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The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the

national broadcaster Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is principally funded by direct grants from the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned body that is politically independent and fully accountable, with its charter enshrined in legislation, the ''Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983''.

ABC Commercial ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, a profit-making division of the corporation, also helps to generate funding for content provision. The ABC was established as the Australian Broadcasting Commission on 1 July 1932 by an act of federal parliament. It effectively replaced the

Australian Broadcasting Company The Australian Broadcasting Company Pty. Ltd. was a company founded in Melbourne in 1924 with a capital of £A 100,000 by a consortium of entertainment interests, notably Farmer & Company, J. C. Williamson Limited and J. & N. Tait to fou ...

, a private company established in 1924 to provide programming for A-class radio stations. The ABC was given statutory powers that reinforced its independence from the government and enhanced its news-gathering role. Modelled after the British Broadcasting Corporation (

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

), which is funded by a

television licence A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is a payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts, or the possession of a television set where some broadcasts are funded in full or in part by the licence f ...

, the ABC was originally financed by consumer licence fees on broadcast receivers. Licence fees were abolished in 1973 and replaced by direct government grants, as well as revenue from commercial activities related to its core broadcasting mission. The ABC adopted its current name in 1983. The ABC provides radio, television, online, and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional Australia. ABC Radio operates four national networks, a large number of

ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

stations, several digital stations, and the international service

Radio Australia ABC Radio Australia, also known as Radio Australia, is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster. Most programming is in English, with some in Tok ...

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

operates five

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the FTA Receiver, appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring ...

channels, as well as the

ABC iview ABC iview is a video on demand and catch-up TV service run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Currently iview video content can only be viewed by users in Australia. As of 2016, ABC iview attracts around 50 million plays monthly and ac ...

streaming service and the

ABC Australia The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

satellite channel. News and current affairs content across all platforms is produced by the

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...

division.

History

Origins

After

public radio Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

stations were established independently in the state capitals from 1924, a licensing scheme administered by the

Postmaster-General's Department The Postmaster-General's Department (PMG) was a department of the Australian federal government, established at Federation in 1901, whose responsibilities included the provision of postal and telegraphic services throughout Australia. It was ...

was established, allowing certain stations (with "Class A" licences") government funding, albeit with restrictions placed on their advertising content. In 1928, the government established the National Broadcasting Service to take over the 12 A-Class licences as they came up for renewal, and contracted the

, a private company established in 1924, to supply programs to the new national broadcaster. After it became politically unpopular to continue to allow the Postmaster-General to run the National Broadcasting Service, the government established the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) on 1 July 1932, under the ''Australian Broadcasting Commission Act 1932''. to take over the Australian Broadcasting Company and run the National Broadcasting Service. The ABC became informally referred to as "Aunty", originally in imitation of the British Broadcasting Corporation's nickname. The structure and programming was broadly modelled on the BBC, and programs not created in Australia were mostly bought in from the BBC. In 1940 one of the

ABC Board The ABC Board is the body responsible for the operations of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. , Ita Buttrose is chair; David Anderson the managing director appointed by the board; Jane Connors is a staff-elected member. The chair and oth ...

's most prominent members,

Dick Boyer Sir Richard James Fildes (Dick) Boyer, (24 August 1891 – 5 June 1961) was an Australian Pastoral farming, grazier and broadcasting chairman, chief. From 1945 until his death he served as chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Aus ...

, was appointed to the ABC, becoming chairman on 1 April 1945. Today known for the continuing series of

Boyer Lectures The Boyer Lectures are a series of talks by prominent Australians, presenting ideas on major social, scientific or cultural issues, and broadcast on ABC Radio National. The Boyer Lectures began in 1959 as the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commis ...

initiated by him in 1959, he had a good but not too close working relationship with Sir

Charles Moses Sir Charles Alfred Joseph Moses (21 January 19009 February 1988) was a British-born Australian administrator who was general manager of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) from 1935 until 1965. A 1918 graduate of the Royal Military ...

(general manager 1935–1965), and remained chair until his retirement in 1961. He was determined to maintain the autonomy of the ABC.

War years

In 1942, ''The Australian Broadcasting Act'' was passed, giving the ABC the power to decide when, and in what circumstances, political speeches should be broadcast. Directions from the minister about whether or not to broadcast any matter now had to be made in writing, and any exercise of the power had to be mentioned in the commission's annual report.

1950–2000

The ABC commenced television broadcasting in 1956.

ABN-2 ABN is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television station in Sydney. The station began broadcasting on 5 November 1956. Its original studios were located in Gore Hill and were in use up until March 2004, when they were co-located wit ...

in Sydney was inaugurated by Prime Minister

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

on 5 November 1956, with the first broadcast presented by

Michael Charlton Michael Charlton (born 1 May 1927) is an Australian-born Gold Logie winning former journalist and broadcaster, who worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for many years. Biography Charlton was born in Sydney to broadcaster Conrad and Hazel ...

, and

James Dibble James Edward Dibble (4 February 1923 – 13 December 2010) was an Australian television presenter, best known as the presenter of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC) Sydney news for 27 years, from Monday, 5 November 1956 until his ...

reading the first television news bulletin. Television relay facilities were not in place until the early 1960s, so news bulletins had to be sent to each capital city by

teleprinter A teleprinter (teletypewriter, teletype or TTY) is an electromechanical device that can be used to send and receive typed messages through various communications channels, in both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint configurations. Initia ...

, to be prepared and presented separately in each city. In 1975, colour television was permanently introduced into Australia, and within a decade, the ABC had moved into

satellite broadcasting A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...

, greatly enhancing its ability to distribute content nationally. Also in 1975, the ABC introduced a 24-hour-a-day AM

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

station in Sydney, 2JJ ( Double Jay), which was eventually expanded into the national

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

FM network. A year later, a national

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

network was established on the FM band, broadcasting from

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. It was initially known as

ABC-FM ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. ...

(later ABC Classic FM) – referring both to its "fine music programming and radio frequency. ABC budget cuts began in 1976 and continued until 1998, the largest cuts (calculated by the ABC as 25% "in real terms") coming between 1985 and 1996. The ''Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983'' changed the name of the organisation to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, effective 1 July 1983. Although funded and owned by the government, the ABC remains editorially independent as ensured by the 1983 Act. At the same time, the newly formed corporation underwent significant restructuring, including a split into separate television and radio divisions, and ABC Radio was restructured significantly again in 1985.

Geoffrey Whitehead Geoffrey Whitehead (born 1 October 1939) is an English actor. He has appeared in a range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at Shakespeare's Globe, St Martin's Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic. Early life Whitehe ...

was

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the ABC at this time. Following his resignation in 1986, David Hill (at the time chair of the ABC Board) took over his position and local production trebled from 1986 to 1991. Ultimo ABC - cropped

Live television broadcasts of selected parliamentary sessions started in 1990, and by the early 1990s, all major ABC broadcasting outlets moved to 24-hour-a-day operation. In 1991, the corporation's Sydney radio and orchestral operations moved to a new building, the ABC Ultimo Centre, in the inner-city suburb of Ultimo. In Melbourne, the ABC Southbank Centre was completed in 1994. International television service

was established in 1993, while at the same time Radio Australia increased its international reach. Reduced funding in 1997 for Radio Australia resulted in staff and programming cuts. The ABC Multimedia Unit was established in July 1995 to manage the new ABC website, which was launched in August. The ABC was registered on the

Australian Business Register The Australian Business Number (ABN) is a unique 11-digit identifier issued by the Australian Business Register (ABR) which is operated by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The ABN was introduced on 1 July 2000 by John Howard's Liberal govern ...

as a Commonwealth Government Entity on 1 November 1999.

2000s–2010s

In 2001,

digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an innovative advanc ...

commenced (see Online, below). At the same time, the ABC's multimedia division was renamed "ABC New Media", becoming an output division of the ABC alongside television and radio. In 2002, the ABC launched ABC Asia Pacific, the replacement for the defunct Australia Television International operated previously by the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

. A

digital radio Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services. Types In digital broadcasting syst ...

service,

ABC DiG Double J (formerly Dig Music) is an Australian digital radio station owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It is positioned as a spin-off of the youth-oriented Triple J catered towards an older adult audience, emphasizing genres su ...

