It's been a dark day at the ABC, half way through a year that began with colleagues working overtime to aid local communities through the bushfires and then doing the same under straitened circumstances during Covid-19.
I've worked at News, Fairfax (old money) and the ABC and I've never seen people work into the night, do more with less and generally give a rats more than they do here. Even today, when people were receiving horrible shocks, I didn't hear of one person...
... who went home for a cry (which would be understandable) but I heard of plenty who stayed because they have so much work to do. These cuts are devastating not only because of what they do to staff but what they do to the invaluable pipeline of talent ..
that is the young people beside whom I've worked and from whom I've learned so much in 10 years at the national broadcaster. I'm also afraid for the more senior colleagues now having to find new work in a shocking environment...
But mainly, as a person who grew up in regional Australia (that is the same regional Australia whose newspapers are currently being rissoled) I'm seriously worried for the reliable news and entertainment source which every Australian deserves.
Irrelevant to today, I also append the observation that the extent to which an organisation pulls resources from regional Australia is directly proportional to the odds of that organisation running repetitive commentary ...
... accusing the ABC of betraying the regions. Given the year we've had ... FFS. Anyway I've stayed too long and said too much. Thanks (bloody deep thanks, actually) to my fallen colleagues who always just shut up and got on with it.
