Arts a casualty in ABC’s war on costs

ABC abolishes arts, entertainment round as part of savage cost-saving measures.

 

The ABC’s news division has abolished its arts and entertainment round, cut jobs in Brisbane and Melbourne from its investigations unit and reduced the number of annual episodes for Foreign Correspondent and Australian Story as part of its cost-saving measures.

This is in addition to the axing of its chief economics correspondent’s position, held by Emma ­Alberici, and two business reporters, with up to 70 roles to be axed from the news division.

The changes in the ABC’s long-awaited five-year strategic plan, announced on Wednesday, are part of a move towards on-­demand news rather than through scheduled bulletins.

Other cuts include an executive producer position on its program The Business, a chief-of-staff ­position in Canberra — plus 10 ­national news jobs, which will be replaced by six positions on low pay bands.

In addition, two positions are being abolished in current affairs, and the 7.30 program will lose a digital producer role.

It was also reported last night that the ABC planned to make its national head of emergency broadcasting redundant following a deadly bushfire season during which Australians credited the ­organisation with saving lives.

Foreign Correspondent will lose two episodes and be broadcast 22 times a year, while Australian Story will lose four stories a year.

The Australian understands one of the jobs to be abolished in the ABC’s investigations unit will be the freedom of information ­editor’s role, based in Brisbane.

The ABC’s national arts, culture and entertainment reporter, Michaela Boland, whose position on the specialist reporting team has been made redundant, told The Australian she was committed to challenging management’s decision. “The arts and culture are of massive significance to Australians, and I’m going to spend the next few weeks working to convince ABC management of this,” Boland said on Thursday.

Boland is the only dedicated arts reporter at ABC News, and her role was created following the 2017 review of ABC Arts by former board member and investment banker Simon Mordant.

Mr Mordant, who left the ABC board in November 2017 after five years, declined to comment on Thursday about the ABC’s current arts coverage.

At the conclusion of the review, Mr Mordant told The Australian that “the arts review was undertaken to ensure the ABC understood what existing and potential audiences wanted covered, and to determine the most effective use of the considerable ABC resources and expertise”.

A spokesman for Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said it was “a matter for the ABC board and management to explain the decisions it makes and to fulfil its obligations under its charter”.

The ABC’s entertainment and specialist unit suffered the second-largest number of job losses, with 50 positions to go.

The Australian understands the broadcaster’s head of entertainment and factual, Josie Mason Campbell, who works in tandem with the arts area, has also had her position made redundant.

The ABC’s head of specialist, Aidan Laverty, has been promoted to take half of Ms Mason Campbell’s role. Meanwhile, the position of manager of arts, held by Richard Buckham, has also been made ­redundant.

The ABC’s two commissioning editors of TV arts, Kalita Corrigan and Miranda Culley, were told in March their contracts would not be renewed, but their departure was delayed until September. The pair are the key points of contact between external arts program makers and the ABC.

An ABC spokesman declined to comment on individual positions because it was consulting with the affected employees but said it had an “ongoing commitment” to the arts.

“Any suggestion that the ABC is walking away from or reducing its commitment to the arts would be false,” he said.