Recent events at ABC Radio Sydney “have left staff bewildered and concerned” and feeling that their trust relationship with the audience “is being abused and ignored,” according to a letter from station staff to the ABC Board.
The letter has been leaked to radioinfo and several other media outlets.
ABC Chairman Kim Williams is expected to meet with staff representatives some time this week to discuss the matter.
In the letter, staff articulate their views about the mission of the national broadcaster and express their frustration with recent programming decisions and the way the announcements have been handled. In recent weeks Richard Glover has retired, Sarah Macdonald‘s contract was not renewed, Simon Marnie was made redundant and Robbie Buck left the ABC.
“We are public broadcasters. We broadcast to the public. Our funding comes from the Federal Government of Australia. We reiterate these facts to emphasise that we have a unique relationship with our audience. They fund us to provide information, entertainment and company. This only succeeds when a genuine relationship is created between listener or viewer and us, the broadcasters. The fundamental to this relationship is trust,” says the letter.
At a time when the threat of misinformation is at a peak, the staff argue that a trust relationship is important so that people can turn to a source they believe when they hear information that needs checking.
“Presenters who can master these skills and win the trust of the audience are not common. It has been a tenet of this form that it works at its best when presenters are in place for some years. The bond with the audience can build. A listener begins to know and hopefully like and respect the broadcaster. It is always underestimated how crucial companionship is as a factor in drawing listeners to an ABC Local program,” says the letter.
Staff also question the way that the changes were handled, saying:
“Richard Glover resigning would have been considered a large enough change for the station and the audience to deal with. We would have, as we did, marked his retirement with respect and affection and welcomed Chris Bath into the position. Instead on the very day that we welcomed Chris, Sarah McDonald announced that ‘ABC Management would not be renewing her contract.’ This is a public relations disaster on many levels…only a day or two later, Simon Marnie announces that he will be leaving weekends.“
radioinfo has been told that the station received about 2000 texts objecting to Sarah Macdonald leaving on the day she announced it, and that every day since, the station text line continues to receive hundreds of similar texts. The anger felt by the audience is evident in the messages, according to sources who who have seen the listener text messages.
“The Chair at the National Press Club suggested that the reaction of ABC staff to her removal was to suggest that change could only occur with the agreement of the subject of the change. We are not reacting to Sarah’s distress. We are reacting to an audience outpouring of confusion and disbelief, the like and amount of which we have never seen,” says the letter.
The letter goes on to acknowledge that ratings needed to be lifted, but to express doubts about the commercial management style of network leadership, and the absence of any articulation of a strategy for the decision making. “Unfortunately, it comes as no surprise to us that an under-resourced station may underperform,” it says.
“No staff here have been informed – beyond public statements – of what this new direction is , and what we need to do. None of us know why – beyond the blandishments of the need for change – and none of us know who is coming in. Even if this change is necessary, it has been handled poorly.”
The letter refers to the current management, saying, “none of them truly understand public broadcasting and they have made little effort to comprehend the nature of [ABC] Local Radio.” It says staff are “deeply disappointed” by the current situation and “feel unheard.”
A replacement for Sarah Macdonald has not yet been named. Various sources have told radioinfo two possible reasons why there has not yet been an announcement. One reason could be that “management are waiting for clean air” to reveal the replacement, while another source has told radioinfo that negotiations with the new host are now faltering due to the controversy.
Earlier in the week, a petition from listeners to reinstate Macdonald was sent to ABC management. The public sector union says “CPSU members feel that the decades of experience of staff is being undervalued and ignored.”
The station recorded its highest ratings for several years in Survey 7, with Sarah Macdonald’s morning show recording its best ever share of 7.5%, an increase of 2.1 share points.
An ABC spokesperson contacted by radioinfo declined to comment.