Another year, another round of cuts to the ABC’s arts coverage.
Since the early 2000s, cuts to specialist arts programming have proceeded at regular intervals; almost every restructure has rung the death knell for another bit of culture at the ABC.
And so it was last week, in the most recent restructure, pegged to cost 120 jobs. The ABC is folding its specialist arts team into the online news division, and at least two arts editors are being made redundant.
Matters weren’t helped by the opacity of the ABC’s actions. Word filtered out on social media. The ABC’s internal restructure document left many questions about the ABC’s arts coverage unanswered, particularly about how coverage will now be presented on the broadcaster’s various websites and verticals. Mealy-mouthed statements from the ABC like “our commitment to the arts remains as solid and comprehensive as ever” don’t foster optimism.
In particular, the redundancy of arts editor Dee Jefferson has unsettled the sector. Widely respected, Jefferson came up through the Sydney street press, has deep contacts throughout Australian culture, and is also an excellent technical editor known to give thoughtful feedback.
Perhaps the biggest question is why the ABC feels the need to swing the axe in the first place. Arts coverage is almost the purest example of the role of a public broadcaster. Unlike commercial rivals, the ABC doesn’t get to use the excuse of advertising revenue. Arts coverage is also a legislated charter responsibility.
ABC insiders tell Crikey that the elimination of Jefferson’s role will actually crimp the ability of specialist arts content to make it into the broader ABC feed.
“The loss of Dee’s position does speak to a lack of conviction in arts coverage by ABC management,” one ABC specialist told Crikey. “Why do we have to beg for a dedicated arts reporter for online when there must be a multitude covering sport?”
As usual, the ABC has tried to defend these changes with platitudes about moving with the times. “No other Australian broadcaster comes anywhere near offering the depth and breadth of arts coverage that ABC does,” it huffed in a statement. “The proposals announced [on Thursday] will see savings reinvested into the ABC’s arts coverage which will lead to more of the arts content audiences want and expect.” Managing director David Anderson has some lines about “the reinvestment and the transition to digital-first will mean new roles and new skills are required across our workforce”. This is disingenuous, even on the most generous reading: two of the jobs deleted in arts coverage were actually online roles.
The ABC’s arts coverage has stagnated in recent years. As I argued back in 2016, the steady thinning of the ABC’s cultural coverage is inimical to the very of idea of public service broadcasting. Fewer gardeners and sterner pruning risks creating a monoculture, the very opposite of what the ABC should be striving for.
One of the biggest problems of the online arts vertical was the feed-like nature of its presentation. The vertical simply collects every news article tagged “arts” and displays them on a scrolling page. Because of this, the page is dominated by coverage from the ABC’s rural reporters. Considered long-form pieces by Jefferson rub up against sugar hits of rural coverage about antique tractors and a “professional mermaid” from Byron Bay. The effect is scattergun, although the juxtapositions can be amusing.
It might seem unfair to take a shot at regional arts coverage, but the surfeit of interesting stories from the outback actually highlights what the ABC could achieve with better resourcing and effort. Culture is just as important in the cities, but the ABC has no dedicated team of local journalists to report on it. Western Sydney is one of the most artistically exciting places in Australia, but from the ABC’s point of view, you would barely know it exists.
There are still pockets of excellence scattered across the national broadcaster, but they are getting harder to find, and feel neglected. Namila Benson’s flagship TV program Artworks is nearly as good as the heyday magazine shows of the ’90s like Express — but the ABC’s television arts coverage is still well short of its glory years. There’s no televised book show anymore, and no Movie Show either.
Radio National (RN) soldiers on with first-rate programming, especially Daniel Browning and Rosa Ellen’s Art Show, but, as usual, not enough value is leveraged from RN across the wider ABC networks. Even at RN, there has been recent and unnecessary program destruction, with long-running poetry program Poetica killed back in 2014. The deep archives of the ABC’s much-missed arts portal, which ran for nearly a decade until 2016, are still languishing somewhere, hidden on a dusty hard drive. With the cuts to the archives department, we’ll probably never get this content back.
It’s not hard to see the agenda here. The ABC is steadily sacrificing cultural depth for topical breadth. While specialist coverage and programming is progressively amputated, shallow behemoths like the 24-hour news channel lumber on, filling endless minutes in the lacunae between Canberra media conferences and crosses to suburban car accidents.