, was also launched in November that year. On 8 February 2008, ABC TV was rebranded as

ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship ABC Television network. The headquarters of the ABC TV channel an ...

, and a new channel for children,

ABC3 ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3. Hist ...

, was funded and announced by the

Rudd government Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) * Rudd government (2013) {{Dab ... * Rudd gov ...

in June. A new online

video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

service launched in July of the same year, titled

ABC News 24 ABC News (formerly ABC News 24; also referred to as the ABC News channel) is an Australian 24-hour news cycle, 24-hour News broadcasting, news channel launched and owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The channel replaced the forme ...

, now known as ABC News, a channel dedicated to news, launched on 22 July 2010. On 20 July 2014, ABC1 reverted to its original name of ABC TV. In November 2014, a cut of (4.6% ) to funding over the following five years together with the additional unfunded cost of the news channel meant that the ABC would have to shed about 10% of its staff, around 400 people. There were several programming changes, with regional and local programming losing out to national programs, and the Adelaide TV production studio had to close. In November 2016, the ABC announced that ABC News 24,

ABC NewsRadio ABC NewsRadio, since 2017 broadcast under the ABC News brand and for a short time known as ABC News on Radio, is a 24-hour news radio service broadcast by the Australian public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). ABC ...

, as well as its online and digital news brands, would be rebranded under a unified

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

brand, which was launched on 10 April 2017.

Michelle Guthrie Michelle Guthrie (born 1965) is an Australian business executive and lawyer. Guthrie was born in Sydney in 1965, was educated at Brigidine College Randwick and Kambala Girls' School, and studied arts and law at the University of Sydney. She jo ...

took over from managing director Mark Scott, whose second five-year contract finished in April 2016. Between July 2017 and June 2018, the whole of the ABC underwent an organisational restructure, after which the Radio and Television Divisions were no longer separate entities each under a director, instead being split across several functional divisions, with different teams producing different genres of content for television, radio and digital platforms. The Entertainment & Specialist (E&S) team focussed on comedy, kids' programs, drama, Indigenous-related programs, music, other entertainment and factual content; the new ABC Specialist team created content across the arts, science, religion & ethics, education and society & culture; while the Regional & Local team focussed on regional and local content. Around 23 September 2018, Guthrie was sacked. A leadership crisis ensued after allegations arose that ABC Chair,

Justin Milne Justin Trevor Milne, , (born 19 November 1952) is an Australian business executive and company director known for his roles as Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, chief of broadband services at Telstra, and CEO at OzEmail, as w ...

, had, according to the

MEAA The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA), also sometimes referred to as the Alliance, is the Australian trade union and professional organisation which covers the media, entertainment, sports and arts industries. Its Musicians section c ...

, engaged in "overt political interference in the running of the ABC that is in clear breach of the ABC charter and the role of the chairperson" by interfering in editorial and staffing matters. After pressure for an independent inquiry or statement from Milne, or his resignation, following meetings by ABC staff in various locations, on 27 September Milne resigned. In February 2019, after the roles of ABC chair and managing director had been vacant for over four months,

Ita Buttrose Ita Clare Buttrose (born 17 January 1942) is an Australian TV network chairperson, television and radio personality, author and former magazine editor, publishing executive and newspaper journalist. She was the founding editor of ''Cleo'', a ...

was named chair. Buttrose named

David Anderson David Anderson may refer to: People In academia or science *David Anderson (academic) (born 1952), American college professor *David Anderson (engineer) (1880–1953), Scottish civil engineer and lawyer *David Anderson, 2nd Viscount Waverley (1911� ...

as managing director in May 2019. On 5 June 2019,

Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...

(AFP) raided the headquarters of the ABC looking for articles written in 2017 about alleged misconduct by Australian special forces in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, later dubbed the Afghan Files. The raid was countered by lawyers for the ABC in litigation against the AFP, challenging the examination of over 9,200 documents, including internal emails. In February 2020 the case was dismissed by the federal court. In June 2020, the AFP sent a brief of evidence to the

Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions The Office of the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions or, informally, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is an independent prosecuting service and government agency within the portfolio of the Attorney-General of A ...

(CDPP), the federal public prosecutor, recommending charges be laid against journalist Dan Oakes for breaking the Afghan Files story, but in October 2020, the CDPP dropped the case.

2020s

In June 2020, the ABC announced it needed to cut 229 jobs, a number of programs, and reduce its travel and production budgets after the Turnbull government's announcement of a freeze to indexation of its budget in 2018 this was estimated at the time to cost the ABC over three years, however the actual appropriation did not decrease and the ABC chair was quoted as saying it would actually increase "but by a reduced amount". In all, over a five-year period, there were 737 redundancies, a further 866 resignations and 203 retirements, but the total number of staff only fell by 313 due to the ABC hiring 650 staff over that period. In June 2021, the ABC announced its plan to move around 300 staff to offices in

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

, in a plan which would see 75% of journalists and producers moving out of the Ultimo building by 2025 in order to reduce costs. Rental from some of the vacant space in the city centre would earn additional income to offset the ongoing effects of the significant funding cuts since 2014 and the recent indexation freeze. In December 2021 the ABC announced that, in addition to the 83 additional positions already established, it was to create an additional "50-plus" new jobs in regional Australia as a result of commercial agreements with digital platforms flowing from the Morrison government's News Media Bargaining Code.

Lissajous curve logo

The ABC logo is one of the most recognisable logos in Australia. In the early years of television, the ABC had been using

Lissajous curve A Lissajous curve , also known as Lissajous figure or Bowditch curve , is the graph of a system of parametric equations : x=A\sin(at+\delta),\quad y=B\sin(bt), which describe the superposition of two perpendicular oscillations in x and y dire ...

s as fillers between programmes. In July 1963, the ABC conducted a staff competition to create a new logo for use on television, stationery, publications, microphone badges and ABC vehicles. In 1965, ABC graphics designer Bill Kennard submitted a design representing a

Lissajous Lissajous may refer to * Jules Antoine Lissajous (1822–1880), French mathematician ** Lissajous curve A Lissajous curve , also known as Lissajous figure or Bowditch curve , is the graph of a system of parametric equations : x=A\sin(at+\delt ...

display, as generated when a sine wave signal is applied to the "X" input of an

oscilloscope An oscilloscope (informally a scope) is a type of electronic test instrument that graphically displays varying electrical voltages as a two-dimensional plot of one or more signals as a function of time. The main purposes are to display repetiti ...

and another at three times the frequency at the "Y" input. The letters "ABC" were added to the design and it was adopted as the ABC's official logo. Kennard was presented with £25 (about AU$715 in 2021) for his design. On 19 October 1974, the Lissajous curve design experienced its first facelift with the line thickened to allow for colour to be used. It would also be treated to the 'over and under' effect, showing the crossover of the line in the design. To celebrate its 70th anniversary on 1 July 2002, the ABC adopted a new logo, which was created by (Annette) Harcus Design in 2001. This logo used a silver 3D texture but the crossover design was left intact and was then used across the ABC's media outlets. After the on-air revival of the 1974 logo since 2014, the ABC gradually reinstated the classic symbol. The most recent change happened in February 2018 where announced a new logotype and brand positioning under its tagline, ''Yours''. The 2002 silver logo is no longer in use by the corporation.

Governance and structure

The operations of the ABC are governed by a board of directors, consisting of a managing director, five to seven directors, and until 2006, a staff-elected director. The managing director is appointed by the board for a period of up to five years, but is eligible for renewal. The authority and guidelines for the appointment of directors is provided for in the ''Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983''. Appointments to the

made by successive governments have often resulted in criticism of the appointees' political affiliation, background, and relative merit. Past appointments have associated directly with political parties – five of fourteen appointed chairmen have been accused of political affiliation or friendship, include Richard Downing and

Ken Myer Kenneth Baillieu Myer, (1 March 1921 – 30 July 1992) was an American-born Australian patron of the arts, humanities and sciences; diplomat, administrator, businessman and philanthropist. He was a member of the notable Melbourne retailing Mye ...

