The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
’s principal
public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the
federal government
A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
and is administered by a government-appointed
board of directors
A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency.
The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
. The ABC is a publicly-owned statutory organisation that is politically independent and accountable; for example, through its production of annual reports, and is bound by provisions contained within the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, with its charter enshrined in legislation, the ''Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983''.
ABC Commercial, a profit-making division of the corporation, also helps generate funding for content provision.
The ABC was established as the Australian Broadcasting Commission on 1 July 1932 by an Act of Federal Parliament. It effectively replaced the
Australian Broadcasting Company, a private company established in 1924 to provide programming for A-class radio stations. The ABC was given statutory powers that reinforced its independence from the government and enhanced its news-gathering role. Modelled after the
British Broadcasting Corporation
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public broadcasting, public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved in ...
(BBC), which is funded by a
television licence
A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts or the possession of a television set. In some countries, a licence is also required to own a radio or rece ...
, the ABC was originally financed by licence fees on households with a broadcast receiver. However, the licence fees soon proved to be insufficient due to Australia's small population and the vast area to be serviced. In 1947 a proposal to increase the fee for a broadcast listeners' licence from £1 to £1/5/ was scotched, and in 1949 the
Chifley government decided that the ABC would be directly funded by the taxpayer, with licence fees subsumed into general revenue. Later funding was supplemented with commercial activities related to its core broadcasting mission. The Australian Broadcasting Commission became the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1983.
The ABC provides radio, television, online, and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional Australia.
ABC Radio operates four national networks, a large number of
ABC Local Radio
ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...
stations, several digital stations, and the international service
Radio Australia.
ABC Television operates five free-to-air channels, as well as the
ABC iview streaming service and the
ABC Australia satellite channel. News and current affairs content across all platforms is produced by the
ABC news ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
division.
The postal address of the ABC in every Australian capital city is PO Box 9994, as a tribute to the
record-breaking Test batting average of Australian cricketer
Sir Donald Bradman.
History
Origins
After
public radio
Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...
stations were established independently in the state capitals from 1924, a licensing scheme administered by the
Postmaster-General's Department was established, allowing certain stations (with "Class A" licences") government funding, albeit with restrictions placed on their advertising content.
In 1928, the government established the National Broadcasting Service to take over the 12 A-Class licences as they came up for renewal, and contracted the
Australian Broadcasting Company,
a private company established in 1924,
to supply programs to the new national broadcaster.
After it became politically unpopular to continue to allow the Postmaster-General to run the National Broadcasting Service, the government established the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) on 1 July 1932, under the ''Australian Broadcasting Commission Act 1932''.
to take over the Australian Broadcasting Company and run the National Broadcasting Service.
The ABC became informally referred to as "Aunty",
originally in imitation of the
British Broadcasting Corporation's nickname. The structure and programming was broadly modelled on the British Broadcasting Corporation, and programs not created in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
were mostly bought in from the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
.
In 1940 one of the
ABC Board
The ABC Board is the body responsible for the operations of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Kim Williams is chair; David Anderson the managing director appointed by the board; Laura Tingle is a staff-elected member. The chair and oth ...
's most prominent members,
Dick Boyer, was appointed to the ABC, becoming chairman on 1 April 1945. Today known for the continuing series of
Boyer Lectures initiated by him in 1959, he had a good but not too close working relationship with Sir
Charles Moses (general manager 1935–1965
), and remained chair until his retirement in 1961. He was determined to maintain the autonomy of the ABC.
1950–2000
The ABC commenced television broadcasting in 1956. The very first
national public television station in Australia officially and formally formal full grand opening night ceremony took place by
Prime Minister of Australia
The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...
Robert Menzies
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
in
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
at stroke of night 7:00:00pm
Sydney Time on 5 November 1956 under the call sign
ABN-2 with the very first main flagship television presented by
Michael Charlton and
James Dibble reading the very first
main flagship television news bulletin. Television relay facilities were not in place until the early 1960s, so news bulletins had to be sent to each capital city by
teleprinter
A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point (telecommunications), point-to-point and point- ...
, to be prepared and presented separately in each city.
In 1975, colour television was permanently introduced into Australia, and within a decade, the ABC had moved into
satellite broadcasting
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...
, greatly enhancing its ability to distribute content nationally.
Also, in 1975 the ABC introduced a 24-hour-a-day AM rock station in Sydney, 2JJ (
Double Jay), which was eventually expanded into the national
Triple J
Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
FM network.
A year later, a national classical music network was established on the
FM band, broadcasting from
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
. It was initially known as
ABC-FM (later ABC Classic FM) – referring both to its "fine music programming and radio frequency".
ABC budget cuts began in 1976
and continued until 1998, the largest cuts (calculated by the ABC as 25% in real terms) coming between 1985 and 1996.
The ''Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983'' changed the organisation's name to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, effective 1 July 1983. Although funded and owned by the government, the ABC remains
editorially independent as ensured by the 1983 Act. At the same time, the newly formed corporation underwent significant restructuring, including a split into separate television and radio divisions, and ABC Radio was restructured significantly again in 1985.
Geoffrey Whitehead was the managing director of the ABC at this time. Following his resignation in 1986,
David Hill (at the time chair of the ABC Board) took over his position
and local production trebled from 1986 to 1991.

Live television broadcasts of selected parliamentary sessions started in 1990, and by the early 1990s, all major ABC broadcasting outlets operated 24 hours a day.
In 1991 the ABC helped launch Australian children's music band
The Wiggles
The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. As of 2022, the group members are Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce, Tsehay Hawkins, Evie Ferris, John Pearce (entertainer), John Pearce, Caterina Mete ...
, under the ABC music label.
