bastion of support for the Labor party in the community. Virtually all right-wing groups, particularly religious groups and those supporting policies advocated by Pauline Hanson, are ceaselessly denigrated.

Personally, I think that describing the ABC as having a marxist culture is very fair comment. If the ABC were truly unbiassed, no-one would be able to determine what their position was.

THe ABC will never be taken seriously by many until it becomes balanced in its reporting.Its left wing responses and slant to everything in Politics and Religion is predictable and boring. Whenever issues are discussed the same old faces who often hold minority views are portrayed as the experts.

The liberal churches are the ones in the greatest decline while the bible believing church in this country is flourishing. Whenever a view of the church is presented you can almost be sure it will be from a liberal churchman or woman. Whenever a scientific view is put it is only ever from one point of view.

John Howard has a very long way to go in order to make the ABC unbiased or at least balanced.

Oh! puleeze, pull the other one! What are the top ten TV shows of the week in Australia. Yes! clever you!They are on the commercial TV stations. So feel safe, that the TV viewing people of Australia are safe, from any indoctrination by the ABC.
American television programmes and idiotic game shows, will keep the Aussie populace safe from bias.
BTW. Don't forget to watch "Bleak House" next Sunday, a totally mesmerising production. Its on the ABC, so if you can tear yourself away from "Big Brother" or TV game of the day. You will experience quality and talent.
There again, if you sit watching "Lateline" with notepad and pen. You have a problem!

The ABC showed the stouch between Tuckey and Beazley this afternoon.
It was unedited. The cameras rolled from the minute the car stopped.
Tuckey got stuck into Beazley and stupid Beazley replied.

Both Channel Nine and Seven News tonight showed it EDITED and they both showed that Beazley was the protaganist.
They edited it so that Beazley was the attacker. That is not editing. That is propaganda because that is NOT what happened.?
John Howard would say:
"Who do you trust?'
Well it ain't commercialised, pro-business, pro-Liberal, pro-trash, pro-lies . . . pro-rubbish commercial television from tonight's so-called news.

Thank God for the ABC.

Since when is the ABC the Holy Grail of all things true?Business is not an evil that should be shunned or shamed into damnation.Without business there would be no taxes for the ABC to waste on their egocentric,biased,self indulgent leftest twaddle.

The ABC should not be the mouth piece of the Coalition,but nor should they be the flagship for the Labor Party,which they so often premote in surrepticious,linguistic,innuendo.

What is the Italian definition of an innuendo?ie. in your end doh.
ANS: A suppository.Well the ABC had better learn about unbiased reporting if they want to be taken seriously.

So hard for the ABC to describe the terroist as anything other than 'British home grown' tonight. Why can't they just state what everyone knows. To many minorities to appease I suspect. If the terroist were called 'Christians' their would be a delight in their broadcasting

I recall both Hawke and Keating having complaints about fair coverage on the ABC.
Neville Wran in particular refused to speak to their reporters on a number of occasions.

Very odd behaviour for an allegedly left-wing biased organisation to make so many enemies in the ALP.

Of course we always have the commercial networks to fall back on for truth and honesty in reporting

I love my ABC, Classic FM providing music to enjoy, Triple J catering for the young listeners, National radio keeping us in touch nationally and worldwide, excellent *BBC TV drama productions, intelligent humour shows, informative science programmes, "Australian story" bringing us issues we would not hear of, religous programmes, coverage of local sport, and of course the Para Olympics. Yes give me the ABC before those rediculous American comedy shows and the blood, guts and mayhem programmes, that commercial TV put on.
Yes I am left of centre politically, all due to the past ten years of the erosion of the community spirit in Australia.
So to those who think our excellent national broadcaster is biased, why not stick to cable TV.

* Should, the ABC be properly funded, we would have more Australian drama productions. Instead of the cops and robbers and soapy hospital programmes on commercial stations.

Rache,Hawke and Keating were more right wing.The ABC pander to the left in Labor since it is almost non existant in the Coalition.

Labor are a higher taxing more socialist orientated Govt who will pander to the growth of the public prividged bureauocrats,with money for regulation/impotence and none for infrastucture or wealth for the general population.Just look at what a Labor Govt has done for the people of NSW.

The ABC love Labor because under the Coalition they have had to do more with less,rather than living in their comfort zones of Labor taxes and socialism.

The Coalition are not the answer to all our woes,however they do represent some semblence of discipline and values in our society which is in rapid decay.

