Minister shrugs off ABC funding, job cuts
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has shrugged off the ABC’s budget concerns as the national broadcaster prepares to cut more than 200 jobs.
Cormann says the ABC receives “significant” taxpayer funding, even as the broadcaster offers voluntary redundancies because of an $84 million budget cut.
“The growth in funding hasn’t been as high as the ABC might have hoped, but the ABC is in a much stronger position than any other media in Australia,” he told the ABC on Wednesday.
A recent report found the coalition government had cut nearly $800 million from the ABC’s budget since it came to power under Tony Abbott in 2013.
Dozens of jobs are also expected to be lost at News Corp Australia, with production and editorial roles at metro newspapers to merge.
That’s in addition to the company’s decision to close more than 100 community newspapers as a result of the economic hit from coronavirus, which will lead to more job losses.
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The past six months have been a volatile period for the Australian media industry, with many regional titles not being printed during the pandemic, and other newsrooms shutting up shop.
-AAP
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