The ABC funding debate was explored form another angle this week as Radio National presenter Julie McCrossin asked “Do Audiences Care if The Media They Consume Is Biased?”

“While Senator Alston launches an attack on the ABC, accusing it of bias, perhaps as media practitioners we have lost sight of one crucial part of the debate,” asked McCrossin. “Has anyone ever asked what the audience feels about media bias?”

“We saw following the Cash For Comment scandal that despite a finding by the ABA that broadcasters John Laws and Alan Jones had misled their audiences and delivered editorial lines based on sponsorship arrangements, their audiences did not leave them in droves. On the contrary, their audiences stuck by the controversial broadcasters,” said McCrossin.

She explored the relationship between the media and its audience with guests Mike Carlton
(Drive Presenter for Sydney’s 2UE), Geoff Brand (Associate Professor at Bond University) and David Salter (Former Executive Producer of Media Watch).