‘We’ll be back Friday’: ABC staff strike hits TV, radio as news channel diverts to BBC

Don’t adjust your TV or radio. The programming of our national broadcaster looks a little different today.

As ABC staff walked out to take part in industrial action at 11am AEDT Wednesday, the impact was immediate: the ABC’s 24-hour news channel – which promises “the latest breaking and rolling news coverage” – switched to a feed from Britain’s public broadcaster, the BBC.

Viewers were greeted with BBC news anchor and DC correspondent Carl Nasman presenting BBC World News America, with a big grey bar reading “RECORDED” across the top of the screen. The main ABC TV channel, meanwhile, broadcast a rerun of last night’s episode of Foreign Correspondent.

The 24-hour strike over pay and conditions will end at 11am AEDT Thursday, and the ABC TV guide currently advertises local news programming as returning at 7pm that night.

The strike wasn’t a big headline on the news channel in the hours before staff walked out. Instead, the main TV news bulletin covered the arrests made in relation to the alleged abduction and murder of Chris Baghsarian, the Australian government’s response to talk of fuel rationing, the United States sending more troops to the Middle East and tropical cyclone Narelle in Western Australia.

ABC News Mornings presenter Gemma Veness warned viewers “there will be disruption to programming” during a standard report on the matter. “The ABC will continue delivering some services,” she went on. “Emergency broadcasting will not be affected by the strike.” These lines were then repeated at the end of the broadcast, as she signed off.

There wasn’t any elaboration on what that would look like for the audience, however. The news report instead used grabs from ABC Sydney presenter Hamish Macdonald’s radio interviews with ABC managing director Hugh Marks and Media and Entertainment and Arts Alliance chief executive Erin Madeley earlier that morning explaining the context of the walkout.

“Mr Marks apologised to audiences as staff prepared to walk off the job,” Veness said during the segment.

Macdonald also warned his listeners of disruption a few minutes before 11am on ABC radio, and signed off saying he would be back on Friday.

“We are coming up to 11 o’clock here on 702 ABC Sydney ... Different programming will follow throughout the 24 hours of industrial action, including BBC World Service programming,” he said.

“You won’t hear the news at 11 o’clock. You’ll switch straight to conversations, and we’ll be back Friday morning.”

After the show finished, a prerecorded voice added: “Due to industrial action, we can’t bring you your usual program. We apologise for the interruption. Regular ABC radio programs will resume as soon as possible.”

Boy Meets Girl’s 1988 hit Waiting for a Star to Fall began playing instead of the regular bulletin.

So what can you expect to see? In short, a lot of news from the BBC and plenty of reruns. The 7pm bulletin will not go ahead, with the broadcaster instead airing Australian Story. And that will be sandwiched between two episodes of Hard Quiz. A special that aired in December, Hard Quiz: Battle of the Networks, will replace 7.30 on Wednesday night.

As previously reported, The Weekly with Charlie Pickering will air in its usual slot at 8.30pm as it is prerecorded on Tuesday evenings. The show is independently produced and most of its staff are not employed by the ABC.

Over on the news channel, the broadcaster will be entirely relying on the BBC. The only local content that will air is Tim Ayres’ address to the National Press Club (also airing on the main channel) and a live feed of Parliament and Question Time.

On ABC Melbourne, radio presenter Raf Epstein signed off just before 11am, saying that he would be on strike with his colleagues and would return on Friday.

“I won’t be on your radio tomorrow morning,” he said, adding that programs including the Conversation Hour, the breakfast show and his morning show would be disrupted by the industrial action.

“None of that is going to be on your radio,” Epstein said. “We’re all going out on strike because it’s an argument about sustainable work,” he said.

“Staff and management disagree on how we get those sustainable and secure jobs … That’s the reason for the strike.

“We don’t like not talking to you and being with you, but I’ll be back on Friday.”

Triple J presenters Lucy Smith and Jack James signed off at the youth radio station, explaining to listeners why the airwaves would sound a little different for the next 24 hours.

“Over the weekend, ABC staff rejected the second pay offer from management. More people voted no to the second offer than they did to the first offer. So talks have stalled because of that,” James said.

“We’re walking off [with] staff at bureaus all across the country, including people who are really the engine room of the ABC. They’re all tools-down. Management have apologised to listeners and audiences for the disruption, but because things are going to grind to a halt, you’ll hear a bit of pre-programmed, automated music over the next day on Triple J.”

The pair confirmed that “things will return to normal here at Triple J at around lunchtime [Thursday]” but went out with a bang. The first song lined up at 11am? Express Yourself by NWA.

It’s a track that has some notable lyrics – “’cause if I strike, it ain’t for your good health/But I won’t strike if you just/express yourself” – but it also has a deeper history in protest at the broadcaster too.

In 1990, the station played the song practically all day in response to the ABC’s censorship of the album and the suspension of a news editor who broadcast a portion of its most controversial track, F--- Tha Police.

It’s a tactic that worked, with management soon revoking the suspension.

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