First up the declaration of interest: I have a weekly gig on 612ABC in Brisbane, so it's possible that what you are about to read comes from a biased perspective. However, I really am confused about some of the recent criticism of the national broadcaster. I received a direct message on Twtter from a person who works in commercial radio, saying that I should "do an investigative piece about how off charter ABC radio has gone". The tweet said I'd be "across it". Well, yes, I've read the public banter between, among others, News Ltd's Mark Day and ABC MD Mark Scott, and I'm reasonably familiar with the charter itself. And, yet, I still don't quite get what it is that the critics are complaining about, especially when it comes to the local radio service. So, I tweeted back to my contact saying that, in my experience, the criticism I hear often applies to material the commercial stations are unable or unwilling to broadcast, but that I was happy to look at any new information. So far, after more than a week, there's been no response to that request but there has been some more sniping at the ABC. I can only guess that the issue here is how remarkably well 612 ABC is doing in the Brisbane radio survey, especially in the important breakfast shift, compared to its AM rivals. In other markets, commercial AM talk blitzes it in. Here in Brisbane, the single commercial talk station and the two AM music stations don't do so well overall or in breakfast (although some of them do well in certain demographics, enabling them to sell advertising and make a profit). The fact, however, is that the ABC was truly to abandon its charter, it could do much, much better in the ratings. For example, the breakfast show wouldn't stop at 7.45am to give way to 45 minutes of sober news and current affairs (which is, of course, unlike anything you'd ever get on commercial radio). And there'd be no such thing as the Conversation Hour, where a whole 60 minutes is given over to a wide-ranging interview with a single subject. And there'd be no discussion of the arts or extensive and expensive coverage of emergencies such as the recent Queensland floods. Commercial stations (possibly to their disadvantage) wouldn't touch any of that with the proverbial bargepole. Having spent a lot of time in ABC studios and talking to ABC employees - and I was one myself once, back in the late '90s - I can guarantee that everybody who works there understands the charter and thinks long and hard about whether every segment they put to air complies with it. In the absence of any specific examples of breaches - and, Twitterer and others out there who may feel the same way, please send them to me - I can only conclude that the green-eyed monster of envy has raised its head here. After all, commercial radio is in the business of winning ratings points, and my complainant and his/her closest colleagues simply aren't doing it.

A clever satire on television news from The Onion. Note: strong language.


Breaking News: Some Bullshit Happening Somewhere

It's good to see that Sunday Mail columnist Terry Sweetman agrees with me on a very important issue. In May last year, I wrote here about the deafening music in pubs at a time when the patrons really just want to converse. Sweetman drew similar conclusions after a recent pub crawl with "an overweight bloke with not a lot of hair".

Ryan Seacrest to an American Idol contestant:

"Do you think if you could have done it differently you'd have done the same thing?"

Are we a nation obsessed? As I write, four out of the top five most popular stories at brisbanetimes.com.au are about Lara Bingle and Michael Clarke. I wonder how many of those hits were a consequence of people looking for copies of that photo?

Don't bother waiting for Godot; he's not coming. The Regent Theatre is back in the news today, with the Courier-Mail's Tonya Turner revealing that an acclaimed production of Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot starring Sir Ian McKellen won't be coming to Brisbane due to the lack of a suitable venue. The story quotes me saying that the Regent could be restored into a theatre much more cost-effectively than building a new venue from scratch. Godot is one of many productions that haven't found their way to Brisbane because of scheduling conflicts at QPAC. Godot producer Liza McLean says: "Commercially, everybody would love for there to be another venue in Brisbane". Lyndon Terracini, the former Brisbane Festival boss who now runs Opera Australia, agrees. With the city growing at the rate it is, we absolutely need another new venue as soon as possible or risk becoming seen as a cultural backwater. Restoring the original Regent auditorium as part of the current office-tower project for the site would be an efficient way to give our city a versatile theatre/concert/cinema space while protecting Brisbane's last remaining Hollywood-style picture palace for future generations. Anna Bligh, it's not too late to make this happen.

Update: A little bird tells me (as my father used to say when he wasn't seeing a man about a dog) that Rick Burnett will be using the Nine news appearance to announce that he's taken up a new job which may have some synergies with his new "hippy" look (as shown in this picture I took of him a few weeks ago). It won't be at Channel 9, or any other TV station. (Saturday, March 13, 10.40am AEST)
Update 2: As revealed on Nine, that job is CEO of Keep Australia Beautiful. (Saturday, March 13, 6.27pm AEST)


Channel Nine Brisbane teaser ad, featuring former Extra host Rick Burnett, as posted on YouTube by regular debritz.net commenter Kuttsywood on March 12.

What's it all about?

Channel Seven has just announced that The Matty Johns Show will launch on Thursday, March 25 at 7.30pm. A media release says Johns "will tackle the new season’s big issues as well as entertaining audiences with a family-friendly mix of sporting stars, special guests, live performances, music and comedy." It quotes Johns as saying: “I grew up watching league on Seven with Rex Mossop. Thirty years later for it to be me on Seven with a rugby league show is great.” Several "fun new characters" will debut in the show, including gardening guru Don Kirk, who has appeared in teaser ads already, explorer Alby Sandals and 10-year-old Steven the Big Kid . Johns will be joined on air by Shane Webcke for Controversy Corner. Unspecified stars of the game will be part of the studio panel each week. “I think were heading into a fantastic era for the game,” Johns says. The 7.30pm timeslot indicates that Seven expects big things from the show - and it means league tragics can watch both his program and Nine's The Footy Show without having to know how to set a DVR.

