The days of the ABC programs The New Inventors and Art Nation are over.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The broadcaster confirmed yesterday it was cutting the two shows, despite the decision being strongly opposed by its employees. The number of job losses is still unknown.
Head of television Kim Dalton told ABC Radio's PM program yesterday the audience for The New Inventors, which ran for eight years, had fallen by 50 per cent. He said Art Nation had lost more than 30 per cent of its audience and would not continue beyond this year. The Community and Public Sector Union said the ABCs decision to cut the programs was an act of cultural vandalism. The ABC is expected to fill the timeslots with outsourced material. It has refused to confirm or deny reports that it planned to axe 100 jobs and several shows. CPSU spokesman Graeme Thomson said the ABC could be in breach of its charter and at risk of losing its funding if the reported cuts were true.
"[It] raises serious questions about whether the ABC is delivering against its legislative charter, parliaments justification for the ABC's $1 billion budget," Mr Thomson said.
"ABC staff have been gutted by this decision. They are personally committed to delivering the quality content that has made the ABC one of Australias most important and respected cultural institutions."
Mr Thomson said employees had been treated badly and were undervalued by Mr Dalton. He lashed out at the ABCs managing director Mark Scott and said he had overseen the destruction of television production by outsourcing content. The ABC is at its best when it broadcasts the best international and domestically produced material available, he said.
with AAP