Arts journalists put ABC on notice

Plans to set up a new prime time arts show for Virginia Trioli will only fix the ABC’s ‘shockingly neglectful’ coverage of the arts if it is given proper resources, a former top reporter says.

Virginia Trioli will leave talkback radio to host a new ABC television arts program.

Plans to set up a new prime time arts show for Virginia Trioli will only fix the ABC’s “shockingly neglectful” coverage of the arts if it is given proper resources, a former top reporter for the public broadcaster says.

After months of declining ratings and speculation about her position, Trioli announced on Thursday she would step down from her leading spot as a talkback radio host on ABC Melbourne Mornings and take up her role as the host of the new arts program.

The ABC’s chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor said Trioli’s new TV show would be part of the network’s “expanded arts coverage,” two months after the broadcaster dissolved its dedicated arts unit and dismissed its two most senior arts journalists.

Michaela Boland, the ABC’s former national arts correspondent, who left the organisation in 2020, said that the announcement of the TV show is a much needed shot in the arm for the arts, but “how substantial this commitment is” must be questioned.

“If this is a big commitment to the arts, that’s really welcome — so long as it’s a well resourced show,” she said.

“In recent times, the ABC has been shockingly neglectful of its obligations to the arts.

“The arts need to be looked after. The reality is that sometimes the arts don’t have super high ratings. It is an ecosystem that we need to cherish and be protect because, in the big bad world of commercialism, it does need some help.

“A beautiful documentary about dancers is never going to get as many bums on seats as Barbie, but that’s not to say it should be less valued.”

Arts journalist Jane Howard – who won a Walkey for her arts coverage on the ABC in 2019 – also said that while it is great to see the ABC placing arts coverage in primetime, “A weekly TV talk show is not a replacement for dedicated journalists covering the beat.”

She decried that, “Many stories still won‘t be told with the arts team absorbed into the generalist newsroom without an expert editor to guide them, shape their work, and shape the ABC’s approach.”

Trioli assumed the role of ABC Melbourne morning host in October 2019, with her final program scheduled for September.

During her tenure, the ABC witnessed a decline in ratings on its major metropolitan morning radio stations — Sydney and Melbourne.

In the latest radio ratings released this week, Trioli had an audience share of 7.5 percentage points and the program was fifth in its slot.

ABC Melbourne had an audience share of 7.1 and it was the seventh-most popular station in the Victorian capital.

“After almost 20 years working to the hardest alarms that the ABC has to offer, presenting Mornings on ABC radio Sydney for several years, 11 years as the founding anchor of News Breakfast and on Melbourne Mornings here it’s a change that feels unavoidable for me right now,” she said on her program on Thursday.

“I’m thrilled to return to my first love of arts coverage and to be a part of the ABC’s new cultural strategy,” she said.

Trioli’s replacement will be announced on her program on Friday.

ABC managing director David Anderson, who appeared on Trioli‘s program on Thursday, said that her “knowledge and undisputed passion for the arts will significantly boost our new arts line-up in 2024.”