ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
After six years getting attacked from all sides, ABC boss David Anderson has said fuck you all and plans to depart the thinking man’s SBS at the start of next year.
The Advocate can reveal that the straw that broke the camel’s back was the absolutely hideous new layout of the ABC’s news website and the shameless reintroduction of the ABC News theme on TV.
Anderson was said to be have been opposed to the changes to something that wasn’t broken, that being the layout of the news website, but the freshly-minted ABC chair Kimberly (Kim) Williams reportedly wanted to stamp his authority and influence by doing something drastic.
The reintroduction of the ABC News theme was said to have been simply beyond the pale for the life-long servant of the public broadcaster.
“It’s the most Australian thing ever,” he said.
“Rather than come up with something new and exciting, no, lets remake something that Baby Boomers are familiar with so they feel more comfortable and part of the cultural zeitgeist instead of the reality, which is they’re already starting to die off by the thousand and some of them didn’t even get to inherit anything because their selfish parents decided to live will into their 90s,”
“Sorry, that’s a bit harsh. But honestly, the back to the future shit has got to stop. This new layout is just white space. White space everywhere. That’s honestly the first thing you learn in journalism school. Don’t have white space! One knock on effect they didn’t consider is that it’s now considerably harder for people with dyslexia to read. For people with low English skills. Do you think they care? Why would they? The broke something that wasn’t broken.”
The Advocate reached out to ABC Kim Williams for comment but were told he was getting his leg sleeves finished off and would be back later this afternoon.
More to come.
