ABC complaints
Media - - Posted on May, 15 at 10:25 am by Ken L
Back on April 3 I made an official complaint to the ABC about a story it had run alleging that Kevin Rudd had offered to help Hillary Clinton with her campaign. Other reports and subsequent events suggest the story was a complete fabrication, the result of editorial incompetence or worse.
The response was as follows:
The ABC endeavours to respond to such complaints within
four weeks of receipt. However, please be aware that due to the large volume
of correspondence we receive, and the complex nature of some enquiries,
responses may at times take longer than this.
It’s now almost six weeks and needless to say, I’ve yet to receive a response. The damage done by the report is now too old to be undone and the original story remains on the net, uncorrected, to be used as an ‘authoritative’ source of misinformation by anybody with an axe to grind.
In any rational world somebody would long ago have telephoned the reporter, confirmed that the story was wrong, corrected it instantly and added a footnote explaining the previous error and apologising. But not in Our pathetic ABC, where the ‘large volume of correspondence’ no doubt gets referred to several committees and lawyers and has to be the subject of a 10 page written report before anybody can do anything constructive.
I went to ask them when I might expect a reply. Naturally the only way to do this is to make a fresh complaint - it’s impossible to reply to the original acknowledgement - using the same complaint form as I did back on 3 April. I lodged it with some misgivings; I suspect that my whole file will now get put back at the end of the queue. I’m beginning to feel considerable sympathy for Richard Alston, which is not something I ever expected to happen.
Not to worry though! Tonight at 6 you can watch Grand Designs Abroad - Tuscany:
This week Kevin McCloud meets a couple, Howard and Janne, who bought a ruin and moved to Italy, hoping to start work building their dream home in Tuscany.
Since then, they’ve spent all their time struggling with Italian authorities to get planning permission, but finally, after four years, they can now start work.
It’s an epic project: they have bought a derelict 1000-year-old castle in the Tuscan hills.
Now, the couple face their biggest battle of all - rebuilding this massive, hilltop, medieval ruin into a comfortable and luxurious five-bedroom home.
Yes a whole hour of whingeing pommies complaining about how hard it is to make a killing on the Italian real estate market, all expressed in annoying whiny pommy voices. Gosh I can hardly wait!!
The place is a joke.
Posted in Media |
May 15th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
The ABC is very lazy when it comes to answering emails (they rarely do in my experience) or administering their forums.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
I guess I should feel honoured that I just got a response to today’s complaint about the delay in getting a response to my first complaint. It’s only the email equivalent of ‘your complaint is important to us and we’ll be with you as soon as possible even though we’re experiencing an unsually high number of calls right now’, but at least an actual person put their name to it.
May 15th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
You’d need full time staff to complain everytime the ABC cocks up. I can barely watch or listen to ABC these days. So much parroted propaganda by credulous presenters. Have they changed or have I. Is this the burden faced when you get information from multiple primary sources days before the ABC (or the commercial trash) notice it?
May 15th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Indeed, we need a show about whingeing Aussies. For instance, focusing on couples who are sh*tty about losing the “baby bonus” even tho they get an increase in childcare rebates from 30% to 50% and have chosen to create more kids even after taking out a $700,000 mortgage.
Then we could compare it to a doco on the lot of some Cambodian kids…& those who care for them…altruistically.
Hmmm…I think i remember the ABC doing that in a roundabout way.
It ain’t perfect…particularly the anti-govt propaganda oriented QLD ABC news…and will probably be consumed by the internet…or merge completely w/ it oneday right on your big screen…
or be stung by RED BEE MEDIA…or something similar. And certainly needs to sit beside more COMPLIMENTARY channels, SBS does its best considering THE PURGE…
and we might want to think along the lines of PBS…and the use of Philanthropists who must sign a contract perhaps “to expect NO INFLUENCE”…
and find a more Independent ABC Board.
Who knows what Labor is thinking these days on media?
I’m so loathe to sell off or introduce Ads to Aunty just as the Independent bloggers are going pragmatic…heading for…& helping to…construct the VITAL CENTRE (some great stuff there too)…
It’s so COMPLEX. And it can all get so “paper shifting” & “ideological”…particularly when WOLVES want to feed…& EAGLES pepper from on high…& MARXISTS forget he was more of a critic than an idealist.
I’m looking forward to The Gruen Transfer…Wednesday 9pm, 28/05/2008 on ABC1…brought up by Seeker before. Hopefully it will be EYE OPENING & not a Trojan Horse.
I remember Lindsay Tanner talking about a “A Better, Stronger, Independent ABC” once…or was that just a dream? A sparkle in the rain on Conroy Street?
May 16th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Go easy Ken. “Grand Designs” is bloody great.
That episode was a bit sad, but the thing i like most about that show is that it confirms my long held view that to renovate is bad for your health.
Look, see, those aluminium windows and door will remain in this heritage miners cottage!
May 16th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
I really enjoy Grand Designs, the host is a dag, and often critical of the designs.
Have only felt the need to complain a couple of times to ABC. On both occasions I sent the story through to Media Watch and got a really fast reply.