Welcome to our News Email (and first for 2021) - Checking the Pulse - providing you with useful and informative ABC Friends News bites. Below you will find links to interesting reads/webinars, online events coming up and ABC TV productions you may enjoy.

Informative Reads

• The media's free-speech dilemmas in a world of division, violence and extremism. What is this cancel culture?
• How have Morrison and the Murdoch Press worked together to try to kill our ABC one may well ask — seeking to undermine the ABC's important role in our society with an anti-ABC agenda dominating headlines and party room dealings. Well a video that is worth watching is here! Please pass this link onto your friends and family. That video and a follow up discussion is available for view here.
• And is Sky News using the Fox model to radicalise politics in Australia – Kevin Rudd thinks so here.

Dates to put in your Diary

• Adelaide Writers Week - Sat 27 February to Thu 4 March 2021. And this year offering some new programs – the Plane Tree Stage is now active across the week featuring series for the writers amongst you on The Business of Being a Writer and promoting advocacy and activism with Be the Change. For the first time events can be accessed from our own homes in the Curated Dozen (12 selected presentations streamed live). Tickets per event are required for this streaming feature – on a pay what you can basis with a recommended price of up to $15 and anything more gratefully received as generous support of Adelaide Writers’ Week during these challenging times for the Arts.

Interesting ABC Programmes to catch up on

• This is ABC Rural's 75th year, so as part of the celebrations comes sharing of a collection of regional stories like 10 episodes of Outback Ringer,  and 5 episodes of First Nation Farmers here.

On behalf of your 2020-2021 Committee

Sue Pinnock - President

Sandra Coopman - Secretary 

Mihir Makwana - Treasurer

Roselie Copley, Andrew Johnston and Tina Phillips - Committee Members

And if you’d like to help out on Committee (we are a good bunch!) or in a casual way please contact me.

Stay safe and let’s hope 2021 gets us back on track!