The Fall of Rome
Sophie Cunningham
October 15
Last night I attended Mark Scott's A.N. Smith Lecture, 'The Fall of Rome: Media after Empire'. I didn't expect to be as impressed as I was. I think I assumed that, as the managing director of the ABC, Scott would take up the position of defensiveness and nostalgia which is oft-heard in senior media figures (Eric Beecher is an exception here). But Scott was direct, to the point, and was not sticking his (or the ABC's) head in the sand. He talked briefly about the age of the Media Baron, and their passing (including a joke about Conrad Black being in jail - oh how we laughed). Only Rupert Murdoch is still standing and even he, Scott argued, looks like he's about to take a fall. Murdoch's introduction of paywalls is the thinking of old empire, Scott's argument ran, and News Ltd's attempts to pressure other news media into introducing them as well - so News Ltd isn't out on a limb - is doomed to fail. The only way to there is a chance that people will pay for news content is if the papers actually start to focus on increasing the quality of their content, rather than cutting it. He talked, too, about the need to go to the public, rather than the model of enticing the public to the corporation, and about the ABC's engagement with social media. It's not that what he said was earth shattering - these are the kinds of things alot of people have been saying for a while now -but, as I said, not people in his position. Some members of the audience from the commercial media didn't feel that he addressed the issue of a commercial financial model for the future, but implicit was, I think, Scott's sense that funded organisations are, indeed, going to become increasingly crucial in this age of change and that the current media environment might well increase, rather than erode, the ABC's influence and importance. It was a breath of fresh air to hear a lecture about the future that didn't talk about the smell and rustle of newsprint. Those days, he said bluntly, are over. Gone. A bracing bit of realism, I thought. I think the lecture will be up on the University of Melbourne's website soon, I think - I'll put that link up as soon as I have it.
Update: Ben Eltham's more critical take on Scott's speech. Margaret Simons's take. And here's the video of the lecture if you want to watch it.
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Comments
15 Oct 09 at 13:11
Yes, a good reflection of the event, its content and importance. Of course, it is not Scott's role to forge a viable model for commercial media but to grasp with full confidence the public "broadcaster's" role in pathfinding and modulating the very shape and character of this revolution that surrounds us.
...15 Oct 09 at 13:36
Scott has the luxury of not having to run a commercial business model. I don't think you can assess his comments without accepting this. His boastful tone was schadenfreud at its worst. The smug tone was not needed and having this lightweight who showed at Fairfax that he had no solutions when it came to building a solid commercial business plan for a newspaper, it was a bit rich. Having said that the ABC model is great for journalism but we still need to find a commercial model to keep diversity in our world. I think firewalls are not the answer although it would be great if the Bolts Akermans and Devines of this world were put behind them.
...15 Oct 09 at 14:19
I would agree with you that it's a luxury not having to address a commercial business model - but I don't think it's fair to say he had no solutions at Fairfax, in that NO ONE has managed to come up with the solutions there. Or anywhere in traditional print, really.
...15 Oct 09 at 19:26
Scott is not saying new things. He is making speeches. This is what he appears to do for a living. It is noticeable that his speeches dwell on other people's responsibilities. And that his approach is typically light and populist. It would be interesting if he ever gave a speech about the challenges of making the ABC an outstanding contributor to Australian life. Some mention of its role in music and drama. The importance of radio news and talks. Perhaps some effort to deliver innovation. In other words, something for the taxpayers.
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