In 1991 the corporation's Sydney radio and orchestral operations moved to a new building,
the ABC Ultimo Centre, in the inner-city suburb of
Ultimo. In Melbourne, the
ABC Southbank Centre was completed in 1994.
In 1992 Australian children's television series ''
Bananas in Pyjamas
''Bananas in Pyjamas'' is an Australian children's television series that first aired on 20 July 1992 on ABC. It has since been syndicated in many countries and dubbed into other languages. In the United States, the " Pyjamas" in the title w ...
'' first aired.
International television service
ABC Australia was established in 1993, while at the same time Radio Australia increased its international reach. Reduced funding in 1997 for Radio Australia resulted in staff and programming cuts.
The ABC Multimedia Unit was established in July 1995 to manage the new ABC website, which was launched in August.
The ABC was registered on the
Australian Business Register as a Commonwealth Government Entity on 1 November 1999.
[
]
2000s–2010s
In 2001 digital television
Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using Digital signal, digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an ...
commenced (see Online, below). At the same time the ABC's multimedia division was renamed "ABC New Media", becoming an output division of the ABC alongside television and radio.
In 2002 the ABC launched ABC Asia Pacific, the replacement for the defunct Australia Television International operated previously by the Seven Network
Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
. A digital radio
Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services. This should not be confused with In ...
service, ABC DiG
Double J is an Australian digital radio station owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. A sister station of the youth-oriented Triple J, it was founded in 2002 as Dig Music and aims to appeal to an older audience with a more refined ...
, was also launched in November that year.
On 8 February 2008 ABC TV was rebranded as ABC1
ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship (broadcasting), flagship ABC Television (Australian TV network), A ...
, and a new channel for children, ABC3
ABC Entertains is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was launched on 4 December 2009 as a children's channel called ABC3. It was rebranded on 19 September 2016 to ABC ME. It rebra ...
, was funded and announced by the Rudd government
Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments:
* Rudd government (2007–10)
* Rudd government (2013)
{{Dab ...
in June. A new online video-on-demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting ...
service launched in July of the same year, titled ABC iview.
ABC News 24, now known as ABC News, a channel dedicated to news, launched on 22 July 2010. On 20 July 2014, ABC1 reverted to its original name of ABC TV.
In November 2014 a cut of $254 million (4.6%) to funding over the following five years together with the additional unfunded cost of the news channel meant that the ABC would have to shed about 10% of its staff, around 400 people. There were several programming changes, with regional and local programming losing out to national programs, and the Adelaide TV production studio had to close.
In November 2016 the ABC announced that ABC News 24, ABC NewsRadio
ABC NewsRadio, since 2017 broadcast under the ABC News brand and for a short time known as ABC News on Radio, is a 24-hour news radio service broadcast by the Australian public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). ABC ...
, as well as its online and digital news brands, would be rebranded under a unified ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
brand, which was launched on 10 April 2017.
Michelle Guthrie took over from managing director Mark Scott, whose second five-year contract finished in April 2016. Between July 2017 and June 2018, the whole of the ABC underwent an organisational restructure, after which the Radio and Television Divisions were no longer separate entities each under a director, instead being split across several functional divisions, with different teams producing different genres of content for television, radio and digital platforms. The Entertainment & Specialist (E&S) team focussed on comedy, kids' programs, drama, Indigenous-related programs, music, other entertainment and factual content; the new ABC Specialist team created content across the arts, science, religion & ethics, education and society & culture; while the Regional & Local team focussed on regional and local content.
Around 23 September 2018 Guthrie was fired. A leadership crisis ensued after allegations arose that chair, Justin Milne, had, according to the MEAA
The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) is the Australian trade union and professional organisation which covers the media industry, media, entertainment industry, entertainment, sports and arts industries.
Its Musicians section consis ...
, engaged in "overt political interference in the running of the ABC that is in clear breach of the ABC charter and the role of the chairperson" by interfering in editorial and staffing matters. After pressure for an independent inquiry or statement from Milne, or his resignation, following meetings by ABC staff in various locations, on 27 September Milne resigned.
In February 2019, after the roles of ABC chair and managing director had been vacant for more than four months, Ita Buttrose was named chair. Buttrose named David Anderson as managing director in May 2019.
On 5 June 2019 Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the principal Federal police, federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government responsible for investigating Crime in Australia, crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth ...
(AFP) raided the headquarters of the ABC looking for articles written in 2017 about alleged misconduct by Australian special forces in Afghanistan, later dubbed the Afghan Files. The raid was countered by lawyers for the ABC in litigation against the AFP, challenging the examination of over 9,200 documents, including internal emails. In February 2020 the case was dismissed by the federal court. In June 2020, the AFP sent a brief of evidence to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP), the federal public prosecutor, recommending charges be laid against journalist Dan Oakes for breaking the Afghan Files story, but in October 2020, the CDPP dropped the case.
2020s
In June 2020 the ABC announced it needed to cut 229 jobs, a number of programs, and reduce its travel and production budgets after the Turnbull government
The Turnbull government was the federal executive government of Australia led by the 29th prime minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, from 2015 to 2018. It succeeded the Abbott government, which brought the Coalition to power at the 2013 Au ...
's announcement of a freeze to indexation of its budget in 2018 this was estimated at the time to cost the ABC over three years, however the actual appropriation did not decrease and the ABC chair was quoted as saying it would actually increase "but by a reduced amount".
In all, over a five-year period, there were 737 redundancies, a further 866 resignations, and 203 retirements; but the total number of staff only fell by 313 due to the ABC hiring 650 staff over that period.
In June 2021 the ABC announced its plan to move around 300 staff to offices in Parramatta
Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
, in a plan which would see 75% of journalists and producers moving out of the Ultimo building by 2025 to reduce costs. Rental from some of the vacant space in the city centre would earn additional income to offset the ongoing effects of the significant funding cuts since 2014 and the recent indexation freeze.
