THE TEDIUM of the Olympic Games obviously got to some ABC Radio listeners who were then mightily rebuked for daring to provide their feedback to Aunty.
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During an onset of insomnia, possibly brought about by the two-point win by the Cats that evening, I flicked on my digital radio to hear the 2am news.
It was followed by presenter Rod Quinn - not the editor of The Canberra Times - who began with a tirade against those who had dared to opine they would prefer to listen to their favourite type of football than the Olympics.
It is a view which I share, but that is not really the point here.
Quinn lectured and hectored that the Olympics come around only every four years and, in effect, that those dissatisfied should put up with it and not waste their time telling the ABC of their dissatisfaction with its coverage.
Now, the ABC, as with most major media organisations, frequently encourages feedback. So it is a bit rich for a presenter to complain when listeners express their opinion. Quinn, not the last person to express an opinion, warned that these malcontents might well cause the ABC not to broadcast the Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro in four years.
For those who enjoy the Olympic Games, including events which are otherwise barely reported in Australia, ABC Radio's coverage was no doubt welcome.
But with more time allocated than there were events to fill, frequent repeat broadcasts could easily have frustrated many listeners, especially those without the benefit of the digital radio service. For in the mainland state capitals, regular programs were broadcast on the digital network, as were the Olympics.
Being so metro-focused, the ABC seems to forget the digital alternative is not available to most people outside those capitals. The only exceptions are Canberra and Darwin, where a trial of digital broadcasting has been extended by another year. Last year we were told a full digital service could not begin in Canberra until analog television had been turned off. Well, it was turned off in this region in June. Meanwhile, ABC listeners tired of the Olympics had little escape, with news and current affairs programs devoting inordinate coverage.
This was too often punctuated with lamentations over Australia's lack of gold medals or fawning interviews with winners.
Even with the games only half over, the lack of gold medals prompted senior Australian Olympic officials to begin claims for more public money to better prepare athletes.
While many Australians would prefer to bask in the glory of success at Olympic Games, surely some of the almost $600 million spent on Olympic sports over the past four years would be better directed to combatting this country's obesity epidemic.