(both of whom publicly endorsed the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

at the 1972 election), as well as Sir Henry Bland. David Hill was close to

Neville Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman of ...

, while Donald McDonald was considered to be a close friend of

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

. From 2003 the Howard government made several controversial appointments to the ABC Board, including prominent ABC critic

Janet Albrechtsen Janet Kim Albrechtsen (born 23 September 1966) is an Australian opinion columnist with ''The Australian.'' From 2005 until 2010, she was a member of the board of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia's public broadcaster. Early life ...

Ron Brunton Dr Ron Brunton is an Australian anthropologist. He was the director of Encompass Research Pty Ltd, and was on the Board of the public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) for a five-year term from 1 May 2003. Biography Prior ...

, and

Keith Windschuttle Keith Windschuttle (born 1942) is an Australian historian and former board member of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He was editor of '' Quadrant'' from 2007 to 2015 when he became chair of the board and editor-in-chief. He was the pub ...

. During their 2007 federal election campaign, Labor announced plans to introduce a new system, similar to that of the BBC, for appointing members to the board. Under the new system, candidates for the ABC Board would be considered by an independent panel established "at arm's length" from the Communications Minister. If the minister chose someone not on the panel's shortlist, they would be required to justify this to parliament. The ABC chairman would be nominated by the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

and endorsed by the

leader of the opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. A new merit-based appointment system was announced on 16 October 2008, in advance of the new triennial funding period starting in 2009. board members are: As of July 2020 there were 3,730 employees, down from 4,649 in 2019.

Funding

The ABC is primarily funded by the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

, in addition to some revenue received from commercial offerings and its retail outlets. The ABC's funding system is set and reviewed every three years. Until 1948, the ABC was funded directly by radio licence fees; amendments were also made to the ''Australian Broadcasting Act'' that meant the ABC would receive its funding directly from the federal government. Licence fees remained until 1973, when they were abolished by the

Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

Labor government, on the basis that the near-universality of television and radio services meant that public funding was a fairer method of providing revenue for government-owned radio and television broadcasters. In 2014, the ABC absorbed A$254 million in federal budget deficits. Since the 2018 budget handed down by then-Treasurer

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...

, the ABC has been subject to a pause of indexation of operation funding, saving the federal government a total of A$83.7 million over 3 years. In

fiscal year A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ...

2016–17, the ABC received A$861 million in federal funding, which increased to $865 million per year from 2017 to 2018 to 2018–19, representing a cut in funding of $43 million over three years when accounting for inflation. In 2019–20, the federal budget forecast funding of $3.2 billion over three years ($1.06 billion per year) for the ABC. The ''Enhanced Newsgathering Fund'', a specialised fund for regional and outer-suburban news gathering set up in 2013 by the Gillard Government, currently sits at $44 million over three years, a reduction of $28 million per year since the

2016 Australian federal election The 2016 Australian federal election was a double dissolution election held on Saturday 2 July to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eight-week official campaign period. It ...

. This came after speculation that the fund would be removed, to which ABC Acting managing director David Anderson wrote to Communications Minister

Mitch Fifield Mitchell Peter Fifield (born 16 January 1967) is the Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations. He is a former Australian politician who served as a Senator for Victoria from 2004 to 2019, representing the Liberal Party. He wa ...

expressing concerns. However, despite the cuts made by Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull and the freeze introduced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Communications Minister Mitch Fifield, the ABC itself has published financial data that shows an increase in the taxpayer appropriation to the ABC of 10% in real terms (i.e. above inflation) between 1998 and 2021. The term "where your 8 cents a day goes", coined in the late 1980s during funding negotiations, is often used in reference to the services provided by the ABC. It was estimated that the cost of the ABC per head of population per day was 7.1 cents a day, based on the corporation's 2007–08 "base funding" of .

Services

Radio

The ABC operates 54 local radio stations, in addition to four national networks and international service

. In addition, DiG Radio (rebranded as Double J in 2014) launched on digital platforms in 2002, and later spinning off

ABC Country ABC Country is a digital radio station, available on mobile devices, DAB+ digital radio, digital TV and online. A small number of self-help retransmissions, mainly in West Australia and Queensland also carry the station's programme stream. It ...

and

ABC Jazz ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Televisio ...

is the corporation's flagship radio station in each broadcast area. There are 54 individual stations, each with a similar format consisting of locally presented light entertainment, news, talk back, music, sport and interviews, in addition to some national programming such as ''AM'', ''PM'', '' The World Today'', sporting events and ''Nightlife''. the ABC operates 15 radio networks, variously available on AM and FM as well as on digital platforms and the internet. *

Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors an ...

– A generalist station, also known as RN, broadcasting more than 60 special interest programmes per week covering a range of topics including music, comedy, book readings, radio dramas, poetry, science, health, the arts, religion, social history and current affairs. *

– A news based service, also known as ABC News on Radio, broadcasting federal parliamentary sittings and news on a 24/7 format with updates on the quarter-hour. Broadcast's news content produced by the ABC itself, as well as programmes relayed from

ABC Radio Australia ABC Radio Australia, also known as Radio Australia, is the international broadcasting and online service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Australia's public broadcaster. Most programming is in English, with some in Tok ...

, the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave" in English), abbreviated to DW, is a German public, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the German federal tax budget. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite television service con ...

Radio Netherlands Radio Netherlands (RNW; nl, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep) was a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands from 1947 to 2012. Its services i ...

and

CNN Radio CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

. *

ABC Classic ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...

– A classical music based station, formerly known as ABC Classic FM. It also plays some jazz and world music. ABC Classic was the ABC's first FM radio service. It was originally known simply as "ABC FM", and for a short time "ABC Fine Music". *

– A youth-oriented radio network, with a strong focus on alternative and independent music (especially Australian artists); it is targeted at people aged 18–35. The ABC also operates several stations only available online and on digital platforms: *

ABC Classic 2 ABC Classic 2 is an Australian classical music internet radio station available internationally online. It is operated by the ABC Classic team at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). History ABC Classic 2, a music-only talk-free strea ...

– a sister station to ABC Classic, focussing on performances by Australian artists. Only available on streaming platforms. *

Triple J Unearthed Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

– one of two sister stations to Triple J, focussing on unsigned and independent Australian Talent. * Double J – The other sister station to Triple J, focussed on an younger and older audiences. *

– A station exclusively dedicated to Jazz from Australia and the world. *

– A exclusively country music station, mainly focussing on Australian country music. *

ABC Grandstand ABC Sport, formerly ABC Radio Grandstand, is a live radio sports focused commentary and talk-back program which runs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) local radio network across Australia and on one digital-only station. History Fr ...

– Since November 2020 merged to

ABC Sport ABC Sport is the name given to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's sport programming broadcasts on ABC Television and ABC Radio. From November 2020 the brand includes the former ABC Radio Grandstand. , ABC Sport is a section of the ABC ...

. * ABC Extra – A temporary special events station. * ABC Kids – Children's based programming, and a sister station to the ABC Kids television channel. There is also

, the international radio station of the ABC (see below).

Television

The ABC operates five national television channels: * ABC TV (formerly ABC1), the corporation's original television service, receives the bulk of funding for television and shows first-run comedy, drama, documentaries, and news and current affairs. In each state and territory a local

news bulletin Breaking news, interchangeably termed late-breaking news and also known as a special report or special coverage or news flash, is a current issue that broadcasters feel warrants the interruption of scheduled programming or current news in orde ...

is shown at 7pm nightly. *

ABC TV Plus ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC2 and ABC Comedy) is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of general entertainment pr ...

(formerly ABC2 and then ABC Comedy), launched in 2005, shows comedic content in addition to some repeats from ABC TV of which the amount has decreased gradually since ABC TV Plus's inception. It is not a 24-hour channel, but is broadcast daily from 7pm to around 3am the following night. The channel shares airspace with the ABC Kids programming block from 5am to 7:30 pm. *

ABC Me ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3. Hist ...

