ABC cancels The Drum as part of ‘wider restructure’

The news panel talk program will air for the final time on the ABC this week with management cancelling the panel show for 2024.

Julia Baird and Ellen Fanning were co-hosts of The Drum on the ABC. The show will be cancelled this week. Picture: ABC

The Drum will air for the final time on the ABC this week with management cancelling the panel show for 2024.

Hosts Julia Baird, Ellen Fanning and Dan Bourchier will be redeployed to other hosting duties, however the restructure will see some job losses.

A decision news director Justin Stevens told staff on Tuesday was “difficult”.

In an email to staff, Stevens said the “decommissioning” of the long-running show was “part of a wider restructure which would see a programs team on the ABC News Channel disbanded and one executive position abolished”.

“The Drum began in 2010 and it went on to be groundbreaking in championing diversity on air, leading the way in finding new voices and inspiring other ABC teams to follow suit,” Stevens said.

He conceded the The Drum had been watched by a “comparatively small and declining” audience in recent times.

The Drum was launched in 2010 to coincide with the premiere of ABC News 24. It underwent a number of makeovers and was shifted from the ABC News Channel to the primary ABC station. In 2019 it was relaunched as the permanent 6pm show before being repeated at 11pm on ABC News 24.

At that time, it would attract about 130,000 metro viewers each night.

In 2023 it has rarely rated in the daily top 20 programs, even during the campaign for the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum.

Stevens also paid tribute to the show for “unearthing new talent” and for hosting a broad cross section of panellists with differing views and opinions.

A regular guest was academic Nareen Young, who claimed, back in 2022, that then prime minister Scott Morrison was out of touch because he ate white bread, a fact he shared on Seven’s Sunrise before The Drum canvassed the conversation.

“I think the comment about the white bread was really interesting,” said Young, who is Professor for Indigenous Policy at the University of Technology Sydney, said.

“Who eats white bread in this country? Anglo men. I come from a working class background.

“We had brown bread because we were healthy. I think it shows a deep lack of understanding about who works in this country,” Young said.

Federal president of the media section of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance Karen Percy called the axing “a shortsighted move” in a post on LinkedIn.

Baird said hosting the show was an “honour” and is now looking forward to writing more and participating in podcasts for the ABC.

“The Drum has been an incredibly rewarding opportunity. It’s allowed me to do what I love most – talking to fascinating, smart people about what’s going on in the world, while also interacting with the ABC’s engaged and always-thinking audience,” Baird said.

Fanning will join ABC Brisbane’s radio arm and help with its coverage of the upcoming Queensland election.

She will also appear on TV and continue to regular reading of the Friday and Saturday Queensland 7pm news bulletins.

Fanning returned to Brisbane last year after 25 years in Sydney plans to renew her relationship with Queensland audiences.

“I’m keen to travel around Queensland in the lead up to the State election to hear from Queenslanders about their hopes and ambitions, their frustrations and aspirations. Elections are about people and it’s an honour to be given the time and resources to listen closely to the views of my fellow Queenslanders and to spend time in their communities,” Fanning said.