In this current debate about audience and restructure the ABC has not pitched the extent of its influence well enough to convince politicians of their worth.

Perhaps ABC Radio should start comparing its networks with other media to convince politicians to take more notice.
For instance most politicians would love to get coverage in The Australian, because it has so many readers in the AB category. The Australian’s circulation figures (ABC audit to 30 Sept 2000) show a Monday-Friday circulation of 135,000 people. Radio National’s nearly 2% of the Sydney audience alone is about 60,000 listeners, plus 2% of Melbourne (roughly 40,000) and similar percentages in all capital cities and regional areas around Australia, easily giving the network the same influence as The Australian with ABs. Compare ABC 702’s 6% of the Sydney audience (roughly 210,000 people) with The Sydney Morning Herald’s circulation of 229,000 people – again a very similar reach. The comparisons could go on in every state.

When put in the wider media perspective ABC Radio is serving its audience in a way that is equal to the influential newspapers which politicians read and take notice of every day.