(originally ABC3) became a fully fledged channel on 4 December 2009, but has been part of the electronic guide line-up since 2008, broadcasting an ABC1 simulcast until 4 December 2009, then an ABC Radio simulcast and teaser graphic until its official launch. It is broadcast from 6am to around 10pm on weekdays and 6am to 2am the next day on weekends, and consists of a broad range programmes aimed at a young audience aged 6–15, with a core demographic of 8–12. * ABC Kids (originally ABC For Kids on 2 and ABC 4 Kids) is a new preschool children's block featuring children's programming aimed at the 0 to 5 age groups. ABC Kids broadcasts during

downtime, from 5am to 7:30 pm daily. *

(originally ABC News 24), a 24-hour news channel, featuring the programming from

ABC News and Current Affairs ABC News, or ABC News and Current Affairs, is a public news service produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Broadcasting within Australia and the rest of the world, the service covers both local and world affairs. The division of ...

, selected programs from the

BBC World News BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and S ...

channel, coverage of the Federal Parliament's Question Time, documentaries and factual, arts programming and state or national election coverage. Although the ABC's headquarters in Sydney serve as a base for program distribution nationally, ABC Television network is composed of eight state- and territory-based stations, each based in their respective state capital and augmented by repeaters: * ABN (

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

) *

ABV Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

(

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

) *

ABQ ABC Television in Brisbane comprises national programming on the ABC television network in or from Brisbane, Queensland which broadcasts on a number of channels under the ABC call sign. There is some local programming from the Brisbane studio ...

(

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

) * ABS (

) * ABW (

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

) * ABT (

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

) *

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

(

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

) * ABD ( Darwin) The eight ABC stations carry opt outs for local programming. In addition to the nightly 7pm news, the stations also broadcast weekly state editions of ''

7.30 ''7.30'' is an Australian nightly television current affairs program which broadcasts on ABC and ABC News at on Monday to Thursday nights. The program is currently hosted by Sarah Ferguson. History The program first aired on 7 March 2011, re ...

'' on Friday evenings (until 5 December 2014), state election coverage and in most areas, live sport on Saturday afternoons. There is also

, the international TV service of the ABC (see below).

Online and digital

ABC Online is the name given to the online services of the ABC, which have evolved to cover a large network of

website A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google Search, Google, Facebook, Amaz ...

s including those for

, its various television channels, ABC radio;

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

SMS Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a phone, tablet, or watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop applications which are designed to run on d ...

s and other

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

services;

vodcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing. ...

s and

through

ABC iView ABC iview is a video on demand and catch-up TV service run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Currently iview video content can only be viewed by users in Australia. As of 2016, ABC iview attracts around 50 million plays monthly and ac ...

.PDF
/ref> The official launch of ABC Online, then part of the ABC's Multimedia Unit, was on 14 August 1995, charged with developing policy for the ABC's work in web publishing. At first it relied upon funding allocation to the corporation's TV and radio operations, but later began to receive its own. The ABC provided live, online election coverage for the first time in 1996, and limited news content began to be provided in 1997. This unit continued until 2000, when the New Media division was formed, bringing together the ABC's online output as a division similar to television or radio. In 2001 the New Media division became New Media and Digital Services, reflecting the broader remit to develop content for digital platforms such as

, becoming an "output division" similar to Television or Radio. In addition to ABC Online, the division also had responsibility over the ABC's two digital television services,

Fly TV ABC Kids is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's part-time channel, broadcasting shows between the hours of 5am and 7:30pm for children under 6 years old in each local Australian channel. It shares the same bandwidth as ABC TV Plus which ...

and the

ABC Kids channel ABC Kids is the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's part-time channel, broadcasting shows between the hours of 5am and 7:30pm for children under 6 years old in each local Australian channel. It shares the same bandwidth as ABC TV Plus which ...

, until their closure in 2003.

, a digital-only

television channel, launched on 7 March 2005. Unlike its predecessors the new service was not dependent on government funding, instead running on a budget of per year. Minister for Communications

Helen Coonan Helen Lloyd Coonan (born 29 October 1947) is a former Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1996 to 2011, representing the Liberal Party. She was a minister in the Howard Government, serving as Minister for Revenue ...

inaugurated the channel at Parliament House three days later. Genre restrictions limiting the types of programming the channel could carry were lifted in October 2006 – ABC2 was henceforth able to carry programming classified as comedy, drama, national news, sport, and entertainment. In conjunction with the ABC's radio division, New Media and Digital Services implemented the ABC's first podcasts in December 2004. By mid-2006 the ABC had become an international leader in podcasting with over fifty podcast programmes delivering hundreds of thousands of downloads per week, including trial video podcasts of '' The Chaser's War on Everything'' and jtv. In February 2007, the New Media & Digital Services division was dissolved and divided up among other areas of the ABC. It was replaced by a new Innovation division, to manage ABC Online and investigate new technologies for the ABC. In 2008,

Crikey Crikey is an Australian electronic magazine comprising a website and email newsletter available to subscribers. Crikey was described by the former Federal Opposition Leader Mark Latham as the "most popular website in Parliament House" in ''The ...

reported that certain ABC Online mobile sites in development were planned to carry commercial advertising. Screenshots, developed in-house, of an

sport page include advertising for two private companies. '' Media Watch'' later revealed that the websites were to be operated by

and distinguished from the main, advertising-free, mobile website by a distinct logo. In 2015 the Innovation Division was replaced with the Digital Network Division. Angela Clark was head from 2012 until at least the end of financial year 2015/6, but by 2017 she was gone, and the Digital Network fell into the Technology division under the Chief Technology Officer. In May 2017, Helen Clifton was appointed to the new role of Chief Digital and Information Officer, which continues . In December 2019, a refreshed ABC homepage was launched. ABC News is one of Australia's largest and most-visited

web site A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wikipe ...

s; from its position as 11th most popular in the country in 2008, in recent years up to 2021 it has maintained top position in the rankings.

International

ABC International is responsible for its international operations, which include the internationally broadcast

, the Asia-Pacific TV channel

, and its ABC International Development (ABCID) branch. In June 2012 Lynley Marshall, former head of

, was appointed

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of ABC International, filling a role left empty by the retirement of Murray Green.. At the time, it was intended that Radio Australia, ABC Australia and

would work together more closely ABC International was at this time a division of the ABC, but it has not been represented as a separate division in the organisational structure of the ABC since 2016, after Marshall's departure in February 2017. There were fears of job losses in the division after the huge budget cuts in 2014, as well as an earlier termination of a contract with the Department of Foreign Affairs, one year into the 10-year contract. On 24 May 2021, Claire Gorman was appointed to an expanded role to manage both the International Strategy and the International Development teams. ABC Australia is an international satellite television service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, funded by advertising and grants from the

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations, international aid (using the branding Australian Aid), consular services and trade and inv ...

. Aimed at the Asia-Pacific region, the service broadcasts a mixture of English language programming, including general entertainment, sport, and current affairs. Radio Australia is an international

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

and

internet radio Online radio (also web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio, IP radio, Internet radio) is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not transmitted ...

service with transmissions aimed at South-East Asia and the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

, although its signals are also audible in many other parts of the world. It features programmes in various languages spoken in these regions, including

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

, Khmer and

Tok Pisin Tok Pisin (,Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student’s Handbook'', Edinburgh ; Tok Pisin ), often referred to by English speakers as "New Guinea Pidgin" or simply Pidgin, is a creole language spoken throughout Papua New Guinea. It is an ...

. Before 31 January 2017 Radio Australia broadcast

short-wave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...

radio signals. Radio Australia bulletins are also carried on

WRN Broadcast WRN Broadcast, formerly known as World Radio Network, is an international broadcast services company based in the United Kingdom that works with television channels and radio broadcasters, media owners and brands enabling them to deliver content t ...

, available via satellite in Europe and North America. ABC International Development, or ABCID, is a media development unit that promotes

public interest The public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. Overview Economist Lok Sang Ho in his ''Public Policy and the Public Interest'' argues that the public interest must be assessed impartially and, therefore ...

journalism and connects with local media in the region. ABCID employs local people in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

and many Pacific countries. The team "provides expertise, training, technical and program support to partner organisations", by working with a variety of organisations, including international development donors, for example through the through the Pacific Media Assistance Scheme (PACMAS).

