CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
A 55-year-old service worker who has never once stood in front of a camera has today been informed that she is the poster child of the ABC’s commitment to a multicultural Australian media.
As a night shift cleaner at the public broadcaster’s head office in Sydney’s inner-city enclave of Ultimo, Jamine Ramos had no idea her last name was being pinballed around the public broadcaster’s email servers as a diversity box tick.
This follows the wave criticism the ABC has received after revealing its upcoming line-up of news presenters for 2021, a cast of media darlings that resemble a Howard-era Liberal Party cabinet.
Australians of all backgrounds are begin to question the lack of cultural diversity among the broadcaster’s key programs, with many pointing out that their on-screen talent looks nothing like their supposed audience.
In a country where only 1 in 4 people are native born to native born parents, many argue that this is not good enough.
Especially when considering that the droves of whitefellas presenting on the ABC don’t even have tricky last names. This suggests an extra effort has been made by the public broadcaster to only hire graduates of Sydney University who have all grown up near the Light Rail.
The fact that the Fox Sports spin-off NRL channel Fox League has more Indigenous presenters than every free-to-air network combined is also a cause for concern, as the ABC leads the way on reporting on issues that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – without actually hiring that many of them.
However, all criticisms aside, the ABC stands by the fact that their organisations has ‘plenty of colour’ who offer voices ‘behind the scenes’.
Like Jasmine, who works the 1am to 5am shift on an electric floor polisher in the lobby of the Ultimo Kremlin.
“Jasmine provides our organisation with some great insight into the lives of, ummmm, Catholics” says ABC content director, Wyatt Mann.
“And don’t forget that sometimes we let Stan Grant host The Drum”
“We also obviously have a few LGBTI types working on-air at Triple J as well… I think”
“So this criticism is unfounded”
“I’d like to see Murdoch or the talkback stations let a homosexual host a prime time show”
MORE TO COME.
