A former ABC presenter says the purpose for which the public broadcaster was created “has ceased to exist” and that the billion dollars spent on it is the welfare of the “upper middle class”, which instead you should pay for a subscription service.
Kel Richards, who presented the flagship ABC AM radio current affairs show and NewsRadio’s weekend afternoons, as well as working as an associate TV current affairs producer, said the $1 billion “wasted” at ABC should be “recovered” .
In an article for Sky News on Thursday, Richards argued that the “clear and well-explained reason” the ABC was commissioned in 1932 was to unite Australia “by providing a service that could be heard across the country”.
“That reason supported its existence and financing for many decades,” Richards wrote.
«Those reasons no longer exist. There is no longer any reason for the ABC to exist. It has become unnecessary.”
Richards stated that while the “invaluable link between all Australians” was a “valuable objective” in 1932, when commercial radio and television stations were dispersed across the continent, today “it is not possible for any media organization to fulfill that paper”.
He noted that when he grew up in Sydney there were eight radio stations, six commercial and two ABC stations, but now there were about 50 on AM, FM and digital bands.
Additionally, for many years there were only a few commercial and ABC television stations in Sydney, but there was now a wealth of free and subscription viewing, along with streaming services and other content available online.
Veteran broadcaster Kel Richards has argued that ABC, which he used to work for, is no longer fulfilling its founding purpose.
The same thing happened throughout Australia.
“In such a saturated media market, everyone’s needs are being met, if not by a local media outlet, then by a global one (all of which are now within our reach),” Richards wrote.
‘So why do we spend a billion tax dollars to have an ABC?
“It now looks like what it has been for a few years: welfare for the middle class.”
Richards recognized that there was an “upper middle” class of the population that liked the ABC.
But he argued it was “unjustifiable for every taxpayer in the country to fund a media service for a select few… especially when the national budget needs to make up that billion.”
He proposed that the ABC’s 52 regional radio stations, which he acknowledged “still play a genuine public service role”, be split into a separate service, which he called ARM (Australian Regional Media).
Richards concluded his column by asking whether any government, even a coalition one, would have the courage to implement such radical changes at the ABC (pictured ABC chairman Kim Williams).
Richards argued that when the ABC was created in 1932, it was meant to serve as a link between all Australians, a role it no longer fulfills.
These stations could continue to provide local news and programs, while being linked to provide national content as well.
Everything else ABC does should be offered through a Netflix-style subscription model, Richards argued.
Richards concluded his column by asking whether any government, even a coalition one, would have the courage to implement such radical change.
He also echoed his fellow News Corp pundits in saying the ABC lacked “diversity of opinion” with not a single conservative anchor or executive producer among the countless left-wing progressives.