Further to my earlier post, the Larvatus Prodeo blog has more views on what is happening at the ABC, and the new post of Crikey editor Jonathan Green. Mark Bahnisch, the principle of Larvatus Prodeo, declares that he was an applicant for the ABC post that Green got. He notes that there was only a one week period for applications for the ABC job and suggests that there was already a preferred candidate before it was advertised. I am aware of at least one other candidate who failed to get their application in by the time of the very early closing date.
However, I understand that despite appearances, the job was NOT stitched up before hand. Green was interviewed only recently, along with other candidates, and was informed of his appointment late last week.
Bahnisch also asks a very good question: will contributors to the new ABC op ed presence be paid? Given that I have previously opined on the lack of payment made by The Punch, and the National Times, as well as the low or in some cases absent levels of payment at Crikey, this is a question I will endeavor to answer today.
2 Comments
Worth mentioning, Margaret, ABC Unleashed pays $200 per submission (much to my surprise). So presumably a similar policy will apply to the new site.
But I’m more interested in what the site will BE and the theory behind it. Does the media landscape really need more opinion? Is this the best use of ABC funds? Isn’t it in many ways against the ABC News charter, given how sensitive the newsroom is to any levels of bias?
Would welcome your thoughts, and certainly look forward to you reporting what shape this new project will take. Very curious.
I’m happy to accept that, but I think some questions remain. The job ad specified that the position could be taken up in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. I was surprised to see an announcement made 6 working days after the applications closed given the logistics of organising interviews with candidates from several cities. Having worked in HR myself in a previous incarnation, I am somewhat bemused – though stuff ups are always a plausible explanation, too.
I’d reiterate that I think Jonathan Green will do a top notch job. But he’s not been done any favours either, when his appointment was bound to come under political fire. Decision makers at the ABC – who we’re constantly told are savvy to how information travels online – need to understand how important good process and transparency are, and there’s a little bit of an object lesson here.