ABC Commercial

The commercial arm of the ABC was established in 1974 under the name Enterprises as a self-funding unit, marketing products relating to the ABC's activities. It was renamed in 2007 to ABC Commercial, The aim of ABC Commercial was "to create, market and retail high quality consumer products which reflect and extend the scope of the ABC’s activities". At this time it comprised the ABC Shop, ABC Consumer Publishing and Content Sales, ABC Resource Hire, and ABC Content Services (Archives). ABC Commercial was registered as a business name under Australian Broadcasting Corporation in April 2007 and continues to exist . It includes

ABC Music ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, a leading

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

; ABC Events, which stages concerts and other events; and publishing and licensing activities by ABC Books, ABC Audio, ABC Magazines and ABC Licensing. ABC Shop Online was wound up at the end of 2018, along with the in-store ABC Centres. In early 2019, ABC Commercial split from the Finance division and became an independent business unit of the ABC. In the financial year 2018–2019, ABC Commercial turned a profit of , which was invested in content production. The ABC Studios and Media Production hires out some of the ABC studios and sound stages, operating as part of ABC Commercial. The studios for hire are in Sydney (Studios 21, 22, 16), Melbourne (31), Adelaide (51B) and Perth (61).

Orchestras

Up until the installation of disc recording equipment in 1935, all content broadcast on the ABC was produced live, including music. For this purpose, the ABC established broadcasting orchestras in each state, and in some centres also employed choruses and dance bands. This became known as the ABC Concert Music Division, which was controlled by the Federal Director of Music – the first of whom was W. G. James. In 1997, the ABC divested all ABC orchestras from the Concerts department of the ABC into separate subsidiary companies, allied to a service company known as

Symphony Australia Symphony Services International, formerly known as Symphony Australia, is a centralised organisation formed in 1997 for six Australian symphony orchestras: Adelaide, Melbourne, Queensland, Sydney, Tasmania and Western Australia. The orchestras wer ...

, and on 1 January 2007 the orchestras were divested into independent companies. The six state orchestras are: *

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO) is a South Australian performing arts organisation comprising 75 full-time musicians, established in 1936. Based in Adelaide, South Australia, the orchestra's primary performance venue is the Adelaide Town Ha ...

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008. The MSO relies on f ...

Queensland Symphony Orchestra Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, the ...

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...

Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It is the smallest of the six orchestras established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). History The Tasmanian Symphony Orchestr ...

West Australian Symphony Orchestra The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Perth, Western Australia. Its principal concert venue is the Perth Concert Hall. WASO also gives concerts at the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre. , W ...

ABC Friends

ABC Friends, formerly Friends of the ABC (FABC), consists of independent organisations in each state and territory, under an umbrella organisation established in December 2016, ABC Friends National Inc. In 1976, three independent groups were formed: Aunty's Nieces and Nephews in Melbourne, Friends of the ABC (NSW) Inc. (now ABC Friends NSW & ACT) and Friends of the ABC (SA) (since 2007/2008, ABC Friends SA/NT). The groups were formed by citizens who were concerned about government threats to make deep cuts to the ABC's budget. Historian

Ken Inglis Kenneth Stanley Inglis, (7 October 1929 – 1 December 2017) was an Australian historian. Early life and education Inglis was born in the Melbourne suburb of Ivanhoe, on 7 October 1929, the son of Stan and Rene Inglis. He was educated at Tyler ...

wrote that “The Friends were in the line of those people who had affirmed over the years that the ABC was essential to the nation”. Over the years, independent state organisations were established, run by committees, and in January 2014 the name of each was changed to ABC Friends. The objectives of ABC Friends National are stated as follows:

Controversies

Independence and impartiality

Under the ''Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983'', the

is bound to "maintain the independence and integrity of the Corporation" and to ensure that "the gathering and presentation by the Corporation of news and information is accurate and impartial according to the recognized standards of objective journalism". In relation to impartiality and diversity of perspectives, the current ABC editorial policy requires of the broadcaster that: As a publicly-funded broadcaster, the ABC is expected not to take editorial stances on political issues, and is required under its charter enshrined in legislation to present a range of views with impartiality. Over the decades, accusations of "

bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, ...

" at the ABC have arisen at different times, and various inquiries have been undertaken.

Perceived bias

External critics have complained in particular of

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political bias at the broadcaster, citing a prominence of Labor Party-connected journalists hosting masthead political programs or a tendency to favour "progressive" over "conservative" political views on issues such as

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...

, the

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...

, Indigenous reconciliation,

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...

, and

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

. In December 2013, former judge and ABC chair

James Spigelman James Jacob Spigelman (born 1 January 1946) is a former Australian judge who served as Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1998 to 2011. He was also Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales from 1998 to 2012. He served on the Court of Final App ...

announced that four independent audits would be conducted each year in response to the allegations of bias in the reporting of news and current affairs.

ABC Friends The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

have observed that "Most of the complaints about bias in the ABC have come from the government of the day – Labor or Liberal. Significantly both parties have been far less hostile to the ABC when in opposition". Conservative commentators such as

Andrew Bolt Andrew Bolt (born 26 September 1959) is an Australian right-wing social and political commentator. He has worked at the News Corp-owned newspaper company The Herald and Weekly Times (HWT) for many years, for both '' The Herald'' and its success ...

Tim Blair Tim Blair (born 1965) is an Australian editor, journalist, political commentator and blogger. He works for ''The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), The Daily Telegraph'' in Sydney. In mid-2001, Blair began blogging at Blogspot. By 2004, he had attract ...

, and

Gerard Henderson Gerard Henderson (born 1945) is an Australian author, columnist and political commentator. He founded and is executive director of The Sydney Institute, a privately funded Australian current affairs forum. Education and earlier career Henderso ...

have regularly accused the ABC of a left-wing bias. ABC journalist

Annabel Crabb Annabel Crabb (born 1973) is an Australian political journalist, commentator and television host who is the ABC's chief online political writer. She has worked for Adelaide's '' The Advertiser'', ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', ''The Age'', the ...

said in 2015 that the organisation gives "voices to Australians who otherwise wouldn't be heard, on topics that are too uncommercial or too remote or too hard to be covered by anyone else, broadcasting into areas from which others have long withdrawn resources". Journalist Tom Switzer commented that there was entrenched but unintentional bias. ABC journalist turned NSW Liberal MLA

Pru Goward Prudence Jane "Pru" Goward (born 2 September 1952) is a former Australian politician and was a Liberal member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2007 to 2019, representing the seat of Goulburn. She was the New South Wales Minis ...

said of the organisation: "I have no doubt there was left-wing bias, I certainly thought it when I was there", while ABC journalist turned Federal Labor politician

Maxine McKew Maxine Margaret McKew (born 22 July 1953) is a former Australian Labor politician and journalist; she was the Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government in the First Rudd Ministry and the F ...

said there was no left-wing bias. Former ABC Chair and conservative commentator

Maurice Newman Maurice Lionel Newman AC (born 20 April 1938 in Ilford, England) is an Australian businessman who has served in a range of public roles, including as Chairperson of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, chair of the board of the Australian S ...

told

Sky News Australia Sky News Australia is an Australian news channel owned by News Corp Australia. Originally launched on 19 February 1996, it broadcasts rolling news coverage throughout the day, while its prime time lineup is dedicated to opinion-based programs f ...

that "the ABC bias is absolutely palpable". Former Prime Minister of Australia

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

commented in 2018 that some journalists and programs had shown a left-wing bias. In a March 2016 interview with ABC managing director Mark Scott, '' Media Watch'' host Paul Barry examined the question of perceptions of left-wing bias at the ABC. Scott noted that while perhaps the ABC was more concerned about gay marriage than about electricity prices, he did not accept the criticism of bias because "a lot of that criticism comes from right-wing commentators and they wonder where are the strong right-wing commentators on the ABC. We don't do that kind of journalism. We don't ask questions about our journalists' voting pattern and where their ideology are. We look at the journalism that they put to air and we have strong editorial standards...". Following the interview, Andrew Bolt wrote "How can the man heading our biggest media organisation be so blind to the ABC's unlawful and dangerous Leftist bias?" while former ''Media Watch'' host Jonathan Holmes wrote that ABC Radio needs to "try harder" at avoiding left-wing bias among its capital city radio hosts. An interview by ABC presenter Joe O'Brien with

Lyle Shelton Lyle Thomas Shelton (1934–2010) was an American aviator who set the world's absolute propeller-driven 3-kilometer speed record of 528.329 mph. He was born in Brownfield, Texas on June 15, 1933. A former US Naval Aviator, he was an airline ...

in 2017 was the subject of a complaint by the

Australian Christian Lobby The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is a conservative right-wing Christian advocacy organisation based in Canberra. It is similar to the other international Christian lobby groups, and seeks to represent Christian citizens and voters of Judeo-C ...