In December 2021 the ABC announced that, in addition to the 83 additional positions already established, it was to create an additional "50-plus" new jobs in regional Australia as a result of commercial agreements with digital platforms flowing from the Morrison government's News Media Bargaining Code.
In May 2024 the ABC started moving from its Ultimo office to a new Parramatta office. The first program to be broadcast from the new studio in Parramatta was ABC Radio Sydney Mornings.
Lissajous curve logo
The ABC logo is one of the most recognisable logos in Australia. In the early years of television, the ABC had been using Lissajous curves as fillers between programmes.
In 1961, prior to the adoption of an official corporate logo, the ABC commissioned Tasmanian artist George Davis to create a large mosaic mural for its new Hobart studios at 5–7 Sandy Bay Road. The abstract design, composed of more than 150,000 glass tiles and spanning , was prominently displayed on the building's façade. Observers and later commentators have noted similarities between the mural's sinuous linework and the ABC's eventual logo, with some suggesting it may have served as a visual influence.
In July 1963, the ABC conducted a staff competition to create a new logo for use on television, stationery, publications, microphone badges and ABC vehicles. In 1965, ABC graphics designer Bill Kennard submitted a design representing a Lissajous display, as generated when a sine wave signal is applied to the "X" input of an oscilloscope
An oscilloscope (formerly known as an oscillograph, informally scope or O-scope) is a type of electronic test instrument that graphically displays varying voltages of one or more signals as a function of time. Their main purpose is capturing i ...
and another at three times the frequency at the "Y" input. The letters "ABC" were added to the design and it was adopted as the ABC's official logo. Kennard was presented with £25 (about AU$850 in 2024) for his design.
On 19 October 1974 the Lissajous curve design experienced its first facelift with the line thickened to allow for colour to be used. It would also be treated to the 'over and under' effect, showing the crossover of the line in the design. To celebrate its 70th anniversary on 1 July 2002, the ABC adopted a new logo, which was created by (Annette) Harcus Design in 2001. This logo used a silver 3D texture but the crossover design was left intact and was then used across the ABC's media outlets. After the on-air revival of the 1974 logo since 2014, the ABC gradually reinstated the classic symbol. The most recent change happened in February 2018, with a new logotype and brand positioning under its tagline, ''Yours''. The 2002 silver logo is no longer in use by the corporation.
Governance and structure
The operations of the ABC are governed by a board of directors, consisting of a managing director, five to seven directors,[ and until 2006, a staff-elected director.] The managing director is appointed by the board for a period of up to five years, but is eligible for renewal. The authority and guidelines for the appointment of directors is provided for in the ''Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983''.
Appointments to the ABC Board
The ABC Board is the body responsible for the operations of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Kim Williams is chair; David Anderson the managing director appointed by the board; Laura Tingle is a staff-elected member. The chair and oth ...
made by successive governments have often resulted in criticism of the appointees' political affiliation, background, and relative merit. Past appointments have associated directly with political parties – five of fourteen appointed chairmen have been accused of political affiliation or friendship, include Richard Downing and Ken Myer (both of whom publicly endorsed the Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
at the 1972 election), as well as Sir Henry Bland, David Hill was close to Neville Wran
Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman o ...
, while Donald McDonald was considered to be a close friend of John Howard.
From 2003 the Howard government
The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...
made several controversial appointments to the ABC Board, including prominent ABC critic Janet Albrechtsen
Janet Kim Albrechtsen (born 23 September 1966) is an Australian opinion columnist with ''The Australian.'' From 2005 until 2010, she was a member of the board of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia's public broadcaster.
Early lif ...
, Ron Brunton, and Keith Windschuttle.
During their 2007 federal election campaign Labor announced plans to introduce a new system, similar to that of the BBC, for appointing members to the board. Under the new system, candidates for the ABC Board would be considered by an independent panel established "at arm's length" from the Communications Minister. If the minister chose someone not on the panel's shortlist, they would be required to justify this to parliament. The ABC chairman would be nominated by the prime minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
and endorsed by the leader of the opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
.
A new merit-based appointment system was announced on 16 October 2008, in advance of the new triennial funding period starting in 2009.
In 2013 the Coalition government introduced a merit-based system for appointing the board based on the recommendations of a nominations panel. However, the panel was ultimately only advisory, with almost all of the board members in 2018 directly appointed by the Communications minister, despite some being rejected by the panel or not being considered at all.
board members include:
Funding
The ABC is primarily funded by the Australian government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...
, in addition to some revenue received from commercial offerings and its retail outlets. The ABC's funding system is set and reviewed every three years.
Background to licence fees
In the early 1920s there existed two forms of radio licences A and B. Those with 'A' licences were funded by listener fees and those with 'B' by commercial advertising. It was tied to 'sealed set' system in which listeners would purchase a radio receiver and then pay a subscription to continue to listen to it; its implementation was a cross between the BBC's licence fee and more commercially supported radio, such as those found in the US. This continued until the Report of the Royal Commission on Wireless together with appendices was published on the 5th of October, 1927, which recommended in its summary that it should issue no further A radio licences alongside pooling resources to improve programmes and secure an efficient service to the public.
The Australian government – also known as the Commonwealth government – decided in July 1928 against the recommendations in the Royal Commission and nationalised stations with A licences. By 1929 the government had nationalised the provision of transmission and contracted the delivery of programming to the conglomerate Australian Broadcasting Company. By 1932, 12 stations had been nationalised and in May of that year the Commonwealth government passed the Australian Broadcasting Commission Act 1932. Under the act a new public broadcaster was created, it was funded directly by listener fees until 1948 and run by a five-member commission with the Postmaster-General's Department responsible for the technical aspects. Amendments were also made to the Australian Broadcasting Act 1983 which meant the ABC would receive its funding directly from the federal government.
