May 22, 2013 | Graham

Take me ABC



They’re probably just using the ABC like a piñata, without expecting it to break, but it seems to be fashionable for commentators on the right to call for more diversity in ABC presenters (see James Allan’s piece from this morning’s Australian) and even applying on their own blogs for a job themselves.

Andrew Bolt is the trendsetter in this respect, and given that there’s a trendsetter, I’ve figured, why not got on the bandwagon early and make an application for the non-existent job  myself.

Afterall, I think my credentials are better than his. Not only does On Line Opinion indicate that I’d have no problems with the ABC charter requiring balance, but I’m already an ABC regular on Steve Austin’s Party Games.

Indeed, the ABC’s been borrowing from what I do for quite some time, with The Drum being an unashamed rip-off of On Line Opinion, just with a bigger budget. (I was a bit peeved to see the federal government sling them an extra $2 million in the budget when for a tenth of this OLO could give them a run for their money).

What’s more I can demonstrate credentials as a ratings winner.

Our 2007 Friday evening current affairs program on Briz 31 during the election campaign peaked at 12,000 viewers. As that’s a Brisbane-only demographic, that’s competitive with programs like The Insiders when you dissect what they probably get within the viewing footprint of Briz 31.

And as part of my application I’d like to tender as audition tapes the visual evidence of what a small handful of Brisbane commentators were able to produce on some small funding from the ARC (we did the program as part of a Linkages grant on digital journalism).

I could probably do with an autocue and a little more media training, but it’s authentic, and whether you’re from the right or the left, that’s something I think the ABC could do with more of.

So how about it Auntie?



Posted by Graham at 8:55 am | Comments (2) |
Filed under: Uncategorized

2 Comments

  1. This is an excellent idea. Go for it. Personally, I find the ABC somewhat less than balanced, in that it shies away from real dissent. The other evening on QandA the panel was asked about proportional representation and the anti-democratic nature of compulsory preferences. Both these questions were cleverly avoided. While extensive coverage is given to three women locked in a house in the USA, not one second was given to a demonstration for marriage equality in front of Tony Abbot’s house. Indeed, the ABC has taken to calling it homosexual or gay marriage, which is deliberately provocative. My impression is that the current content of the ABC is superficial and slightly to the right of centre .

    Comment by Saki — May 23, 2013 @ 10:30 am

  2. I think the ABC should be left alone. Various governments can’t go around removing elements of our society which don’t necessarily conform to its agenda.

    And I would like to see its budget increased so they don’t have to keep playing old programs to fill in space.

    Repeats are annoying……………………

    I did a cartoon on that last year sometime.

    http://cartoonmick.wordpress.com/humorous-illustration/#jp-carousel-650

    Cheers

    Mick

    Comment by Mick — May 23, 2013 @ 6:21 pm

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