If there is something missing from the ACCRAs, it’s certainly not awards – there are near 90 of them handed out in 33 categories. People aren’t missing either – the event has been sold out for weeks. Glitz and glamour? Plenty of that too, this year sporting a stylish pink flamingo logo, big OS stars, stunning announcers wearing daring gownless evening straps. And that’s just the jocks! 

If it ain’t broke (apart from the dodgy sound) why fix it? No-one could argue that Joan Warner and her crew haven’t improved the event out of sight over the past decade. Yet, there persists a gnawing feeling that without ABC Radio competing directly with the commercial sector for program awards there is, somehow, a lack of legitimacy. And while we’re at it, why not include community stations? After all, they make some excellent programs too.

The television industry has no problem combining commercial with public at the Logies. Apart from showcasing the full complement of Australian talent instead of just one sector, it demonstrates that there is clear separation of church and state in that there remains plenty of content on the advertiser funded channels unaffected by commercial interests.

Good content is good content regardless of who makes it.

Commercial radio has no problem competing head on with ABC radio in eight Nielsen surveys each year. They show that ABC stations command almost a quarter of the available audience in metro markets – even more in the regionals. ABC local radio boasts the number two station in both the two biggest markets, Sydney and Melbourne, beating out opposition from Southern Cross Austereo, DMG and ARN.

Obviously, sales oriented awards would not translate to the ABC, but there’s only a few of those and talent is interchangeable. Even awards for engineering and station managers would translate. The two sectors are interdependent with one providing a rich font of fresh talent for the other. Many have made the transition from ABC to Commercial and back again.

In any case, wouldn’t you like to see Red Symons, Adam Spencer, Jon Faine and triple j’s Tom and Alex contest awards against the likes of Kyle and Jackie O, Ray Hadley and Neil Mitchell?

Who’d win?