Proposed combined TV and radio licence
From 1956 to 1974 a combined licence for TV and radio was required.
Abolition of licence fees
Licence fees remained until 18 September 1974, when they were abolished by the Whitlam Labor government, on the basis that the licence fee represented a poll tax and in turn cost more for the less affluent. Its abolishment was introduced by Frank Crean in his 1974 budget speech.
It was also considered too costly to monitor compliance.
Reception to the abolishment of fees
Journalist Jenny Hill of CTC 7 News interviewed a woman about the abolition of the licence fees for TV and radio, during the interview she exclaimed about the unfairness of the decision referencing those who had already paid annually.
Attempt to reinstate the TV licence
In a letter to The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in 1 ...
on 16 January 1976, reader R. O. MEE Flynn wrote:
"Now it is rumoured that that the TV licence fee might be introduced again, just as I was in the act of writing to the PMG (Postmaster General) to ask if it was possible for us to get paid for watching the box. I have no intention of wasting money on a colour TV until the programs improve or more overseas content is allowed. We have been brainwashed with the advertisement that Australia waited and chose the best colour system; it's a pity they did not choose the programs to go with it."
The Sydney Morning Herald reported on 10 February 1976, the federal cabinet was considering reintroducing the TV licence but not for radios.
The debate and its discussion continued, with one reader on 23 July 1978 to the Canberra Times stating "Sir, - The rumour is that reintroduction of TV licences is to occur shortly (no smoke without fire). Once again the ordinary hard-working people are expected to be able to pay - if as rumoured - S120 for a colour television set and S80 for a black-and-white set each year." they went onto to say "...People such as pensioners, the unemployed etc, who are not in any position to pay licences and need some form of entertainment or stimulation will be the hardest hit. As usual they bear the brunt of this Government's crushing tactics on them."
In 2014 the ABC absorbed $254 million in federal budget deficits.
In the 2018–19 budget handed down by then-Treasurer Scott Morrison
Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party and was ...
, the ABC was subject to a pause of indexation of operation funding, saving the federal government a total of $83.7 million over 3 years. In fiscal year
A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...
2016–17, the ABC received $861 million in federal funding, which increased to $865 million per year from 2017 to 2018 to 2018–19, representing a cut in funding of $43 million over three years when accounting for inflation.[ In the 2019–20 federal budget funding was around $3.2 billion over three years ($1.06 billion per year) for the ABC. The ''Enhanced Newsgathering Fund'', a specialised fund for regional and outer-suburban news gathering set up in 2013 by the Gillard government, was $44 million over three years as of the 2019–20 budget, a reduction of $28 million per year since the ]2016 Australian federal election
The 2016 Australian federal election was a double dissolution election held on Saturday, 2 July 2016, to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eight-week official campaign p ...
. This came after speculation that the fund would be removed, to which Acting managing director David Anderson wrote to Communications Minister Mitch Fifield expressing concerns.
Despite the cuts made by Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the freeze introduced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Communications Minister Mitch Fifield, the ABC itself has published financial data that shows an increase in the taxpayer appropriation to the ABC of 10% in real terms (i.e. above inflation) between 1998 and 2021.
In 2023, fulfilling one of Labor's election
An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
pledges, the ABC moved into a five instead of three-year funding term.
The term "where your 8 cents a day goes", coined in the late 1980s during funding negotiations, is often used in reference to the services provided by the ABC. It was estimated that the cost of the ABC per head of population per day was 7.1 cents a day, based on the corporation's 2007–08 "base funding" of .
Services
Radio
The ABC operates 54 local radio stations, in addition to four national networks and international service Radio Australia. In addition, DiG Radio (rebranded to Double J in 2014)) launched on digital platforms in 2002, and later spinning off ABC Country and ABC Jazz.
ABC Local Radio
ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...
is the corporation's flagship radio station in each broadcast area. There are 54 individual stations, each with a similar format consisting of locally presented light entertainment, news, talk back, music, sport and interviews, in addition to some national programming such as ''AM'', ''PM'', '' The World Today'', sporting events and ''Nightlife''.
the ABC operates 15 radio networks, variously available on AM and FM as well as on digital platforms and the internet.
* Radio National
ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
...
– A generalist station, also known as RN, broadcasting more than 60 special interest programmes per week covering a range of topics including music, comedy, book readings, radio dramas, poetry, science, health, the arts, religion, social history and current affairs.
* ABC NewsRadio
ABC NewsRadio, since 2017 broadcast under the ABC News brand and for a short time known as ABC News on Radio, is a 24-hour news radio service broadcast by the Australian public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). ABC ...
– A news based service, also known as ABC News on Radio, broadcasting federal parliamentary sittings and news on a 24/7 format with updates on the quarter-hour. Broadcast's news content produced by the ABC itself, as well as programmes relayed from ABC Radio Australia, the BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...
, NPR, Deutsche Welle
(; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...
, Radio Netherlands and CNN Radio.
* ABC Classic
ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...
– A classical music based station, formerly known as ABC Classic FM. It also plays some jazz and world music. ABC Classic was the ABC's first FM radio service. It was originally known simply as "ABC FM", and for a short time "ABC Fine Music".
* Triple J
Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
– A youth-oriented radio network, with a strong focus on alternative and independent music (especially Australian artists); it is targeted at people aged 18–35.
The ABC also operates several stations only available online and on digital platforms:
* ABC Classic 2 – a sister station to ABC Classic, focussing on performances by Australian artists. Only available on streaming platforms.
* Double J – a Triple J sister station, focussed on an older audience to Triple J.
* Triple J Unearthed – a Triple J sister station, playing unsigned and independent Australian talent.