On the subject of Doctor Who (see last item), here's the opening credits of the first episode of the fifth season, which introduces new Doctor Matt Smith. As mentioned on Spencer Howson's b612ABC breakfast show this moning, the program will screen in Australia on April 18, two weeks after its debut on the BBC, and will feature on the ABC's iView service from late on April 16:


And here's a BBC teaser for the new series:

The Courier-Mail is predicting this morning that Nova 106.9 will look outside Brisbane to find a replacement for Ash Bradnam, who has officially parted ways with the former No.1 station. I reckon that would be a big mistake. There is plenty of talent in this city, and now's the time for Nova to make a fresh start by grooming a local rather than trying to parachute in a "star" from elsewhere - especially since anchor Tim Blackwell has been in town for less than a year. I'd suggest the powers that be spend a bit of time listening to other radio stations (commercial, community and the ABC), visiting comedy clubs and scouring the net.
PS: On 612ABC, Spencer Howson and I spoke about Lara Bingle, Doctor Who and stealing stationery. The audio has been posted here.

The Channel 9 Today show's "March with Magda" is coming to Brisbane on Monday, March 15. If you want to follow Magda Szubanski around New Farm Park for an early morning constitutional, be at the Rotunda at 6.45am on the day. It's part of the Jenny Craig/Women's Weekly "Australia's Greatest Weight Loss Challenge", with the aim of getting Australians to lose one million kilograms. In a Nine media release, Today co-host Lisa Wilkinson says: "Every time Magda is on the show, we get huge feedback from viewers who are inspired by her story, and want to take action themselves."

DMG's Vega stations are to be renamed Classic Rock 95.3 and Classic Rock 95.1, according to a report in Media Week.

Meshel Laurie has confirmed on Twitter that Ash Bradnam has left Brisbane's Nova 106.9. Laurie replied "Yep" when asked by Twitterer @iMatt93 if this was the case because only she and Tim Blackwell now appeared on the station's website. Bradnam only rejoined the station's breakfast program recently after a hiatus in which he entered rehab following his arrest and subsequent conviction for drink-driving last year. Nova's breakfast show lost its long-held No.1 spot to B105's Labby, Camilla and Stav in the first ratings survey for 2010. Laurie said via Twitter direct message that she could comment no further.
Disclosure: Brett Debritz is heard on 612ABC's Breakfast with Spencer Howson program, which is joint No.1 in breakfast with B105.

Rather than shave his head, 612 ABC's Spencer Howson is raising funds for the Leukaemia Foundation, via Sandgate High School, by threatening to wear a mankini if Members of State Parliament don't collectively cough up $1000. You can hear the audio here or donate directly to the Shave for a Cure campaign here.
Disclosure: Brett Debritz is heard on 612ABC on Friday mornings at 6.50am Brisbane time. You can listen online (if you have Windows Media software) here.

Is it time for the media to lay off Lara Bingle? Sure she's done her best to be famous, but is there any reason now for blow-by-blow coverage written by journalists who are apparently being paid to trail her every step. And do the public really care that much?

In the UK, commercial radio stations are licensed to provide a certain service. If they want to change their format, they have to apply to the regulator, Ofcom. The Guardian reports that a station in Wales, Nation Radio, has received permission to play "credible rock and avoiding 'manufactured' pop". Well done, Ofcom.

One of the first things journalists learn is how to write an attention-grabbing intro. I suppose it helps to do this when you work in the Northern Territory, where out-of-the-ordinary events (often involving crocodiles and alcohol) are commonplace. Take today's NT News story, bylined Alyssa Betts, that begins:

A MAN who pleaded guilty to his 11th drive unlicensed charge believes his troubles began when he was stabbed in the back while having sex.

But wait, there's more! Those who choose to read on - and who wouldn't? - discover that the stabbing occurred while the defendant was "having sex and trying to organise a three-way orgy". Apparently he invited a 19-year-old woman, who was watching the act, to join in. Instead, she stabbed him in the back with a kitchen knife. The NT News reports that the man "paused in his sexual activity and noticed the knife sticking out of his back". As you would ...

It's inevitable that we will be soon asked to pay for certain content on news websites that have hitherto been free. The Australian reports this morning that Rupert and James Murdoch and senior News Corp executives (including News Ltd managers) attended a meeting last month to discuss plans to charge for online content. The paper reports:

News Limited (publisher of The Australian) has undertaken a research study into the types of content for which Australians are likely to pay, although it's understood the company has no plans to release details.

And, of course, that's the key. What will people pay for? I'm assuming that the News bosses realise much of what is already on its websites is not worth paying for -- not because it's not informative, but because the same stories are mostly accessible elsewhere for free. This puzzles me, because I would have thought that if you were going to start, apparently imminently, to charge for a product, you'd be doing your best to make the free version so outstanding that many people would have no hesitation in paying when asked to do so. This leads me to the thought that it's not the exisitng news websites that News intends to charge for, but new, targetted sites or subsites yet to be unveiled.

Given Richard Dawkins was in Australia last week, plugging his new book, I think it appropriate that this weekend's video features a South Park-style animation of him answering the "most simplest" question: "What if you're wrong?"


PS: My other favourite of the week is the Taiwanese TV station's animated version of allegations about bullying by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The video, via British TV show The Bubble, is here.

Don't say you haven't been warned: The Footy Show is returning to Channel 9 next Thursday night at 9.30. This year it will face competition from a new show on Seven fronted by former Footy Show star Matthew Johns and featuring Shane Webke. It will premiere sometime this month. To misquote Roy and HG, sometimes too much sport is more than enough.