. Bringing up

Ian Thorpe Ian James Thorpe, (born 13 October 1982) is an Australian retired swimmer who specialised in freestyle, but also competed in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian along wit ...

's swimming achievements, O'Brien asked Shelton "what right do you have to participate in that joy, and take national pride in those achievements, if you now deny him the right to feel like an equal and experience the joy of marriage?" In rejecting any perceived bias, the ABC said "It was a 'devil's advocate' question and not inconsistent with standards".

Reviews and investigations

Reviews of the ABC are regularly commissioned and sometimes not released. Both internal and external research has been conducted on the question of bias at the ABC. These include the following: *A 2004

Roy Morgan Roy Morgan, formerly known as Roy Morgan Research, is an independent Australian social and political market research and public opinion statistics company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. It operates nationally as Roy Morgan and internation ...

media credibility survey found that journalists regarded ABC Radio as the most accurate news source in the country and the ABC as the second "most politically biased media organisation in Australia". *A 2013

University of the Sunshine Coast The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) is a public university based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. After opening with 524 students in 1996 as the Sunshine Coast University College, it was later renamed the University of the ...

study of the voting intentions of journalists found that 73.6% of ABC journalists supported

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

The Greens The Greens or Greens may refer to: Current political parties * Australian Greens, also known as ''The Greens'' * Greens of Andorra * Greens of Bosnia and Herzegovina * Greens of Burkina * Greens (Greece) * Greens of Montenegro *Greens of Serbia *G ...

– with 41% supporting the Greens (whereas only around 10% of people in the general population voted Green). *At the 2016 federal election, a study commissioned by the ABC and conducted by

Isentia Isentia is a media intelligence and data technology company owned by Access Intelligence and headquartered in Sydney, Australia. It has a corporate history dating from 1982. It has offices in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth (Au ...

compiled share-of-voice data and found that the ABC devoted 42.6% of election coverage to the

Coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

(this compares to the 42.04% vote received by the Coalition in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

(HOR)), 35.9% to the Labor opposition (34.73% HOR), 8% to

(10.23% HOR), 3.1% to independents (1.85% HOR), 2.2% to the

Nick Xenophon Team Centre Alliance, formerly known as the Nick Xenophon Team (NXT), is a centrist political party in Australia based in the state of South Australia. It currently has one representative in the Parliament, Rebekha Sharkie in the House of Represent ...

(1.85% HOR) and 8.1% to the rest. However, the ABC itself notes the "significant limitations around the value of share of voice data" as "duration says nothing about tone or context". *In December 2020, the Board commissioned its 19th editorial review by an independent reviewer, which found that the ABC's news coverage of lead-up to the

2019 Australian election The 2019 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 18 May 2019 to elect members of the 46th Parliament of Australia. The election had been called following the dissolution of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissolut ...

was "overwhelmingly positive and unbiased", although it also found that specific episodes of '' The Drum'' and '' Insiders'' reflected too narrow a range of viewpoints. The government forced the publication of the report after

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

senator James McGrath raised a motion in the Senate, which led to ABC Chair

and managing director David Anderson writing to the president of the Senate, Scott Ryan, to express their concerns about the use of the such powers, which went against the public interest.

Relationships with government

1990s to 2013

Labor Prime Minister

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and union organiser who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (A ...

considered the ABC's coverage of the

1991 Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

to be biased. In 1996, conservative Opposition Leader

refused to have Kerry O'Brien of the ABC moderate the television debates with Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating because Howard saw O'Brien as biased against the Coalition. During the subsequent Howard Government years, ABC TV's masthead political programs were anchored by journalists with Labor affiliations: the ''

7.30 Report ''The 7.30 Report'' is an Australian week-nightly television current affairs program, which was shown on ABC1 and ABC News 24 at from 1986 to 2011. In 2011, it evolved into '' 7.30'', a revamped current affairs program. History ''The 7.30 Repor ...

'' was hosted by former

staffer Kerry O'Brien; the '' Insiders'' program by former Hawke staffer

Barrie Cassidy Barrie Cassidy (born 4 March 1950) is an Australian political journalist, as well as a radio and television host and presenter and commentator for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He was the long-running host of the Sunday morning pol ...

and the ''

Lateline ''Lateline'' was an Australian television news program which ran from 1990 until 2017. The program initially aired weeknights on ABC TV. In later years it was also broadcast internationally throughout Asia and the Pacific on the Australia Plu ...

'' program by

, who went on to defeat Howard as the Labor candidate for the seat of

Bennelong Woollarawarre Bennelong ( 1764 – 3 January 1813), also spelt Baneelon, was a senior man of the Eora, an Aboriginal Australian people of the Port Jackson area, at the time of the first British settlement in Australia in 1788. Bennelong serv ...

in 2007, at the same time as ABC Sydney News weatherman Mike Bailey ran for Labor against Liberal minister

Joe Hockey Joseph Benedict Hockey (born 2 August 1965) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He was the Member of Parliament for North Sydney from 1996 until 2015. He was the Treasurer of Australia in the Abbott Government from 18 September 2 ...

. In the subsequent

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

period, Cassidy retained his position at ''Insiders'', while O'Brien shifted to host ''

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

'' in 2011.

Chris Uhlmann Christopher Gerald Uhlmann (born 24 June 1960) is an Australian former journalist and television presenter. Career Uhlmann was formerly a seminarian, a security guard, and a journalist with ''The Canberra Times'' before joining the Australian B ...

, husband of Labor MP

Gai Brodtmann Gai Marie Brodtmann (born 24 November 1963) is an Australian former politician, who served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives for the seat of Canberra representing the Australian Labor Party from 2010 until 2019. A career pub ...

, was appointed as co-host of the ''

'' current affairs program, and Sydney ABC News anchor

Juanita Phillips Juanita Phillips (born 11 October 1963 in Brisbane) is an Australian journalist and news presenter. Phillips is currently weeknight presenter of '' ABC News NSW'' in Sydney. Career Phillips began her career in Brisbane in 1982 as a cadet journ ...

began a relationship with Labor's Minister for Climate Change,

Greg Combet Gregory Ivan Combet (; born 28 April 1958) is a former Australian politician and trade unionist. He was Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions between 1999 and 2007. He was elected member for the New South Wales Federal seat of Ch ...

2013–present

Liberal Prime Minister

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...

perceived the ABC to be left wing and hostile to his government, while his successor

enjoyed better relations with the national broadcaster. When the ABC co-published

Edward Snowden Edward Joseph Snowden (born June 21, 1983) is an American and naturalized Russian former computer intelligence consultant who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was an employee and su ...

's stolen documents purportedly revealing Australian spy agency activities overseas, Abbott told

2GB 2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by parent company Nine Radio, a division of Nine Entertainment Co., who also own sister station 2UE. 2GB broadcasts on 873 kHz, AM. In 2010, 2GB held 14.7% of the total rad ...

radio: "people feel at the moment that the ABC instinctively takes everyone's side but Australia's". He reportedly called the ''Q&A'' program a "lefty lynch mob". Abbott denounced the program for inviting

Zaky Mallah Zaky Mallah is an Australian who pleaded guilty to threatening to kill officers of ASIO or DFAT. In 2011 Mallah travelled to Syria to film the Syrian Civil War, declaring himself in support of the Free Syrian Army. In 2015 he was controversia ...