* Triple j Hottest – a Triple J sister station, playing tracks from the past 30 years of Triple J Hottest 100
The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll presented by the publicly-funded Australian youth radio station Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Music of Australia, Australian and alternative music of th ...
countdowns.
* ABC Jazz – A station exclusively dedicated to Jazz from Australia and the world.
* ABC Country – An exclusively country music station, mainly focussing on Australian country music.
* ABC Grandstand – Since November 2020 merged to ABC Sport.
* ABC Extra – A temporary special events station.
* ABC Kids – Children's based programming, and a sister station to the ABC Kids television channel.
There is also ABC Radio Australia, the international radio station of the ABC (see below).
ABC Listen app
The ABC Radio app was launched in 2012. This was replaced by the ABC Listen app in September 2017, which included 45 ABC radio stations and audio networks.
Television
The ABC operates five national television channels:
* ABC TV (formerly ABC1 from 2008 to 2014), the corporation's original television service, receives the bulk of funding for television and shows first-run comedy, drama, documentaries, and news and current affairs. In each state and territory a local news bulletin
Breaking news, also called late-breaking news, a special report, special coverage, or a news flash, is a current issue that warrants the interruption of a scheduled broadcast in order to report its details. News broadcasters also use the term ...
is shown at 7pm nightly.
* ABC Family
American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...
(formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy and ABC TV Plus), launched in 2005, shows comedic content in addition to some repeats from ABC TV of which the amount has decreased gradually since ABC TV Plus's inception. It is not a 24-hour channel, but is broadcast daily from 7:30pm to around 3am the following night. The channel shares airspace with the ABC Kids programming block from 5am to 7:30pm.
* ABC Entertains (originally ABC3 and ABC Me) became a fully fledged channel on 4 December 2009, but has been part of the electronic guide line-up since 2008, broadcasting an ABC1 simulcast until 4 December 2009, then an ABC Radio simulcast and teaser graphic until its official launch. It is broadcast from 6am to around 10pm on weekdays and 6am to 2am the next day on weekends, and consists of a broad range programmes aimed at a young audience aged 6–15, with a core demographic of 8–12.
* ABC Kids (formerly ABC For Kids on 2 and ABC 4 Kids) is a preschool children's block featuring children's programming aimed at the 0 to 5 age groups. ABC Kids broadcasts during ABC Family
American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...
downtime, from 4am to 7:30pm daily.
* ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
(originally ABC News 24), a 24-hour news channel, featuring the programming from ABC News and Current Affairs, selected programs from the BBC World News channel, coverage of the Federal Parliament's Question Time, documentaries and factual, arts programming and state or national election coverage.
Although the ABC's headquarters in Sydney serve as a base for program distribution nationally, ABC Television network is composed of eight state and territory based stations, each based in their respective state capital and augmented by repeaters:
* ABN (Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
)
* ABV (Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
)
* ABQ (Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
)
* ABS (Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
)
* ABW (Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
)
* ABT (Hobart
Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
)
* ABC (Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
)
* ABD ( Darwin)
The eight ABC stations carry opt outs for local programming. In addition to the nightly 7pm news, the stations also broadcast weekly state editions of '' 7.30'' on Friday evenings (until 5 December 2014), state election coverage and in most areas, live sport on Saturday afternoons.
There is also ABC Australia, the international TV service of the ABC (see below).
Online and digital
ABC Online is the name given to the online services of the ABC, which have evolved to cover a large network of websites including those for ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
, its various television channels, ABC radio; podcast
A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
s; SMS, mobile app
A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...
s and other mobile phone services; vodcasts and video-on-demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting ...
through ABC iView.[PDF]
/ref>
The official launch of ABC Online, then part of the ABC's Multimedia Unit, was on 14 August 1995,[ charged with developing policy for the ABC's work in web publishing. At first it relied upon funding allocation to the corporation's TV and radio operations, but later began to receive its own. The ABC provided live, online election coverage for the first time in 1996, and limited news content began to be provided in 1997.] This unit continued until 2000, when the New Media division was formed, bringing together the ABC's online output as a division similar to television or radio. In 2001 the New Media division became New Media and Digital Services, reflecting the broader remit to develop content for digital platforms such as digital television
Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using Digital signal, digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an ...
, becoming an "output division" similar to Television or Radio. In addition to ABC Online, the division also had responsibility over the ABC's two digital television services, Fly TV and the ABC Kids channel
ABC Kids is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's part-time channel, broadcasting shows between the hours of 4am and 7:30pm for children 6 years old and younger, including an upper preschool audience. It shares the same bandwidth as ABC Fam ...
, until their closure in 2003.
ABC TV Plus
ABC Family is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television (Australian TV network), ABC Television network. The television channel, channel broadcasts a range of f ...
, a digital-only free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...
television channel, launched on 7 March 2005, as ABC2. Unlike its predecessors the new service was not dependent on government funding, instead running on a budget of per year. Minister for Communications Helen Coonan
Helen Lloyd Coonan (born 29 October 1947) is a former Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1996 to 2011, representing the Liberal Party. She was a minister in the Howard government, serving as Minister for Revenue an ...
inaugurated the channel at Parliament House three days later. Genre restrictions limiting the types of programming the channel could carry were lifted in October 2006 – ABC TV Plus (then ABC2) was henceforth able to carry programming classified as comedy, drama, national news, sport, and entertainment.
In conjunction with the ABC's radio division, New Media and Digital Services implemented the ABC's first podcasts in December 2004. By mid-2006 the ABC had become an international leader in podcasting with over fifty podcast programmes delivering hundreds of thousands of downloads per week, including trial video podcasts of '' The Chaser's War on Everything'' and jtv.
In February 2007 the New Media & Digital Services division was dissolved and divided up among other areas of the ABC. It was replaced by a new Innovation division, to manage ABC Online and investigate new technologies for the ABC.
