One of my favorite broadcasters, Radio Australia, is facing severe cuts as the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s international broadcasting budget of $35 million is being cut in more than half.
Below, I’ve copied excerpts from two news sources with links.
I will post updates with the tag: RA Cuts
(Source: The Australian via Richard Cuff)
THE ABC will confirm a wave of job cuts today, with Radio Australia’s services the first major victim.
A management proposal for a new “converged service” for its international broadcasting outlets will be outlined to staff today as the ABC rearranges its overseas obligations after the axing of the Australia Network television service.
(Source: International Business Times)
It is a sad day for the mainstream radio industry in Australia on Monday, July 14, as Radio Australia anticipates major job cuts. However, this fact-of-life among employees of being axed during hard times could be an opportunity for broadcasters to try new platforms to continue with their careers.
The job cuts at Australia Network television service is part of its management’s proposal for a new converged services for the network’s international broadcasting outlets.
Speculations on the jobs to be shed has created fear among Radio Australia workers and Australia Network as the employees anticipate a number of its services within the region abandoned with the planned reduction of the public broadcaster’s $35 million yearly budget for international broadcasting to shrink to just $15 million.
To worsen matter for the affected radio staff, the job cuts would be on top of redundancies at Australia Network and shutter of the transmission in September after finishing only one year of its 10-year agreement with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Also expected to get the axe are Radio Australia’s language service, while ABC News 24 will remain the foundation of the international service with some specialised news and current affairs content on the service.
[Continue reading at the International Business Times website.]
Awful news…I had heard about this on Glenn Hauser’s “World of Radio”, but now it appears the cuts have been finalized. RA and RNZ are my favorite stations on air right now, I’ve been a fan of both since I started DXing in the mid 1970’s. I actually get up early so I can hear them before starting work.
The music programming on RA is easily the best on shortwave, and the station is a genuine window on places like Burma and Thailand which get very little news coverage elsewhere. Why the idiots now running Australia want to gut what is their country’s best possible ambassador to the rest of the world is beyond me…I’m sure with the remaining staff stretched to the limit the quality will suffer but it’s going to be Tony Abbott’s fault and not theirs.
Here’s a bit more information from the Crikey news site here in Australia. Unfortunately the barbarians are in control here and they have a visceral hatred for our national broadcaster and foreign aid. I think it’s only a matter of time before dear old RA goes silent.
“A Radio Australia staff member told Crikey 25 editorial jobs will go, while seven people in operations will also be sacked. Staff have been told that this will include the entire English-language division of Radio Australia, which the CPSU has confirmed. All casuals and contract staff will be dropped. Asked if this number of redundancies would have a large impact on Radio Australia, a staff member told Crikey they amounted to “gutting” the network. It’s understood just 30 staff will be retained in the division, with cuts in content expected. Flagship program The World will be reduced to a half-hour program.”
Thanks, for that info, Phil.
That’s bad news. Radio Australia was one of the first stations i found back in the late 70’s when I began SWLing. I just got back into it a few months ago and was pleased to see RA was still there. All my other old favorite stand-bys were gone, RNW, DW, SRI, BBCWS, REE, Radio Austria and HCJB…..Now it looks as one of my remaining favorites will likely drop off the airwaves. Can RNZ be far behind?
Thomas, did Tecsun discontinue the R-2010D or are they fixing its issues and it will be released again?
Hi, Paul,
Good question. I haven’t seen the R-2010D for sale in quite some time. Hard for me to believe Tecsun would simply chuck the model. I hope they’re working on a replacement. If they just fix a couple of deficiencies, they radio would be excellent.
-Thomas