This editorial piece from Crikey says all there is to be said about the appointments to the ABC Board - succinctly:
"The Government has lined up its ABC ducks in a row. A new hand-picked managing director. A board stacked with fellow travellers. Elimination of the pesky staff-elected director. And, early next year, a new chair who will almost certainly be more considerate of the Government's political views.
While most of the interest in these changes dwells on the obvious issues of independence and political interference, the real tragedy is that the Government has been unable to resist making politically-tinged appointments at a time when its palpable responsibility is to make the right appointments. What the ABC desperately needs is a blend of people with the right professional skills and experience to guide the organisation through choppy waters in a sea of media upheaval. Instead, the Government repeatedly appoints ideologues-dressed-up-as-experts who have almost none of the requisite skills to contribute to the success of a large, expensive, technologically complex and culturally important media organisation.
That's the real tragedy of appointing a cacophony of ideologues to the board."
"The Government has lined up its ABC ducks in a row. A new hand-picked managing director. A board stacked with fellow travellers. Elimination of the pesky staff-elected director. And, early next year, a new chair who will almost certainly be more considerate of the Government's political views.
While most of the interest in these changes dwells on the obvious issues of independence and political interference, the real tragedy is that the Government has been unable to resist making politically-tinged appointments at a time when its palpable responsibility is to make the right appointments. What the ABC desperately needs is a blend of people with the right professional skills and experience to guide the organisation through choppy waters in a sea of media upheaval. Instead, the Government repeatedly appoints ideologues-dressed-up-as-experts who have almost none of the requisite skills to contribute to the success of a large, expensive, technologically complex and culturally important media organisation.
That's the real tragedy of appointing a cacophony of ideologues to the board."
Comments