In 2008 Crikey reported that certain ABC Online mobile sites in development were planned to carry commercial advertising. Screenshots, developed in-house, of an ABC Radio Grandstand
ABC Sport, formerly ABC Radio Grandstand, is a live radio sports focused commentary and talk-back program which runs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) local radio network across Australia and on one digital-only station.
History ...
sport page include advertising for two private companies. '' Media Watch'' later revealed that the websites were to be operated by ABC Commercial and distinguished from the main, advertising-free, mobile website by a distinct logo.
In 2015 the Innovation Division was replaced with the Digital Network Division. Angela Clark was head from 2012 until at least the end of financial year 2015/6, but by 2017 she was gone, and the Digital Network fell into the Technology division under the Chief Technology Officer.[
In May 2017 Helen Clifton was appointed to the new role of Chief Digital and Information Officer. She retired from this role in 2022
In December 2019 a refreshed ABC homepage was launched. ABC News is one of Australia's largest and most-visited ]web site
A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, education, ...
s; from its position as 11th most popular in the country in 2008, in recent years up to 2021 it has maintained its top position in the rankings.
In June 2023 the broadcaster released its five-year plan, outlining that it would move its resources away from radio and television, and instead dedicate these resources to improving and promoting its digital platforms.
International
ABC International is responsible for its international operations, which include the internationally broadcast Radio Australia, the Asia-Pacific TV channel ABC Australia,[ and its ABC International Development (ABCID) branch.
In June 2012 Lynley Marshall, former head of ABC Commercial, was appointed CEO of ABC International, filling a role left empty by the retirement of Murray Green.][.] At the time, it was intended that Radio Australia, ABC Australia and ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to:
* ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
* ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company
ABC News may a ...
would work together more closely ABC International was at this time a division of the ABC, but it has not been represented as a separate division in the organisational structure of the ABC since 2016, after Marshall's departure in February 2017.
There were fears of job losses in the division after the huge budget cuts in 2014, as well as an earlier termination of a contract with the Department of Foreign Affairs, one year into the 10-year contract.
On 24 May 2021 Claire Gorman was appointed to an expanded role to manage both the International Strategy and the International Development teams.
ABC Australia is an international satellite television service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, funded by advertising and grants from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian government responsible for foreign policy and international relations, development aid (under the name Australian Aid), consular services, overseas trad ...
. Aimed at the Asia-Pacific region, the service broadcasts a mixture of English language programming, including general entertainment, sport, and current affairs.
Radio Australia is an international satellite
A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...
and internet radio
Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...
service with transmissions aimed at South-East Asia and the Pacific Islands
The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...
, although its signals are also audible in many other parts of the world. It features programmes in various languages spoken in these regions, including Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Khmer and Tok Pisin
Tok Pisin ( ,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh ; ), often referred to by English speakers as New Guinea Pidgin or simply Pidgin, is an English-based creole languages, English creole language spoken throughou ...
. Before 31 January 2017 Radio Australia broadcast short-wave radio signals. Radio Australia bulletins are also carried on WRN Broadcast, available via satellite in Europe and North America.
ABC International Development, or ABCID, is a media development unit that promotes public interest
In social science and economics, public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. While it has earlier philosophical roots and is considered to be at the core of democratic theories of government, often paired ...
journalism and connects with local media in the region. ABCID employs local people in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
and many Pacific countries. The team "provides expertise, training, technical and program support to partner organisations", by working with a variety of organisations, including international development donors, for example through the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS).
Independence and impartiality
Under the ''Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983'', the ABC Board
The ABC Board is the body responsible for the operations of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Kim Williams is chair; David Anderson the managing director appointed by the board; Laura Tingle is a staff-elected member. The chair and oth ...
is bound to "maintain the independence and integrity of the Corporation" and to ensure that "the gathering and presentation by the Corporation of news and information is accurate and impartial according to the recognised standards of objective journalism".
The ABC's editorial policy on impartiality requires it to take "no editorial stance other than its commitment to fundamental democratic principles including the rule of law, freedom of speech and religion, parliamentary democracy and non-discrimination". The ABC follows the following "hallmarks of impartiality": "a balance that follows the weight of evidence, fair treatment, open-mindedness and opportunities over time for principal relevant perspectives on matters of contention to be expressed".
The editorial policy on diversity also requires the broadcaster "to present, over time, content that addresses a broad range of subjects from a diversity of perspectives reflecting a diversity of experiences, presented in a diversity of ways from a diversity of sources". However, it also notes that this "does not require that every perspective receives equal time, nor that every facet of every argument is presented".
ABC Commercial
The commercial arm of the ABC was established in 1974 under the name Enterprises as a self-funding unit, marketing products relating to the ABC's activities. It was renamed in 2007 to ABC Commercial, The aim of ABC Commercial was "to create, market and retail high quality consumer products which reflect and extend the scope of the ABC's activities".[ At this time it comprised the ABC Shop, ABC Consumer Publishing and Content Sales, ABC Resource Hire, and ABC Content Services (Archives).
ABC Commercial was registered as a business name under Australian Broadcasting Corporation in April 2007 and continues to exist .] It includes ABC Music, a leading independent record label
An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...
; ABC Events, which stages concerts and other events; and publishing and licensing activities by ABC Books, ABC Audio, ABC Magazines and ABC Licensing.[
ABC Shop Online was wound up at the end of 2018, along with the in-store ABC Centres. In early 2019, ABC Commercial split from the Finance division and became an independent business unit of the ABC.
In the financial year 2018–2019, ABC Commercial turned a profit of , which was invested in content production.]
The ABC Studios and Media Production hires out some of the ABC studios and sound stages, operating as part of ABC Commercial. The studios for hire are in Sydney (Studios 21, 22, 16), Melbourne (31), Adelaide (51B) and Perth (61).