Try critisising ethnic trouble makers on ABC forums/guest books. Never posted.
Try critising John Howard on ABC forums/guest books. Always posted.
Multiculture must never never have a bad word said about it, it is the holy grail to Aunty regardless of how much criminal behaviour is caused by it.
Honesty is not ABC's policy in reporting.

"ethnic troublemakers"? mickijo?

If you were trying to post some racist bilge, then of course the ABC is well within its rights as a moderator to refrain from allowing vitriolic comments onto their website.

Perhaps an example of 'ethnic troublemakers' is in order, mickijo, and please contrast this with 'non-ethnic troublemakers'.

Awaiting your polite, respectful and considered response....

Plersdus - you mentioned you can't understand the opposition to advertising on the ABC - try this on for size.

1. - The ABC starts advertising to supplement its government funding, so the government uses the advertising as an excuse to cut funding to the ABC (you know they're just looking for any excuse to).

2. - Ads are annoying.

3. - In the event of point 1. The ABC becomes like another commercial network - we have three of those and they're very similar. The ABC is different. We lose the ABC as it is, and we don't have much like it.

There is of course, SBS - the example people like to point to and say - they have advertising!

Problem is, the government is out to get SBS so much - SBS has a much more defined multicultural mandate than the ABC. They don't have so much time for commentary on Australian politics - we sorely need that commentary. Who else grills John Howard like Kerry O Brien? We going to give that critical duty to Jessica Rowe?
Perhaps Today Tonight could do a better job than say, four corners. (Please tell me I don't need to point out the sarcasm there).

Once the ABC is commercialised, it has to grab ratings. Once it is just out to get ratings, it must put on what the masses want. Big Brother, The biggest loser and wall to wall american programming..... joy.

Sorry scout, 'racist bilge'means different things to you and me . To me 'racist bilge' is ethnics waving their homeland flags, protesting about and trying to stir up hatreds in Australia about the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Australia is not involved in that conflict, despite the enormous cost to tax payers for rescuing ethnics from the trouble they found themselves in.
I do not want to see immigrants bring their conflicts here and play them out on our streets.
That is 'racist bilge' as I see it.
This is Australia, not any other country.

Yes an ethnic is an Australian as viewed by an American.
An ethnic is a community sub-group, and we are down under.

I always find it strange at international sport games. That people, even born in Australia, fly the flag and barrack for the team from their cultural origins, that are opposing the Aussie team.

As an Aussie pom, I find it bewildering, as know way! Would I barrack for a team, other than the Ausssie team.

Maybe some social cultures are lacks, in accepting where they chose to be. There again it may be a social family control.

I just find it strange, this clinging to the past, and not of the present, the future and where you have chosen to be your home.

If any poms, or others who emigrated to Australia, can make comment. It would be appreciated. Tar mates!

Hey Kipp,
The only Australian is the Aborigine, ethnic.

mickijo,

Thank you for clarifying the perfectly valid reason your posts were not permitted on the ABC site.

scout, to you Racism is one sided, only Australians can be Racist,thats your ideology. The ABC also is ideology driven. That too is a fact.
When I see only one side is represented in the media as the victims, I have a feeling that there SHOULD be two sides represented. But then I am racist or so you tell me.

Everyone is racist.
At the Olympics every race wants the other race to lose because they think the other rtace is inferior to them.
Did everyone see in Sydney's City to Surf that a Tanzanian won.
Did you see the whole city of Sydney erupt with joy and humour and happiness when he won.
Thousands of Austalian journalists mobbed him and he was put on the shoulders of all at the finsh and they yelled out "Hip, Hip Hooray" He was beatiung back the TV cameras.
Champgne corks popped, hats flew in the and they played Advance Australia Fair.
Sure. Pull the other leg.
The City to Surf all felll flat when a Tanzanian won. He didn't even make the front page of Today's newspapers. Of course we are racist.

I always barrack for the other team in Australia ... sort of over the nationalism and big money subsidies and consumerism that goes into 'national' sporting 'bread and circuses'. And I always barrack for Australia overseas. Coz I'm an Aussie.

Anyway back to the original post, I think that the Howard Government has changed a lot of Statutory Authority Acts since it got the Senate Majority - like the Australian Research Council ... and anyway they pick and choose who's on the Board - their lackeys. So now that idiot 'historian' who says 'no aboriginal people were murdered in the settlement of Australia' , gets appointed to the Board of the ABC.

And they changed the Corporation's Constitution so there's no more staff elected Director. Industrial democracy ... well it never really took off in Oz anyway!