, a man convicted of threatening Commonwealth officials, to participate in questioning one of his ministers. Abbott initiated a brief ministerial

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

of the ''Q&A'' program afterwards. The broadcaster was critical of Abbott when he broke an election-eve promise not to make cuts to the ABC as part of his "budget repair" program. In early 2015, an internal ABC review of its coverage of

's first Budget criticised the post-budget interviews by ''7:30'' and ''Lateline'', finding that the interviewers had given the impression of bias. When Abbott lost the leadership to the less conservative Turnbull in the September 2015 Liberal leadership spill, the hosts of the ABC's political programs spoke in favour of Abbott's demise. Kerry O'Brien and

, hosts respectively of the ABC's flagship weekly current affairs programs ''

'' and ''Insiders'', welcomed the replacement of Abbott by Turnbull, as did ABC radio commentators

Fran Kelly Fran Kelly is an Australian radio presenter, current affairs journalist and political correspondent who hosted the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National program ''Radio National Breakfast, Breakfast'' from March 2005 to early Dece ...

Paul Bongiorno Paul Damian Bongiorno (born 1944) is an Australian political journalist and commentator. Personal life Bongiorno grew up in Ballarat, Victoria, and was educated by the Christian Brothers at St Patrick's College, Ballarat, St Patrick's College ...

and

Amanda Vanstone Amanda Eloise Vanstone (née O'Brien; born 7 December 1952) is an Australian former politician and a former Ambassador to Italy. She was a Liberal Senator for South Australia from 1984 to 2007, and held several ministerial portfolios in the ...

. Fairfax and News Limited reported that

Leigh Sales Leigh Peta Sales (born 10 May 1973) is an Australian journalist and author, best known for her work with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Andrew Probyn Andrew Probyn is an Australian journalist and television presenter known for his role at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Life and career Probyn spent his early years in Lancashire before moving with his parents and two sisters ...

, who had been censured by ACMA earlier in the year for biased reporting against Abbott, said the removal of Turnbull was about "vengeance pure and simple". Earlier in the year ''Insiders Barrie Cassidy called it "insanity and madness". ''7:30'' Chief Political Correspondent

Laura Tingle Laura Margaret Tingle (born 14 February 1961''Who's Who in Australia'', ConnectWeb, 2016.) is an Australian journalist and author. She is the chief political correspondent of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's '' 7.30'' current affairs t ...

was selected by Turnbull first among a handful of journalists to ask questions at his final press conference. She said "one of frustrations that voters have had with your prime ministership is the sense that you have conceded too regularly to the conservatives" Vanstone called the challenge "disgraceful". In 2021, the former

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in the

Morrison government The Morrison government was the federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison government commenced on 24 August 2018, when it was sworn ...

Christian Porter Charles Christian Porter (born 11 July 1970) is an Australian former politician and lawyer who served as the 37th Attorney-General of Australia from 2017 to 2021 in the Turnbull government and the subsequent Morrison government. He was a Mem ...

, sued the ABC for

defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

over an article written by

Louise Milligan Louise Milligan is an Australian investigative reporter for the ABC TV ''7.30'' and ''Four Corners'' programs. As of March 2021, she is the author of two award-winning non-fiction books. Career Born in Ireland, Milligan grew up in the Roman C ...

about an historic rape allegation. Porter discontinued the action in May 2021. In May 2021, ABC management spiked a ''

'' story about the relationship between Prime Minister

and a supporter of

QAnon QAnon ( , ) is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". ...

Specific topics

Same-sex marriage

In 2017, ABC TV and radio hosts advocated strongly in support of

, upon which the wider Australian community and political parties were divided. When the Turnbull government announced plans for a postal plebiscite on the issue, advocacy for change continued, prompting a call for restraint from the ABC's editorial policy manager Mark Maley.

Australia Day

The ABC was criticised for giving undue support to opposition to

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

being held on 26 January, after ''

'', ABC's youth radio network, announced in November 2017 that it would no longer play its "

Hottest 100 The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music listener poll hosted by the publicly-funded, national Australian youth radio station, Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Australian and alternative music of the y ...

" Australian music list on Australia Day, choosing instead to broadcast the playlist on the fourth weekend in January. It had taken the decision after extensive consultation with a variety of people, including "musicians, community leaders, representative groups, triple j staff, ABC groups, and a wide range of

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

media, language groups, and many of the Indigenous artists featured on triple j", as well as an opinion poll of its listeners, Federal Communications Minister

said "Australia Day is our national day. The ABC should honour it and not mess with the Hottest 100".

, ABC Chair at the time, held a meeting trying to convince the board to overrule Triple J's decision. In June 2018, an

opinion piece An opinion piece is an article, usually published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about a subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals. Editorials Opinion pieces may take the form of an editorial, ...

by writer, historian and heritage consultant Aron Paul suggesting the date should be moved to 1 January, as this was the date that the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

was created, was published on the ABC website. On 25 January 2021 ABC published an article titled "Australia Day/Invasion Day 2021 events guide for Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin". This move was criticised by the government, forcing the ABC to change the title to read “Australia Day is a contentious day for many. Here are the events being held on January 26.”

The Catholic Church and George Pell

The ABC's coverage of the issue of

sexual abuse in the Catholic Church There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, nuns, Popes and other members of religious life. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the cases have involved many allegations, investigations, trials, convictions, ac ...

has received praise and criticism. The

Melbourne Press Club The Melbourne Press Club, commonly referred to as MPC, is a not-for-profit association of journalists in the city of Melbourne, Australia. The Melbourne Press Club provides awards in the State of Victoria for outstanding journalism, presenting th ...

presented the 2016 Quill for Coverage of an Issue or Event for the report ''George Pell and Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church'', and the 2016 Golden Quill award to

and Andy Burns for their extensive coverage of Cardinal

George Pell George Pell (born 8 June 1941) is an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . I ...

's evidence given at the

Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was a royal commission announced in November 2012 and established in 2013 by the Government of Australia, Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 t ...

. The ABC ''Media Watch'' program of 20 April 2020 noted that the ABC had been accused of leading a "witch hunt" against Cardinal Pell. ''Media Watch'' reported that, following his acquittal, Pell said the ABC gave an "overwhelming presentation of one view and only one view". Media Watch also canvassed other criticisms including from ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' newspaper's editor-at-large Paul Kelly, who charged the ABC with having run a "sustained campaign against Pell". Media Watch also offered criticism of its own, noting Louise Milligan and the ''Four Corners'' program had failed to canvass any of Pell's defence from the trial and "lined up witnesses condemning Pell", while social media commentary by

and

Quentin Dempster Quentin Dempster is an Australian journalist and author. Career Dempster began his career as a cadet on the Maryborough Chronicle in Queensland, and moved to Brisbane's ''Telegraph'', where he became the paper's chief political reporter. In ...

had undermined the presumption of innocence. Margaret Simons similarly noted in ''The Guardian'' that "there has been some social media activity by ABC journalists that looks very much like lobbying against Pell..." Initial reports into the accusations against Pell were broken by the ''

Herald Sun The ''Herald Sun'' is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia, published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Corp Australia, itself a subsidiary of the Murdoch owned News Corp. The ''Herald S ...

'' in February 2016, with the ABC first covering the story in July that year on ''7.30'', featuring two self-described victims. Pell declined an invitation to participate, issuing a statement instead. The ABC News and Current Affairs programs provided coverage of the investigation and trial of Pell, in particular ''Four Corners'' in March 2019 and the series ''

Revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

'' in 2020. Pell was made aware of the programs before they were broadcast and given the opportunity to respond to them, but did not take up the offer. In a later review of the programming, the ABC noted that "many of the Cardinal’s most prominent supporters adregularly appeared on major ABC programs, and the ABC’s coverage adconsistently included a wide diversity of voices, accurate news and authoritative analysis of the many complex legal issues raised by the case". The ABC's coverage of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

has been criticised. The Archbishop of Brisbane,

Mark Coleridge Mark Benedict Coleridge (born 25 September 1948) is an Australian Catholic bishop. Since 11 May 2012 he has served as the sixth Roman Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane in Queensland. He previously served as the Archbishop of Canberra–Goulburn ...