Orchestras
Up until the installation of disc recording equipment in 1935, all content broadcast on the ABC was produced live, including music. For this purpose the ABC established broadcasting orchestras in each state, and in some centres also employed choruses and dance bands. This became known as the ABC Concert Music Division, which was controlled by the Federal Director of Music – the first of whom was W. G. James.
In 1997 the ABC divested all ABC orchestras from the Concerts Department of the ABC into separate subsidiary companies, allied to a service company known as Symphony Australia, and on 1 January 2007 the orchestras were divested into independent companies. The six state orchestras are:
* Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
* Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
* Queensland Symphony Orchestra
* Sydney Symphony Orchestra
* Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
* West Australian Symphony Orchestra
ABC Friends
ABC Friends, formerly Friends of the ABC (FABC), consists of independent organisations in each state and territory, under an umbrella organisation established in December 2016, ABC Friends National Inc. In 1976 three independent groups were formed: Aunty's Nieces and Nephews in Melbourne, Friends of the ABC (NSW) Inc. (now ABC Friends NSW & ACT) and Friends of the ABC (SA) (since 2007/2008, ABC Friends SA/NT). The groups were formed by citizens who were concerned about government threats to make deep cuts to the ABC's budget. Historian Ken Inglis wrote that "The Friends were in the line of those people who had affirmed over the years that the ABC was essential to the nation". Over the years, independent state organisations were established, run by committees, and in January 2014 the name of each was changed to ABC Friends.[
The objectives of ABC Friends National are stated as follows:][
]
Controversies
Defamation
In 2023 the ABC lost a defamation case against Heston Russell, where the corporation withdrew a truth defence and opted for the case to be heard under a public interest defence.
In the landmark ruling Justice Lee awarded Russell $390,000 in addition to interest and damages. Estimates of legal expenses ranged between $1.2 million and $3 million. The broadcaster did not take up an earlier settlement offer of $99,000 and removal of the published articles. The ABC managing director, David Anderson, who took home a six-figure pay rise shortly after the defamation case loss, outlined in senate estimates that he would not apologise to Russell for the false reporting.
Recordings of Mark Willacy's interviews that formed part of the defamation case were garnished as part of the legal discovery process. They were made available to Ben Fordham's 2GB radio program.
In December 2023 Antoinette Lattouf was hired for five days to fill in for Sarah Macdonald on ABC Radio Sydney
ABC Radio Sydney (official call sign: 2BL, formerly 2SB) is an ABC radio station in Sydney, Australia. It is the flagship station in the ABC Local Radio network and broadcasts on 702 kHz on the AM dial. The station transmits with a power ( ...
and then sacked three days later after reposting a Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
social media post regarding actions of Israeli soldiers in the Israel-Gaza war. Two days later Lattouf initiated law action with the Fair Work Commission
The Fair Work Commission (FWC), until 2013 known as Fair Work Australia (FWA), is the Australian industrial relations tribunal created by the ''Fair Work Act 2009'' as part of the Rudd Government's reforms to industrial relations in Austral ...
against the ABC for alleged racial discrimination. ABC members of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance
The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) is the Australian trade union and professional organisation which covers the media, entertainment, sports and arts industries.
Its Musicians section consists of the SOMA (Symphony Orchestra Musi ...
voted no confidence in Anderson partly due to WhatsApp
WhatsApp (officially WhatsApp Messenger) is an American social media, instant messaging (IM), and voice-over-IP (VoIP) service owned by technology conglomerate Meta. It allows users to send text, voice messages and video messages, make vo ...
messages that had come to light from a pro-Israel lobby group known as "Lawyers for Israel". The next day the ABC Board voted unanimous confidence in Anderson.
In March 2024 the ABC aired a documentary titled "Ukraine's War: The Other Side," by Sean Langan which has been criticised by Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko as the "journalistic equivalent of a bowl of vomit" and seemed to repeat Russian justification for the War in Ukraine and structured in a way that seems to favor the Russian side. The ABC has defended its position with a spokesperson stating "we believe Australian audiences also have the right to watch it and make up their own minds."
Perceived bias
External critics have complained in particular of left-wing political bias at the broadcaster,[ citing a prominence of Labor Party-connected journalists hosting masthead political programs or a tendency to favour " progressive" over "]conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
" political views on issues such as immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
, asylum seekers
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A pers ...
, the republic
A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
, multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
, Indigenous reconciliation, feminism
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
, environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...
, and same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...
. Gerard Henderson has argued that the ABC is supportive of diversity in areas such as identity, race, gender and ethnicity, but not so strong on diversity of views.
In December 2013 former judge and ABC chair James Spigelman
James Jacob Spigelman (born 1 January 1946) is a former Australian judge who served as Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1998 to 2011, and also as Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales from 1998 to 2012. He served on the Court of Final ...
announced that four independent audits would be conducted each year in response to the allegations of bias in the reporting of news and current affairs. ABC Friends have observed that: "Most of the complaints about bias in the ABC have come from the government of the day – Labor or Liberal. Significantly both parties have been far less hostile to the ABC when in opposition".[
]
Reviews and investigations
Reviews of the ABC are regularly commissioned and sometimes not released.
Both internal and external research has been conducted on the question of bias at the ABC. These include the following:
*A 2004 Roy Morgan media credibility survey found that journalists regarded ABC Radio as the most accurate news source in the country and the ABC as the second "most politically biased media organisation in Australia".
*A 2013 University of the Sunshine Coast
The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC; formerly abbreviated as USC until 2022) is a public university based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. After opening with 524 students in 1996 as the Sunshine Coast University College, it ...
study of the voting intentions of journalists found that 73.6% of ABC journalists supported Labor or the Greens – with 41% supporting the Greens (whereas only around 10% of people in the general population voted for the Greens).
