As the annual budget bidding bun-fight begins at the ABC, various lobbyists are leaking stories to the media to further their network cases. One of those stories made its way to the Sydney Sun-Herald on Sunday, quoting an unnamed senior manager saying Radio National was about to face the axe.

See Paper Clips for the Sun-Herald story.

The story says there is a possibility discussions about axing ABC Radio National may take place in budget talks over the next two months.

The story goes on to say “the option of axing the network was floated last year by ABC Radio director Sue Howard,” who is rumoured to have said the network is “boring as bat shit.”

Such maneuvering is typical of the internal squabbling that goes on at this time of year over money, but is often over-exaggerated.

The ABC has issued a denial that the Radio National network is under threat, saying it “rejects those allegations.”

Senator Bob Brown also raised the issue this week in Federal Parliament, calling for a motion in support of Radio National. His motion is:

That the Senate notes:

(i) that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s
Radio National is a vital part of Australia’s
broadcasting sector, offering analysis and in-depth
coverage of current affairs, politics, the arts,
health, law and other key aspects of contemporary
life, and

(ii) media reports that the Radio National network
may be abolished; and

and calls on the Government to guarantee the future of
Radio National.

While the Radio National lobbying is usual at this time of year, a more worrying budget problem for the corporation’s radio division is the fact that the regional program funding the ABC received three years ago is about to run out, potentially causing the winding back of much of ABC Radio’s recent regional expansion.

The ABC hopes to get renewed funding for this activity, but does not have any guarantees on the tied funding. If it does not get special funding ABC Radio will have to find the funds it needs from existing budgets or cut the new initiatives – accounting for some of the budget angst within the corporation’s senior ranks.