Public funding for ABC News is no longer defensible

These included Bernard Keane at Crikey, Alan Kohler at Business Spectator, Ben Eltham at New Matilda, Helen Hodgson at the International News Magazine and an observer in France at On Line Opinion.

The latter listed and analysed more than twelve statements that were hypocritical, misleading or false. Eltham claimed Mr Abbott’s speech was “hardly a masterpiece of economic thinking” in which “you'll find a set of economic policies that will retard Australia's future economic wellbeing.” Keane noted the porkies with the euphemism “a gap between rhetoric and reality”. Kohler characterised the speech as “smoke and mirrors”.

Reactions from business were mixed, with the superannuation industry openly hostile.

This was all repeated six days later with coverage of the Press Club speech by Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey. Again, a tawdry presentation riddled with economic gibberish and misleading assertions. And again the ABC stood and applauded alongside Murdoch, Fairfax and the Liberal Party – in news bulletins and current affairs. Again it was left to the alternative media to pull apart the economic nonsense.

Should there be any doubt that ABC News has joined the Abbott-for-PM campaign, ponder the news value of this item. Or this. Or why Tony Abbott was chosen to deliver the ABC’s valedictory for Hazel Hawke.

Australia now has two broad categories of news reportage and analysis:

1. The mainstream media operated by large corporations and dominated by Murdoch’s News Limited. This strand is seldom balanced in its news coverage, is quick to condemn anything achieved by Labor and cheers heartily at virtually everything the Abbott-led Coalition says.

2. The alternative online media which is prepared to criticise the Coalition where warranted and give credit where due to the Government.

So the question is: if there is no discernable difference between the reportage and analysis of Murdoch, Fairfax and the ABC – or for that matter the Institute of Public Affairs and the Liberal Party – then why is one funded by taxpayers? 

In the early 1990s, ABC religious broadcast journalists – who included this writer – used to prepare one item, and occasionally more, for Friday’s radio news bulletins. These invariably presented information not previously aired or published. That was a requirement. The newsroom’s charter then was stridently for independence. Frequently those stories appeared the next day in the Saturday Age and, occasionally, beyond.

Today, in contrast, it is rare for any issue to be aired on ABC News that has not already appeared in newspapers.

The challenge is before those who want to retain publicly funded news and current affairs to demonstrate that they can be independent and impartial. They were once. They are not now.