Why I created the blog,
Turtles all the Way Down
By Pip Wilson
I believe that I heard
the "turtle bloke", Cherokee writer Thomas King, tell the "turtle story" as many as 14 times in just a few weeks over
Summer '04-'05, on
the same station, Radio
National. Note, too, that it was just one of a series of Dr King's
lectures broadcast, each one at least half an hour in length, so RN listeners were
bombarded with this one pundit all Summer long. This is nuts. Here
is my first post on the matter in Sandy Beach Almanac, if I've lost you.
To me, "turtles all the way down" is
emblematic of what can happen in organisations that sincerely believe
themselves to be in touch with their 'consumers', but because they are
structured not to have real feedback from them, remain as ivory towers. If
this strikes a chord with you, or not, feel free to leave a comment.
I'm not about ABC bashing. I
love 'Auntie'; I'm a great supporter of Australia's national broadcaster.
Here in the country, I don't have many other radio options, and I don't like
TV. Like many, I rely on ABC Radio National and it is, I believe,
Australia's best radio station.
My main criticism
is that there is a pretence made at receiving feedback, but when you try to
get through to them, the defences go up. More often than not, no reply is
forthcoming, whether you offer praise, criticism, information or requests
for information. In my experience, ABC, which always asks for emails,
acknowledges about one in ten. If they will not acknowledge, they should not
request, simple as that.
My next major criticism is that Auntie has
convinced itself that it represents all Australians, but it is so middle
class that it almost never, ever has the voice of a person who does not have
a job. It has forgotten, if it ever knew, that a huge number of Australians
are poor and cannot relate to much of the
ABC's soufflé programming. If there is one issue that I almost despair
of ever being rectified in the ABC, it is this. It is most especially
important as most of the world's people are poor, countless millions of them
abjectly so, and the well fed can scarcely relate to their plight. Even when
poverty-related issues are discussed, have you noticed that all the talking
heads, black, white or brindle, are people with wages and salaries?
Until those without jobs and money –
pensioners and the unemployed – comprise, say, 15-20% of the Board and
staff, the problem is quite intransigent. How, then, can this be fixed, I
hear you ask, because once jobless people become Board and staff members,
they are no longer unemployed. I propose that 15-20% of Board and staff
members be either jobless or recently so – let's say, in the past 12
months. If there is a will to improve the ABC, a method will be found, but
I'm not holding my breath. The ABC is more interested in the listeners who
buy real estate, DVDs and restaurant dinners. In short, this is nothing less
than a national disgrace. Can salaried people see that it is? Sadly, I doubt
it very much.
Like many other listeners, I'm also very concerned that the standard of
journalism has deteriorated dreadfully at ABC in recent years. Under-funding
is one reason for this, but it isn't the only one. This blog is just a place
to talk about these and related matters, not only ABC.
As a matter of interest, it is not only ABC's "listener demand"
canard which is dubious. The "turtles all the way down" story told
by Dr King, was not original, and may be said to constitute an urban myth.
Wikipedia has an article
on it.
