Cue Murdoch Media Outrage
Oracle Tim Blair on ABC director Mark Scott's plans for a 24 hour TV news channel :
ABC News launches 24 hour TV news channel :
“No media organisation in the country is better equipped to deliver this channel than the national broadcaster,” said ABC Managing Director Mark Scott.
“We can draw on the investment already made in the ABC, through its major newsrooms in every state and territory, 12 international bureaux and 60 regional newsrooms, to deliver to Australians a top-quality 24-hour news service that is comprehensive, independent and up to the minute.”
New programs are also being developed specifically for the channel, focusing on world news, national politics and business. Many of the ABC’s existing television news and current affairs programs will also be featured.
The Australian ran this up the flagpole to see who would salute it, on January 16 :
THE ABC's plan to launch in the next few months a 24-hour national television news service amounts to a taxpayer-funded declaration of war on commercial media outlets in Australia.
Apparently there's something inherently bad in having a news channel that is not packed with intrusive advertising.
This will not be the ABC's first foray into 24 hour news programming :
The gag at 3.30 is the news reality that all 24 hour news channels have to deal with, as will the ABC.
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