(MEAA/IFEX) – The following is a MEAA media release: 24 hour strike continues at ABC Radio Current Affairs December 13, 2005 – The Media Alliance and the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) support the decision by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio Current Affairs (Caff) employees to strike for 24 hours. Radio Caff employees made […]
(MEAA/IFEX) – The following is a MEAA media release:
24 hour strike continues at ABC Radio Current Affairs
December 13, 2005 – The Media Alliance and the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) support the decision by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) Radio Current Affairs (Caff) employees to strike for 24 hours.
Radio Caff employees made the decision to strike on December 12, in protest of a restructuring plan that would result in the reduction of immediacy and quality of ABC’s flagship radio current affairs programs, AM, PM and The World Today.
“Fast and accurate is the crux of radio news and current affairs. ABC management’s decision to ‘restructure’ is a direct undermining of ABC journalists’ ability to break and cover the daily events,” said Alliance federal secretary Warren.
The early metropolitan, Radio National and eight o’clock main metropolitan edition of AM were not broadcast on the morning of December 13, nor were The World Today and the main editions of PM in the evening, as a result of the 24-hour strike.
The strike was triggered by ABC management’s decision to cut jobs, including those of studio producers, before Christmas. The removal of studio producers and the reallocation of their tasks to journalists will severely restrict the ability of the Radio Caff unit to bring Australians timely, comprehensive and balanced news. The planned changes will impact on Radio Caff’s ability to break not only major stories but also day-to-day stories, a large proportion of which are live and often unpredictable.
“A reduction in technical and editorial newsroom staff in real terms will directly impact the breadth, quality and number of stories the Caff unit [is] physically able to produce,” said CPSU organiser Stuart Hatter.
“ABC’s responsibility, as Australia’s public service broadcaster, to provide diverse, national and timely coverage will suffer as a consequence of these changes,” said Warren.
The ABC Radio Caff unit is currently run by a bare bones staff, with only two reporters rostered each Sunday night to prepare stories for Monday’s AM program. Saturday AM has one of largest audiences in Australia and yet only two people are rostered on Friday night and only one on Saturday morning. This sole reporter is responsible for covering the nation. The show is then pre-recorded for metropolitan audiences because the presenter is also the executive producer.
Currently, all three programs are broadcast through four different time zones (NSW, VIC, ACT), half an hour later to SA, an hour later to QLD and three hours later to WA. As stories break, journalists have the opportunity to update each bulletin before it goes to air, and if necessary during the bulletin. Under the planned cuts, this immediacy will be lost.
“The changes will be felt particularly hard in regional and rural areas where ABC news and current affairs programs are a lifeline to listeners who don’t have access to the range of media available in metropolitan areas,” said Warren.
The CPSU and the Media Alliance are seeking urgent talks with ABC management to discuss the proposed changes.
Media Alliance represents over 10,000 journalists and media workers in Australia.
