Fed: Sparks expected to fly as Alston fronts ABC board meeting
CANBERRA, Aug 27 AAP - Sparks are expected to fly at tomorrow's ABC board meeting whenone of the broadcaster's biggest critics joins the table - Communications Minister RichardAlston.
It will be the first time in at least three years that Senator Alston has attendedan ABC board meeting.
And it will be the first time they confront each other since a stream of letters andstatements between the minister and ABC chairman Don McDonald and managing director RussellBalding.
The relationship between Senator Alston and the broadcaster sunk to new lows afterthe minister accused the ABC of anti-American bias in its coverage of the Iraq war.
He has also criticised its complaints procedures and called for greater parliamentary scrutiny.
Senator Alston has questioned whether the ABC's news gathering and presentation isaccurate and impartial according to the standards of objective journalism.
He is not convinced the broadcaster is meeting its obligations and is seeking boardsupport for the ABC to report annually to the federal parliament, independently of itsannual report.
On the ABC side, Mr Balding slammed the level of funding to the ABC in the Budget,and later moved to axe some key programs including the children's news and current affairsprogram, Behind the News.
The ABC blamed a lack of government funding for the cuts while Senator Alston hit backsaying it was entirely within the control of the ABC and parents and children were rightto be hopping mad.
The issue is expected to be nutted out at tomorrow's board meeting in Ballarat afterSenator Alston opens a new ABC radio station in the regional Victorian centre.
AAP sal/sb/ldj/de
KEYWORD: ABC
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