ABC Chief Praises Murdoch, Calls for More Cash

In a controversial speech to the National Press Club, ABC Chief Mark Scott has praised News Corp boss Rupert Murdoch as the last great hope for newspapers and old fashioned journalism.

With a funding agreement coming up before the end of the year, Scott then went on to pitch the claim for more money to help ABC fill this extra 'space'. Central to this bid is a new C-SPAN like Public Affairs Channel and a commitment to its 12 international bureaus.

Should be interesting to see how it all turns out, as this funding agreement could ultimately decide the future of the abc.

You can read an extract of Mark Scott's speech here

Glover Slams SMH Editor

When Sydney Morning Herald Editor Allen Oakley was interviewed by Richard Glover on his drive programme on ABC Sydney today, he must have surely known what was coming for him.

While Oakley tried haplessly to defend his own management, Glover exposed the explicit short term profiteering that Fairfax is clearly involved in. While Glover's column will appear in the SMH tomorrow, because he filed on tuesday and the section is already printed, he warned that if the dispute is still going, he will refuse to cross the digital picketline. Glover even warned Oakley that he was willing to be sacked with Mike Carlton, and every other columnist who is willing to make a stand in support of journalist rights.

The precedent of being able to sack columnists on the spot is a dangerous one. It allows companies to undersell the rights of all freelancers and, in this environment of increasing outsourcing, this is a fate we should all fight to avoid.

Listen to the interview here