Looking over a period of a year (June 2011 – June 2012), I have analysed how many times a representative from a think tank has guested on ABC TV’s The Drum. Out of the 9 think tanks appearing in that period, the results showed an overwhelming representation of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA). It took a staggering 42% of the media exposure. The next highest was the Centre for Independent Studies at 18%; followed by Per Capita and the Centre for Policy Development at 16% and 10% respectively.
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The IPA averaged 3 appearances a month, a substantial number that was bolstered by a record high of 5 appearances in January 2012. Third overall and highest represented progressive think tank, Per Capita, averaged just 1 appearance a month.
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The combined total of all progressive think tank appearances came to 27, leaving them still well behind the 39 made by IPA. The other two conservative think tanks, Centre for Independent Studies and the Menzies Research Centre, chalked up 17 and 5 guest spots respectively. These additional appearances brought the total conservative appearances to 61, compared to 27 from progressives, and 5 from independents.
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The bias shown towards the IPA, a less than credible outfit I might add, is a violation of ABC’s Editorial Policy, under section 4. “Impartiality and diversity of perspectives”.
Standards:
4.2 Present a diversity of perspectives so that, over time, no significant strand of thought or belief within the community is knowingly excluded or disproportionately represented.
and
4.5 Do not unduly favour one perspective over another.
Additional to IPA’s presence on The Drum television show, there is The Drum online where the Institute’s Chris Berg churns out pieces on a weekly basis. Fellow stable mates Tim Wilson and James Paterson get regularly published as well. Independent Australia‘s Managing Editor, David Donovan, wrote an in-depth analysis of the guest spots on the popular ABC program QandA, and in his data the IPA is overrepresented there too.
Instead of The Drum (and the ABC in general) giving valuable media time to partisan think tanks — of any political persuasion — they should give viewers a real cross-section of civil society. Organisations such as the Community Council for Australia, Australian Council of Social Services, or St James Ethics Centre would enrich discussion and likely give commentary divorced of politicisation, corporate interests and that media know-it-all self-importance .
If you think the ABC should be held to account then please sign the petition below and fill out an ABC complaint here. Feel free to use the information in this post to go with your complaint, or use a ready-made letter on the petition website (click image below).
SIGN THE PETITION
Please sign the petition if you agree and share throughout your networks.
Have you sent this to the abc board
They have an emaill addres now google
Thanks for the tip.
As an ex ABC employee I am disgusted at the treatment the government has been getting.. Are they trying too hard to be balanced or is ABC NewsCAff stacked with too many right wingers nowadays…
Well done for your evidence. I long ago turned off the Drum because of the over-representation of the IPA. Glad to see I wasn’t imagining things. Mark Scott has a lot to answer for.
Totally agree, Bill…The Drum has become a sewer for right-wing trolls! Now there is a shut-down on Andrew Bolt’s blog, they will migrate to the Drum for warmth!
It’s the ABC’s own fault..many, many, many…times they were warned that the idea of “balancing the bias” by posting a lunatic right-wing rant against a reasoned post would drive the reasonable posters away…and so it has happened. All that remains on the Drum is those with admirable patience and persistance and the same old lunatic right-faction.
The ABC.?….it’s gone to hell!
The Drum is terrible – as is most of News 24 – looking backwards all the time!
Do you have any data on the number of invitations to appear on The Drum that were issued to each of these think tanks over the same period?
No, but I would be curious to know that.
Still, declined invites doesn’t mean you let the IPA on more. Quite the opposite; You don’t have them on until their industry colleagues had caught up.
Well, that would be one way to get balance. But given The Drum is a panel show, it might also be worth looking at who else was on the panel on those occasions when the IPA appeared. I reckon the ABC would probably argue that with a show like this, the requirement for balance is met on each occasion by the mix of guests. In discussing a particular set of issues, they can cover a range of viewpoints if the panel has a good mix of people. But it doesn’t alter your larger point, which does seem to be true: when it comes to think tanks, conservative ones are over-represented.