As Esther Anatolitis has pointed out, it’s ironic that these cuts come at the very time that the Albanese government is finally re-investing in culture, after a decade of austerity under the Coalition. “For the first time in a long time, it feels like arts are on the national agenda,” Anatolitis writes. “So it’s been quite jarring to see the national broadcaster take steps in the other direction.” Once again, Aunty is fighting the last war.
Should there be more of a focus on arts coverage at the national broadcaster? Let us know your thoughts by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
The LNP ring-ins at the ABC are doing Fox “News” work for them………………
……eventually they will be indistinguishable.
So true. The hammer has been falling on the ABC since Abbott’s reign, and it will continue til the hammerhead(s) drive the nail completely through the heart of this public broadcaster. Only the intellect of a great Greek historian, general, albeit, philosopher, would agree that this is natural, necessary and unavoidable. Maybe, Thucydides like many Ancient Greek notables has been misunderstood, misrepresented by so many for too long.
I was bitterly disappointed when the Book Show was axed. Surely half an hour a week is not too much to expect. It was one of the highlights of my week. I know that not a lot of younger people read but many many older people do. Why are we ignored?
Unfortunately your comment is incorrect, young people are ready en mass and is quite the cultural phenomenon.
But I point this out because it gets to the heart of what I think the ABC’s problem – it cannot keep up with the demand for content by young people as it is too slow and overproduced.
YouTube is awash with “booktok” book review and discussion content, frequently available (multiple times a week) and flexible enough to react to current trend. Through this medium reading is genuinely a trend for young people.
Similarly, on the factual content front there are massive numbers of documentary film makers (from history, to costume, to battleships) that is readily and freely available, and better targeted to a variety of interests.
I’m not sure if the “digital first” approach will help the ABC, but if encourage them to reach out and support more local content makers without overburdening them on content rules or commentary restrictions.
Unfortunately for YouTube, it is also awash with utter bollocks, disinformation and conspiracy rabbit-holes…………..
…..hardly a good example of anything any broadcaster, let alone the ABC, should be aiming for.
I think that we have ‘discussed’ the topic of YouTube offerings in the recent past Thuc. I would simply remind you that there are many interesting and useful ‘nuggets of information’ and entertainment to be found on YouTube (and whats more, even I can find them). I have found them and been able to make very good use of them. In fact, much of the material that I have used from Youtube is ‘light years’ ahead of what is on offer at the ABC. There are some excellent scientific, mathematical, historical and music videos on YouTube, just to name a few.
Fortunately?
I used to be an avid RN listener but now I am so sick of their advertising, self promotion even breaking into the middle of programs to unnecessarily disrupt the flow. Their “Think Bigger” signature gives me a pain it is so repetitive and misinformation as they are shrinking and obviously heading to the lowest common denominator to gain numbers but of whom? When one of the main items in the news is about a sausage dog gathering breaking a Guiness world record I think the national broadcaster has reached a very low ebb.
Give me a world record sausage dog gathering anytime rather than the unremitting repetition of sports results. Surely anyone interested in a particular sport has already either watched or listened to the game therefore already knows the result.
As soon as those hideous sports reports come on at my place zut, either the radio or television volume goes right down or the appliance is switched off altogether. I can’t stand it.
“Think Bigger” than what? It makes me want to scream.
They’re getting so out of touch tabloid that they use their (tv) news bulletins to push promotional material for later shows – in the hope that some will get interested enough to watch it…. desperation?
That’s if you can listen? Several if not all RN programs inc. LNL, Saturday & Sunday Extra, along with comments & transcripts, have removed the direct podcast downloads for quality asynchronous or non live listening, while the Listen App is not available, hence, need to stream on mobile phone outdoors, regions and offshore; appallingly low quality experience yet ABC Friends passively decry a shrinking audience….
The ‘dumbing down’ of the ABC continues apace (even under a so-called ‘Labor’ government). This trend will no doubt please those of a conservative political persuasion (but it riles the hell out of me!!)
The ABC is going the same way as other traditional media, including print. They have started worrying about their consumers who are getting old and reducing in numbers. Like other traditional mediasl they have had a brain fart and decided the way ahead is to chase the kids and ditch the oldies. They will lose the oldies for sure but they wont attract the kids. The wash up will be Rupert wins. Everybody else loses. Dumber and dumber.