Welcome to ABC Friends new national newsletter. We'll publish it once a month with news about the ABC and what's happening at ABC Friends. From time to time we'll supplement it with special bulletins on breaking news. Look out for our budget special on May 10!
ABC Friends has more than 70,000 members and supporters across Australia and we think that's pretty impressive.
Thank you for supporting the ABC and ABC Friends. All of us at ABC Friends are volunteers and it makes it much easier to keep up the fight knowing that so many people support Australia's independent public broadcaster.
Everything we have achieved has been thanks to our members and supporters – we couldn’t do it without you. But we have a long way to go.
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What can the ABC expect from the budget?
As the federal budget gets closer there is increasing concern that it won't be good for the ABC.
So many good causes and needs, so little money. And there is an alarming sense of complacency that the ABC is “fixed” because we now have a pro-ABC government.
After our recent lobbying trips to Canberra, we await the budget with trepidation.
What ABC radio program could you not live without?
As the ABC grapples with declining radio audiences across Australian capital cities and its youth station, Triple J, we'd love to hear which program you value most highly.
A new era for ABC International
For eight decades, ABC’s international services – along with aid projects, study scholarships, trade and cultural missions and, where needed, co-operative peace-keeping efforts – have proved effective for Australia in relationship-building and fostering enduring grassroots connections that transcend politics.
It’s important work that can be achieved at a minuscule fraction of the cost of a nuclear submarine.
News and events from the states
Find out what's happening around the states and territories.
- NSW & ACT: Save the Date: ABC Friends NSW & ACT Winter Dinner
- TAS: Panel Discussion: How should the ABC evolve to meet the Tasmanian community’s needs?
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VIC: ABC Friends Victoria campaign for new, younger friends
Fox and Big Lie wins ABC support again
The ABC has again shown its support of Sarah Ferguson’s investigation of Fox News coverage of the 2020 US election by running an updated version of Fox and the Big Lie in response to Fox’s billion-dollar defamation settlement.
We take a look at the controversy surrounding the program.
Labelling the ABC on Twitter: how Elon Musk got it wrong
Elon Musk’s recent attempt to label the ABC as government-funded media has exposed misunderstanding about the role public media organisations play in a democracy.
ABC Friends President Cassandra Parkinson discusses the recent controversy which led to a backdown by the Twitter owner.
Cassandra Parkinson
President
ABC Friends