Letter to the Editor:
ABC Managing Director Brian Johns' response (Opinion, October 1) to my article (Opinion, September 30.) is at least proof that he watches the ABC -- it was worthy of Sir Humphrey Appleby of Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister fame.
It was particularly disingenuous, given that he and the rest of the ABC Board all have copies of my Backgrounder "Whose ABC?", which considers at length whether the existing mechanisms of accountability are adequate and argues that formal appearances are deceiving.
To take one example, he refers to the ABC-appointed Independent Complaints Review Panel -- and how Yes, Minister-ish it is to have an "independent" complaints panel appointed by the body subject to potential complaints.
The latest ABC annual report informs us (page 64) that in 1997-98 it received precisely 13 complaints, many of which did not meet the Panel's criteria. One was withdrawn, leaving three to be investigated, none of which investigations were completed in that year. "Accountability" ABC-style.
No comments:
Post a Comment