*At the 2016 federal election, a study commissioned by the ABC's Election Coverage Review Committee and conducted by Isentia compiled share-of-voice data and found that the ABC devoted 42.6% of election coverage to the Coalition government
A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
(this compares to the 42.04% primary (first-preference) vote received by the Coalition in the House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
(HOR)), 35.9% to the Labor opposition (34.73% HOR), 8% to the Greens (10.23% HOR), 3.1% to independents (1.85% HOR), 2.2% to the Nick Xenophon Team (1.85% HOR) and 8.1% to others. However, the ABC itself notes the "significant limitations around the value of share of voice data" as "duration says nothing about tone or context".
*In December 2020, the Board commissioned its 19th editorial review by an independent reviewer, which found that the ABC's news coverage of lead-up to the 2019 Australian election was "overwhelmingly positive and unbiased", although it also found that specific episodes of '' The Drum'' and '' Insiders'' reflected too narrow a range of viewpoints. The government forced the publication of the report after Coalition
A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces.
Formation
According to ''A G ...
senator James McGrath raised a motion in the Senate, which led to ABC Chair Ita Buttrose and managing director David Anderson writing to the president of the Senate
President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the Speaker (politics), speaker in some other assemblies.
The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...
, Scott Ryan, to express their concerns about the use of the such powers, which went against the public interest.
The ABC has an Election Coverage Review Committee that supervises the allocation of available broadcasting time to political parties and checks broadcast content against their editorial policies. The ABC also has a Referendum Coverage Review Committee which performs similar functions to the Election Coverage Review Committee. These committees are convened when an electoral event is announced.
Relationships with government
Labor prime minister Bob Hawke considered the ABC's coverage of the 1991 Gulf War to be biased. In 1996, conservative opposition leader John Howard refused to have Kerry O'Brien of the ABC moderate the television debates with Labor prime minister Paul Keating because Howard saw O'Brien as biased against the Coalition.
Liberal Prime Minister Tony Abbott
Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...
perceived the ABC to be left wing and hostile to his government, while Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party an ...
enjoyed better relations with the national broadcaster. Turnbull's successor, Scott Morrison, once again presided over "strained" relations between the government and the ABC. Under Morrison's leadership, an investigation was launched into the ABC and its complaints-handling process—a decision which was criticised by Ita Buttrose as "political interference". The inquiry was abandoned the following June.
Specific topics
The Catholic Church and George Pell
The ABC's coverage of the issue of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church received praise and criticism. The Melbourne Press Club presented the 2016 Quill for Coverage of an Issue or Event for the report ''George Pell and Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church'', and the 2016 Golden Quill award to Louise Milligan and Andy Burns for their extensive coverage of Cardinal George Pell's evidence given at the .
The ABC ''Media Watch'' program of 20 April 2020 noted that the ABC had been accused of leading a "witch hunt" against Cardinal Pell. ''Media Watch'' reported that, following his acquittal, Pell said the ABC gave an "overwhelming presentation of one view and only one view". Media Watch also canvassed other criticisms including from ''The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...
'' newspaper's editor-at-large Paul Kelly, who charged the ABC with having run a "sustained campaign against Pell". Media Watch also offered criticism of its own, noting Louise Milligan and the ''Four Corners'' program had failed to canvass any of Pell's defence from the trial and "lined up witnesses condemning Pell", while social media commentary by Barrie Cassidy and Quentin Dempster had undermined the presumption of innocence. Margaret Simons similarly noted in ''The Guardian'' that "there has been some social media activity by ABC journalists that looks very much like lobbying against Pell..."
Environmentalism
Planet Slayer was an ABC website run by scientist Bernie Hobbs to teach children about the environment in around 2008/09. It included a "Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...
Calculator" which aimed to help children to work out their carbon footprint
A carbon footprint (or greenhouse gas footprint) is a calculated value or index that makes it possible to compare the total amount of greenhouse gases that an activity, product, company or country Greenhouse gas emissions, adds to the atmospher ...
by providing an estimate of the age a person needs to die if they are not to use more than their fair share of the Earth's resources. Victorian Liberal senator Mitch Fifield criticised a cartoon series on the site for portraying those who eat meat, loggers, and workers in the nuclear industry as "evil". ABC managing director Mark Scott said the site was not designed to offend anyone, but instead have children think about environmental issues.
See also
* History of broadcasting in Australia
* Timeline of Australian radio
Notes
References
Further reading
* Cater, Nick ''The Lucky Culture and the Rise of an Australian Ruling Class '' (2013) pp 199–228
* Curgenven, Geoffrey. ''Dick Boyer, an Australian humanist'' (Bolton, 1967) ( Dick Boyer was chair of the ABC Board from 1940 until his death in 1961.)
* Inglis, K. S. ''This is the ABC – the Australian Broadcasting Commission 1932 – 1983'' (2006)
* Inglis, K. S. ''Whose ABC? The Australian Broadcasting Corporation 1983–2006'' (2006)
* Mitcham, Chad J. ''Bland, 'Sir Henry Armand (Harry) (1909–1997)'', ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bland-sir-henry-armand-harry-1549/text41469, published online 2024
* Moran, Albert, and Chris Keating. ''The A to Z of Australian Radio and Television'' (Scarecrow Press, 2009)
* Semmler, Clement. ''The ABC: Aunt Sally and Sacred Cow'' (1981)
External links
*
''Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983''
{{Authority control
Commercial-free television networks
Public television in Australia
Television broadcasting companies of Australia
Radio broadcasting companies of Australia
Publicly funded English language broadcasters
Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia
Mass media companies established in 1932
Organizations established in 1932
Articles containing video clips