‘Betrayal is a heavy word’: ABC reassures audiences as 120 staffers are shown the door

ABC News boss Justin Stevens has tried to reassure audiences outside the east coast capitals that the national broadcaster has not betrayed them in moving to nationalise its 7pm Sunday bulletin, as part of the biggest organisational shakeup at the ABC in six years.    

In an interview with ABC Radio Melbourne late Thursday, Stevens repudiated claims the consolidated Sunday evening bulletins constituted a “betrayal” of local audiences in cities such as Adelaide and Perth, whose localised 7pm news bulletins were nixed in a restructure announcement made to ABC staff earlier that afternoon.

“Betrayal is a heavy word,” Stevens said. “They might [feel that way] if they thought that was the only thing we’ve announced today. So let’s give them the courtesy of telling them everything we’ve announced.”

Once the changes kick in at the end of the financial year, the ABC will continue to broadcast its localised state-based 7pm bulletins six nights a week, with a national Sunday bulletin to be carried across the country on Sundays. Stevens, when pressed, said the new national bulletin, ABC News Sunday, will not be broadcast from the ABC’s Ultimo headquarters.

Why the restructure?

The change emerged among a slew of major announcements on Thursday, including deep job cuts that will see 120 staffers leave the ABC as part of an effort to shift the organisation’s focus towards its digital platforms.

In an email to staff on Thursday, seen by Crikey, ABC managing director David Anderson said the changes made were “necessary for the longer term”, as the national broadcaster comes up against the same economic headwinds faced by other media organisations.

“The ABC is operating in an environment that is subject to inflationary pressures. We also face the need to increase investment in digital transformation to improve our efficiency and meet the needs of audiences,” Anderson wrote.

“The decisions we make now are necessary for the longer term. The reinvestment and the transition to digital-first will mean new roles and new skills are required across our workforce.”

The restructure will see the ABC move away from traditional broadcasting technology in favour of a focus on digital platforms. As a result, from July 1 the ABC will dispense with its separate regional and local divisions, with regional bureaux to be folded into the broadcaster’s broader news division.

The five-year plan

It comes after the release of the ABC’s five-year plan, published last Friday. In it, the ABC outlined plans to move resources away from AM radio band transmission and TV to podcast and on-demand programs, delivered through its ABC iView, ABC Listen and ABC News platforms, in an effort to acquire a majority-digital audience by 2028.

The changes will also see the creation of a new ABC content division, headed by chief content officer and former Netflix executive Chris Oliver-Taylor, in a bid to simplify the broadcaster’s commissioning model.

That new division will see capital city local radio, most of the national radio networks of Radio National, ABC Classic, triple j, and digital audio broadcasting services all at home together under Oliver-Taylor.

What it means for news

On the news side, the cuts included a number of journalists and producers, including political editor Andrew Probyn, whose job was axed as part of a restructure of the ABC’s Canberra Parliament House bureau.

The bureau, according to a change proposal seen by Crikey, was previously operating in an “outdated, top-heavy structure” too focused on linear television, recommending Probyn and a television editor be ousted in favour of three new digital and social content creation roles.

Where does that leave arts?

According to an email sent to staff by Stevens, seen by Crikey, further changes include a renewed focus on state and territory politics, including the return of Stateline, as well as the formation of a new climate, environment and energy team. A notable casualty of the news-side changes was the standalone ABC arts team, which will be disbanded and reintegrated across the newsroom.

Within the newly created content division, the changes related to how content is commissioned for TV and audio platforms, as well as making digital products a priority, and focusing on “audience and impact”.

“The ABC will continue to prioritise key genres such as Indigenous, arts, children’s, scripted, entertainment and factual, ensuring strong public broadcasting values are inherent in what we commission, but ensuring that the ABC’s content is relevant for all of Australia,” Oliver-Taylor told staff in an email, seen by Crikey, on Thursday.

He said the division’s “scripted” department, generally responsible for commissioning shows like Utopia, Mystery Road, Total Control and other series, will soon have a new manager, while announcing a new arts, music and events department, headed by Kath Earle.

The mood inside the public broadcaster

Rumours of the restructuring announcement sent the ABC’s major Sydney and Melbourne newsrooms into overdrive earlier this week. Official news of the announcements was met with frustration across the ABC’s capital city newsrooms, sources say.

The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA), the union representing media workers, said the dozens of job cuts announced on Thursday would “inevitably weaken” the broadcaster’s ability to deliver quality journalism to Australian audiences.

“The ABC has been running on empty for the past decade and we are concerned about how it can continue to deliver quality public interest journalism with even fewer staff following these cuts,” said Cassie Derrick, media director at the MEAA.

“Local journalism in our country continues to be eroded, and these cuts are a further insult to local audiences.”