Crikey loves a good leak and one of our dear friends at the ABC has
anonymously dropped the complete list of switchboard complaints since
Peter Wilkins started presenting the nightly sports wrap out of Sydney.
It makes for entertaining reading.

The action was arguably at its heaviest on the Monday night when
Wilko made his debut and the poor switchboard operators were deluged as
you can see here.

And here are some comments Crikey has received on Wilk’s sports wrap:

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I do not share the outrage at the new ABC sports coverage. I
am sick to death of AFL and television’s preoccupation with some blokes
knee or calf whilst ignoring the Super 12 rugby international
competition. Similarly, there is scant coverage of the NBL final
because there are two Sydney teams playing. Victoria is so insular in
its culture that it needs to look outside its boundaries to mature.

Charles Eller

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The ABC’s attempts to promote Wilko outside his home patch have an
increasingly desperate ring. In Adelaide his
contributions have generally been dropped down the order, behind other
(not always just local) sports stories.

When he does appear there’s usually a split screen with him and the
event he’s describing on separate screens, which is hard to follow for
those accustomed to a more conventional presentation. His emphasis is
on the froth rather than the cappuccino: tonight he began his summary
of the India – Pakistan test by referring to Tendulkar’s nose being put
out of joint by the Indian captain declaring when the little master was
6 runs short of a double century. Almost as an afterthought he
mentioned that Sehwag made 309, the highest ever Test score by an
Indian! No summary score was put on the screen, as is the custom in the
backblocks here when a major event is mentioned.

Also on our ABC news tonight was an item about Donald McDonald writing
to the Premiers of Vic, SA and Qld whingeing that they don’t understand
the thinking behind the elevation of Wilko. This will only reinforce
the perception that the ABC is Sydneycentric.

Regards

John Turner