The ABC has announced its cuts to save money after the government cuts to their funding.
The ABC has announced the axing of several Radio National programs, including regional and agriculture programs, 7:30 State editions on Friday nights as well as the scaling back of non-news TV production and TV sports broadcasting. The ABC will also close five – yes, five – regional radio stations in Gladstone, Port Augusta, Nowra, Morwell and Wagin. There will be a restructure of the foreign bureaux and the ABC will close Adelaide’s production unit, despite Christopher Pyne’s petition to save it. Lateline will now be broadcast on ABC News 24 at a set time and replayed on ABC1 later. Newcastle’s station has been re-labeled a “regional” station, cutting the funding it gets as a “metropolitan” station.
The ABC will also sell Outside Broadcast (OB) vans, as well as its Langley Place property in Artarmon in Sydney. The ABC will review the rest of its property portfolio. The Managing Director and senior executives will forego a pay rise and 400 jobs will be made redundant, which is about 10% of the ABC’s workforce.
However, there are some positives. The ABC will not change their emergency coverage for bushfires, floods and cyclones. With the money that the ABC re-invests from the savings, they will start a new regional division and a new digital network, as well as a new foreign bureau in Beirut, Lebanon.
Kara L 