Commercial Media Take Aim At The ABC

Lobby to trim BBC wins… now takes aim at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

• ABC boss tells media to ’stop attacking us’
• ABC’s ‘hidden’ plans under fire
• BBC confirms cuts to radio, online services
• Loss of car show Top Gear to hit SBS hard

Private enterprise often involves the laws of the jungle. Kill or be killed, don’t give a sucker a break, maximise profits more than worry about morals.

Survival needs a strong competitive instinct, constantly on the look out for opportunities and seizing them. If a competitor has the edge, then look for ways to blunt them.

Often there’s talk of level playing fields and a fair go, when other options fail.

Media companies are presently attacking the innovation and progress the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is making in so many fields from introducing a 24-hour news channel to expanded regional, overseas and online activities.

News Limited make a point of emphasising “Fair and Balanced” on their Fox News channel whilst concentrating on the conservative and provocative to establish a strong niche in that market. In contrast, the ABC talks of impartial and accurate news reporting.

Those who complain about a left bias have counteracted by giving the right a platform and hard sell voice, whilst the more sedate ABC tries to be all things to all people and is often criticised if their commentary provides an alternate slant.

To be truly fair and balanced we need a diverse range of views so that the viewers, listeners and readers can form their own opinions.

Ratings and sales dictate the commercial news agenda and playing loose with facts is a problem should the truth get in the way of a good story. As a consequence ethics tend to also get in the way with shock jocks, controversy and payment for comment blurring the lines of story integrity.

The commercial media want the ABC cut down to size. To not be so competitive, to not provide alternate services which are in the same market place.

One would expect that a product would be evaluated on the demand for it. Demand being determined by how much the product fulfils a need and the price paid for it. Commercial content depends largely on advertising and advertisers want a good distribution or ratings to maximise the ears and eyeballs. In contrast, the ABC is funded by the public purse, though they do engage in sales of programs and publications.

The commercials would prefer that the ABC only cater for the minority audiences, much like Radio National has an insignificant audience compared to commercial radio. Restricting services to high brow entertainment and servicing the arts would certainly cause a weakening of the ABC audience, to the point that one would then ask if they are significant and warrant the same public expenditure.

It would soon become a self fulfilling prophesy where cutting services would soon draw criticism about the use of public funds, leading then to demands for substantial cuts. This in turn would render the ABC impotent and please the commercial media no end as they would then be up against an ABC lacking an audience and incapable of competing. More riches for them but a poorer range of options for the public.

The BBC is now under pressure to cut back services and now the ABC is a target too. Is this really what he tax paying public want?