ABC Update, Wednesday 6 December 2000

(When copying or quoting, please cite as source: Peter Pockley, Science Writer and Broadcaster)

Few would have picked up anything about science TV from Wednesday's traumatic events at the ABC (in Sydney, in particular), as this issue was sidelined by reporting of the strike by ABC staff and the Chairman's and Managing Director's news conference. I attended the news conference as reporter for Nature and Australasian Science. Their lengthy replies have not been picked up by any of the mainstream media represented by a throng of reporters.

Here is the essence of science-related issues arising from yesterday's press conference. [Contextual comments are in square brackets.]

1. The ABC is calling for an "immediate injection of $37.25 million ongoing to fund four programming and content initiatives of national significance, along with an additional $2.8 million in 2001 for a digital pilot project". The "programming and content initiatives" amount to extended services for regional and rural Australia, multi-media programming for children and (emphasised strongly by the Chairman, Donald McDonald) extensive coverage of financial reporting (because "nearly all Australians have a direct or indirect stake in superannuation"). [Science was not one of the areas to receive any extra funding that might be granted by government.]

2. I asked them to acknowledge and respond to the communications they had received from the major organisations representing scientists and academics (I read the list of your organisations). There was no acknowledgement of the reactions, only a declaration by Mr McDonald that the ABC's "independence" does not require it consult any body. [I pointed out that independence was not at issue, but involvement with the essential sources of program material was.]

3. Mr Shier said it was "too expensive" to maintain a TV Science Unit and ALL specialist program units in TV and radio will be disbanded. [Though the Radio Science Unit was not mentioned by name, it is clearly one of several targeted.]

4. Mr Shier claimed he was only told by the Director of TV (Gail Jarvis) of the closure of the TV Science Unit on the day before it was announced to staff (said to be "normal practice"). They both considered it necessary to do so last Thursday before Mr Shier opened last Saturday an international conference of TV science producers in Sydney [not mentioned in Ms Jarvis's news release of last Friday and not reported subsequently in the media.]

5. Mr Shier stated, vaguely, his intention to replace such units by some that would cover all of TV, radio and on-line. It seemed, though, that this might be within the new program development unit. [This is to be a "commissioning" unit, not a production unit of researchers, reporters and producers -- the characteristic of both the (formally closed) TV and (not yet closed) Radio Science Units. The science element within that would only be small.]

6. All divisional heads are to present to Mr Shier by 1 January their lists of units and staff to be axed "in order to meet budgets". [All of his plans were clearly supported by his Chairman.]

Peter Pockley

7 December 2000

25 Avenue Road, Glebe, Sydney
New South Wales 2037, Australia

Phone: +61 (0) 2 9660 6363; Fax +61 (0) 2 9660 6239.
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