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Quarterly Newsletter:Winter 2001, Vol.3 No.2

Turmoil at the ABC

The great restructure self-destructs Exactly a year ago Mr Shier upended the management and program making structure of the ABC with the creation of the content development division.

Mr Shier has announced yet another restructure of the corporation. This was 'a tacit admission that the grand restructure he put in place last June, the key to revitalising the ABC, has failed.' *

'The intervening hiatus has damaged the national broadcaster. Replacements for flagship programs such as Quantum and Media Watch are barely off the ground and the stock of locally made drama is running low. A string of senior managers has been sacked and the bill for redundancies is eating into budgets elsewhere.

'The inaugural director of program and content development, Guy Dunstan, was appointed in a blaze of publicity in June. His job was to wrangle 21 'genre heads' who would develop program ideas . His position was considered so important he was ranked with the head of news and current affairs.

'But Dunstan found the genre arrangement unwieldy and warned Shier it wouldn't work. It drew valuable people away from production areas and did not sit comfortably across radio, TV and online as intended. He was sacked in February.

'His replacement, Sandra Levy, also quickly realised the system was cumbersome. The full 21 appointments were never made and Levy has persuaded Shier to jettison the arrangement. The genre heads will return to their jobs as executive producers of programs and will report to the director of development or the heads of factual or non-factual programming [two new positions.] As one staff member who declined to be identified said: "The genre system is dead." *

* ROBERT BOLTON Australian Financial Review

Report Card

Mr Shier has been at the ABC for 15 months and we are only now beginning to see the impact of his new regime on television programming.

Littlemore has gone and seems unlikely to return; it has been replaced for a limited period with the studio-based Law Matters. Head of television Gail Jarvis has promised a revamped Media Watch - and the union ban on a replacement for Paul Barry has been lifted - but it seems nothing is actually in preparation. Quantum has been replaced with AfterShock, a science infotainment program produced by Jigsaw Entertainment.

Something in the Air has gone from 4 half hour episodes to one hour in prime-time on Saturday. Its slot before the News is being filled by antique repeats of As time goes by and Yes, Prime Minister. Stateline has replaced The 7.30 Report on Fridays, followed by the venerable Fawlty Towers. And on Sunday we can enjoy the BBC'sTop of the Pops. Two new programs from the UK have so far received underwhelming reviews: My Family on Mondays, and on Tuesdays Can you live without?

ABC managing director Jonathan Shier made it clear when he took over from Brian Johns 14 months ago that ratings would be a priority. At his first staff address he said it was a "disgrace" the national broadcaster's ratings weren't higher. A year after that comment they are far worse.

Amanda Meade The Australian 22/5/01

The national broadcaster's 'five capital city' ratings share fell from 16.8 at the beginning of the new OzTAM ratings system in February to just 13 for the period May 7-21.

Dramatic departure

The ABC has confirmed the departure of Tony Virgo as its head of drama. Virgo replaced Sue Masters when she left for Ten last year. Virgo is reported as saying "it has been a delightful experience working with the ABC developing quality drama."

Daily Telegraph 19/4/01 STOP PRESS

Director of Television, Gail Jarvis, has resigned after just 9 months in the job. Ms Jarvis is the fifth of Jonathan Shier's senior hand-picked appointments, to resign suddenly. Darce Cassidy in his press release said: 'The responsibility for this turmoil lies with the Managing Director and the ABC Board. The ABC Board should urgently investigate whether or not the Managing Director is capable of selecting and maintaining an effective management team.'

3/6/01 Cartoon courtesy Prior

Latest sacking

A senior executive hired by Mr Shier[has revealed] why the ABC had turned into a culture of fear and loathing, and why she decided to get out.

Michelle Dunstan was head-hunted by Mr Shier last July as a project manager to seek out new ABC technological business opportunities. Ms Dunstan left her job last week after a run-in with Mr Shier less than a year into her three-year contract. She said the row arose over a transmission deal. 'We had a bit of a clash over that' she said. 'He doesn't like anyone to oppose or confront. He just can't bear it.'

Ms Dunstan said Mr Shier suggested she resign and after seeing how he had treated other executives, she decided to go without taking a payout.

'I decided I couldn't work for someone like that any more,' she said. 'He would systematically pick on somebody and humiliate them ritually until they just wither away.

'But no-one gets a second go at me. I just wouldn't stand for it. Life's too short.

'Any advice I tried to give was ignored and I had no ability to change anything or do my job properly.

' Ms Dunstan said that morale was at rock bottom across the board* because of the climate of fear Mr Shier had created at the ABC.

'It is disturbing because a lot of competent people who are rendered incompetent by that kind of fear, she said.

Brooke Williamson , Daily Telegraph, 5/6/01