Extract from ABC News
Updated
More than 400 ABC staff could lose their jobs as the
public broadcaster moves to implement the $254 million the Federal
Government will cut from the public broadcaster over the next five
years.
Managing director Mark Scott made the announcement when he addressed staff at the ABC's Ultimo Centre in Sydney this morning.Mr Scott said the Corporation was committed to using back-office and overhead savings to fund the $207 million that would be cut from the ABC's budget from July 2015.
"We anticipate that more than 400 people – close to 10 per cent of our ongoing workforce – face potential redundancy as we adjust our activities over coming months," Mr Scott said.
"We regard the changes as vital to securing the long-term health of the organisation but I acknowledge that is no comfort to those who will lose their positions."
In his address, Mr Scott said there would be a review of the ABC's property holdings, with its site at Gore Hill in Sydney to be sold.
Key points:
- The Federal Government will cut $254 million over five years from the ABC budget
- More than 400 ABC staff - close to 10 per cent - could lose their jobs
- Back-office and overhead savings will fund the $207 million that would be cut from the ABC's budget from July 2015
- A national 7.30 program on Fridays will replace the current state 7.30 editions
- Lateline will be moved to a new fixed timeslot on ABC News 24
- Foreign bureaux will be restructured to create "multiplatform hubs" in London, Washington, Jakarta and Beijing and a new Beirut post will be opened
- ABC Local, Radio National and ABC Classic FM programming will be changed
- There will be an overhaul of ABC TV's sports coverage
- There will be a new regional division and ABC Digital Network, to begin in mid-2015, and a $20 million digital investment fund
The ABC's Adelaide television production studio and five regional radio offices will be closed, and remaining non-news TV production in other states will also be wound down.
Mr Scott said there would also be a rationalisation of the ABC's television outside broadcast vans and a scaling-back of television sporting broadcasts.
The announcement also included details of proposed programming changes for ABC News, Radio and Television.
A national 7.30 program on Fridays will replace the current state 7.30 editions and will include extended cross-platform coverage of state and territory issues seven days a week.
Lateline will be moved to a new fixed timeslot on ABC News 24 and the broadcaster's foreign bureaux will be restructured to create "multiplatform hubs" and a new Beirut post will be opened.
There will also be changes to ABC Local, Radio National and ABC Classic FM programming and an overhaul of ABC TV's sports coverage.
Mr Scott has also proposed the creation of a new regional division and ABC Digital Network, to begin in mid-2015, and a $20 million digital investment fund.
The ABC Board has expressed its support for the changes in a statement released after Mr Scott's address to staff.
"The initiatives outlined by Mr Scott comprise a carefully considered response to the twin challenges of technological change and reduced funding," the Board, led by ABC chairman James Spigelman, said.
"They provide funds to invest in essential new online and mobile strategies that better connect the ABC with its audiences. Like the best media companies across the globe, the ABC is using its digital expertise to achieve deeper and broader audience engagement and relevance."
Mr Scott will visit staff in ABC branches in each state and territory over the next fortnight to fully brief them on the changes.
"The message I will convey, both internally and externally, over the next few weeks is that the ABC cannot stand still and run the risk of becoming less relevant and compelling to this and future generations," he said.
"What we are doing today is in the best interests of the ABC and its many stakeholders. It is designed to position the organisation for the future.
"Working together, we can be confident in our ability to see through these changes and to build a stronger ABC."
Federal Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull unveiled the full scale of the cuts and details of the Lewis Review into the public broadcasters in a speech in Adelaide on Wednesday.
In it, he said the ABC would have its budget cut by $254 million over the next five years – a cut of 4.6 per cent – and added that ABC management ought to be able to fund the savings without cutting resources to programming.
All up, $20 million will be cut from the ABC's budget in 2015-16, rising to $61 million in 2016-17, $55 million in 2017-18, and $68 million in 2018-19.
Cancellation of state-based 7.30 editions an error: MEAA
"We're seeing one of, if not the largest shake-out of jobs here at the ABC, where really it was totally unnecessary," he told ABC News 24.
"Of course once the money was withdrawn from the ABC, then job losses were inevitable and loss of content and programming was the inevitable result of that.
"I think the ABC or public broadcasting is a really critical and important role that governments play, or that governments fund, particularly in the current environment where commercial media is under such enormous pressure.
"The minuscule savings they've got in terms of the scale of the budget they're dealing with is really not worth the loss to Australian culture, democracy and society that flows from there."
Mr Warren said it will be a difficult time at the broadcaster.
"[It's] going to be very hard for those people, it's very hard in the media generally, obviously there's not a lot of alternate jobs for people who have those kind of very high-level media skills," he said.
"It will put the ABC workforce probably at its lowest level ever, while at the same time producing more content than ever, so it's going to be an immense challenge for the staff who work at the ABC to continue to generate the sort of high-quality material that they're known for."
Mr Warren said the cancellation of state-based 7.30 editions is "an error".
"It's a critical local voice, particularly in one-newspaper towns," he said.
"That it will make a material difference to people's understanding and knowledge about what's going on in their state, particularly in those towns where there's already a shortage of media voices."
Mr Warren said the changes to Lateline would result in less reporting being done specifically for the program and the decision to shift it to ABC News 24 would have some transmission savings.
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