, condemned the ABC in 2017 for an "antagonistic, one-sided narrative" of the Catholic Church following a report on

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

within Christian churches. ABC TV's '' Media Watch'' found that the story had “misrepresented” research used by the journalists, which a spokesperson for the ABC said was the result of an oversight.

of the

Sydney Institute The Sydney Institute is a privately funded Australian policy forum founded in 1989. The institute took over the resources of the Sydney Institute of Public Affairs which ceased activity in the late 1980s. The institute was opened on 23 August 19 ...

wrote in '' Quadrant'' in November 2018 that "The ABC's focus on historic child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church stands in contrast to its failure to cover the public broadcaster’s own history in this area". After the conviction of Pell by a jury in 2019, journalist Paul Kelly wrote in ''

'' that media assaults on Pell led by the ABC had contributed to an intense and unjustified public hatred of the Catholic leader, and prejudicial environment in which to conduct a trial. He also referred to the earlier conviction and later acquittal of

archbishop

Phillip Wilson Phillip Sanford Wilson (September 8, 1941 – March 25, 1992) was an American blues and jazz drummer, a founding member of the Art Ensemble of Chicago, and a member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Uni ...

in 2018. After the unanimous acquittal of Pell by the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

in 2020, Pell and various commentators accused the ABC of sustained bias against him and of "abuse of power". The ABC conducted an editorial and legal review of its coverage where it rejected the accusation of bias, and defended its reporting of Pell as having been "without fear or favour". ''

'' published many criticisms of the ABC's coverage of the Pell trial.

Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamatio ...

vice-chancellor Greg Craven on 8 April 2020 accused the ABC of creating "an atmosphere conducive to a conviction". In the 11 April 2020 issue, both Paul Kelly and Gerard Henderson criticised the ABC for its coverage of the Pell trial. On 16 April 2020,

Greg Sheridan Gregory Paul Sheridan (born 1956) is an Australian foreign affairs journalist, author and Pundit, commentator. He has written a number of books on politics, religion and international affairs and has been the foreign editor of ''The Australian' ...

criticised the presentation of Milligan as an impartial reporter, as she had previously written a book damning Pell.

Environmentalism

Planet Slayer was an ABC website run by scientist Bernie Hobbs to teach children about the environment in around 2008/9. It included a "

Greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...

Calculator" which aimed to help children to work out their

carbon footprint A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). Greenhouse gases, including the carbon-containing gases carbo ...

by providing an estimate of the age a person needs to die if they are not to use more than their fair share of the Earth's resources. Victorian Liberal senator

criticised a cartoon series on the site for portraying those who eat meat,

loggers Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...

, and workers in the

nuclear industry Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced ...

as "evil". ABC managing director Mark Scott said the site was not designed to offend anyone, but instead have children think about environmental issues.

ABC journalists in politics

A number of former journalists and presenters have moved from positions at the ABC to politics. State Labor premiers and chief ministers

Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the NSW Branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He later en ...

Alan Carpenter Alan John Carpenter (born 4 January 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th Premier of Western Australia, from 2006 to 2008. From Albany, Carpenter graduated from the University of Western Australia, and worked as a journ ...

, and

Clare Martin Clare Majella Martin (born 15 June 1952) is a former Australian journalist and politician. She was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995. She was appointed Opposition Leader in 1999, and won ...

are all former ABC journalists. Other ABC journalists who stood as Labor candidates include

Mary Delahunty Mary Elizabeth Delahunty (born 7 June 1951) is an Australian journalist and politician with the Labor Party. Early life Delahunty was born in the Victorian town of Murtoa and educated at Loreto College in Ballarat.''Who's Who in Australia ...

, Mike Bailey, Ian Baker,

Leon Bignell Leon William Kennedy Bignell (born 1966), Australian politician, is the member for Mawson representing the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party since the 2006 election. Background Bignell was a high-profile ABC sports repor ...

, John Bowler,

Bob Debus Robert John Debus (born 16 September 1943) is a former Australian politician who served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives and the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the Labor Party. Debus has been a minist ...

Malarndirri McCarthy Malarndirri Barbara McCarthy (born 19 April 1970) is an Australian politician and former journalist who has been a Senator for the Northern Territory since 2016. She is an Assistant Minister in the Albanese Government, and previously served i ...

Frank McGuire Frank Joseph McGuire (November 8, 1913 – October 11, 1994) was an American basketball coach. At the collegiate level, he was head coach for three major programs: St. John's Red Storm men's basketball, St. John's, North Carolina Tar Heels men's ...

, Neville Oliver and

Diana Warnock Diana Muriel Warnock (''née'' Robinson; born 3 October 1940 in Western Australia) is a former Western Australian radio broadcaster, women's rights activist and state politician. Warnock worked as a journalist with the Perth ''Daily News'', a ...

. Kerry O'Brien was press secretary to Labor prime minister

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the he ...

and Labor deputy leader

Lionel Bowen Lionel Frost Bowen, AC (28 December 1922 – 1 April 2012) was an Australian politician and senior Labor Party figure, serving in the ministries of Gough Whitlam and Bob Hawke. He was Deputy Prime Minister of Australia from 1983 to 199 ...

and

was press secretary to Labor prime minister Bob Hawke. Radio National's

Phillip Adams Phillip Adams, Philip Adams, or Phil Adams may refer to: Sports * Phillip Adams (American football) (1988–2021), American football cornerback * Phillip Adams (sport shooter) (born 1945), Australian pistol shooter * Phil Adams (cricketer) (born 1 ...

is a former member of the

Communist Party of Australia The Communist Party of Australia (CPA), known as the Australian Communist Party (ACP) from 1944 to 1951, was an Australian political party founded in 1920. The party existed until roughly 1991, with its membership and influence having been i ...

and the Labor Party, and Melbourne ABC radio's

Jon Faine Jonathan Eric Faine (born 21 September 1956) is an Australian former radio presenter who hosted the morning program on ABC Radio Melbourne in Melbourne. Faine is recognised as a prominent and influential member of the Australian Jewish communi ...

is a former member of the Labor Party. On the Coalition side of politics,

has served as a Minister in the NSW state Liberal Government,

Rob Messenger Robert Desmond Messenger (born 26 October 1962) is an Australian politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland representing the Electoral district of Burnett. Originally a member of the Queensland branch of the National ...

, Peter Collins,

Eoin Cameron Eoin Harrap Cameron (4 January 1951 – 23 June 2016) was an Australian radio personality in Perth, Western Australia and member of the Australian House of Representatives. Until August 2015 he presented the ABC's Perth local station 720 ABC P ...

, Scott Emerson and

Sarah Henderson Sarah Moya Henderson (born 4 April 1964)HENDERSON, Sarah (1964–)

all held, or hold, positions at the ABC. Radio National's ''Counterpoint'' program is hosted by former Liberal minister

, who describes herself as "liberal" rather than "conservative". Research undertaken by the broadcaster in 2007 indicated that out of a total of 19 former employees moving into party political positions, 10 had joined the Labor Party and 9 the Liberal Party. In the 2022 federal election, former ABC journalist

Zoe Daniel Zoe Daniel is an Australian journalist, politician, columnist and broadcaster. She is the independent member of parliament for the Division of Goldstein following the 2022 Australian federal election, having defeated the incumbent Liberal Par ...

was elected as an independent to represent the seat of Goldstein.

References

External links

*
''Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983''
{{Authority control Commercial-free television networks Public television in Australia Publicly funded broadcasters Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia Mass media companies established in 1932 Organizations established in 1932 Articles containing video clips

History

Origins

War years

1950–2000

2000s–2010s

2020s

Lissajous curve logo

Governance and structure

Funding

Services

Radio

Television

Online and digital

International

ABC Commercial

Orchestras

ABC Friends

Controversies

Independence and impartiality

Perceived bias

Reviews and investigations

Relationships with government

1990s to 2013

2013–present

Specific topics

Same-sex marriage

Australia Day

The Catholic Church and George Pell

Environmentalism

ABC journalists in politics

See also

References

Further reading

External links