Williams said the misleading claims include that the ABC “wasted” money on an improved ABC News website and app, opening an ABC Parramatta office, covering the US presidential election and the Garma festival, providing a factchecking service and advertising to let audiences know what services are available.
A claim in News Corp publications across the country that the public broadcaster costs taxpayers more than a Netflix subscription is an “inaccurate, unbalanced and agenda-driven attack on the ABC”, the ABC chair, Kim Williams, says.
The ABC was brought in to provide a service for regional and remote Australia as well as a number of capital city ABC stations, including Adelaide, because Nine, the official broadcaster, did not have stations in those areas.
The ABC operates five TV channels, five radio networks, an emergency broadcasting service and a TV, radio and online news service from 67 locations across Australia and 10 bureaus internationally.
While the Murdoch tabloids question the ABC’s $1.1bn budget, Williams said that in the last decade the ABC’s operating revenue from government has fallen by 13.7% in real terms, an annual reduction of $150m.