Steve, I reckon you’re probably right about the ABC making that argument.
I have never understood why it is always the Left that complains about bias and refuses to listen to views which don’t support its point of view.
The ABC is full of left wing group think which is obvious across its “political” coverage. The Sunday program “Insiders” is the best example of that. And the Left is silent.
Sound very much like hypocrisy to me.
When you say, “The ABC is full of left wing group think” you mean the ABC allows opinions you don’t agree with. Do you have any proof to support your prejudices? Meanwhile, he IPA was established to skew the political debate, with particular reference to the media. (Just read its website.)
IPA members are not independent commentators. They don’t even pay lip service to balance. They are employed to push a particular line supporting free markets.
Lol @ Marcvs T Cicero!
@ Marcus T Cicero, I trust you have conducted quantitative research on the insider’s bias like the above and related it to the ABC’s editorial policy as “ABC gone to hell” has?
Or is it just your brain fevered asertion?
BTW, have you read some Cicero quote that made you think he also breathed through his mouth?
Or is
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I really love to watch abc news because the news are great and they are very informative and up to date. ‘;;.;
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Are you the same people that protested outside of John Faines broadcast on the friday wrap??
The smug nature of Tim Wilson says it all really!!
Hes a hot homcon and a nice perv according to my gay friends
Furthermore
Annabel Crabbes patience must be tested at times with their rants
Heres a rumour, Tim is said to be sleeping with a well known presenter
That helps the cause as well chums!!
Noice!!
What about Mia Freeman et al
She seems lovely but her blog is silly and shallow
Dumbing down of the abc is a better term!!
Self important and entitled overblown wankers at the ipa I saw one of them at a rally and they were laughing at a girl being arrested
This person was in their fifties a massive douchebag sadly
Chris Berg has a sense of humour sadly the others are narcissistic snots
hilarious!!
John Faine has said to Tim on radio that he engages in convulated and pretentious arguments
fuckwit of the week award was awarded to him by JJJ
A great perve and i wonder what many gay guys do when he is on air??
Top or bottom ….
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The question to be asked is why there are fewer and fewer intellectuals on the abc…??
George,
There is no upside for a right-wing media outlet such as the ABC to promote intellectual commentary. It only acts as a turn-off to their right-wing target audience.
For the same reason you won’t hear many intellectuals on talkback radio. But rather, wall-to-wall snorting, narrow-minded bigots spewing obscene and threatening fascistic filth onto the public’s airwaves.
A couple more years of decline at its current rate, and the ABC will be indistinguishable from the 2GBs of the world. Just as John Howard would have wanted it when he started the campaign of salting the organisation at the uppermost levels with reliable right-wing groupthinkers, who caused their like to be sowed and promoted through the layers below.
Radio National rn drive do a great job!!
Please save our children from the dumbing down and Americanisation of politics and media
The elite around the world laugh at us!!
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So who does the middle class listen to then?
Some of these right wingers are very well educated and have children…
Love to know who they listen to…!!
Love to tknow what
We turn on the Internet in the Middle Class for something more akin to intelligence and reality.
Right-Wingers get their children to listen to Bolt and/or Jones.
As a middle ground person, I am gradually finding the ABC is becoming distasteful as the rest of Commercial Media. But bless the Internet for giving me the world that Australian media seems intent to deny me. I’m even getting better at other languages.
Balance for balance sake, just means snake oil is given the same representation and relevance as scientifically proven medicines. If that is a good thing, our Species deserves to go extinct. There is your proof the ABC has lost it’s way, with the Idiots running the show there not working that simple truth out. I bet “ABC has gone to Hell” does not get equal representation as it criticizes them. How typical.
I always watche ABC News because the reporters are very professional. ..
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I am curious as to how you transferred the historical data form The Drum archive into Excel. Is there a copy of the raw data set publicly available?
If you’re not aware of it already, I would recommend Google Drive’s hosting service for making Excel data sets publicly available.