I grew up in an ABC household.
It was [and remains] my parents’ news service of choice and to be clear, I am of the view that the taxpayer funded network still produces important and worthwhile journalism.
But their treatment of racing in Australia is at times poor, if not occasionally embarrassing. Last Sunday’s Offsiders program encapsulates just how bad it can be.
For those not aware of what Offsiders is, it’s a weekly panel show that discusses sport. It was once a must-watch featuring respected and hard-hitting reporters and sport stars.
Ralph Horowitz first pointed out on social media the ridiculous nature of their Sunday show that followed arguably Australia’s biggest race day of the year, that included sold out days at both the Everest at Randwick and Caulfield Cup.
And how many minutes did they spend discussing the day, that included the world’s best sprinter winning a $20 million race and the brilliant accomplishment of Jamie Melham?
Zero. Not a single mention.
In a 30 minute show that doesn’t have the pressures of ad breaks, they couldn’t spare even a shout-out.
They found nearly seven minutes to talk about the sacking of Ange Postecoglou, nearly the same for the women’s cricket World Cup, a chunk of time talking about the sell-out netball game between Australia and New Zealand, plus some swimming, soccer [or football] and Australian basketball.
Without the major football codes even playing, there was still no time for racing.
Offsiders finished the show by playing a video to finish the show of Australian cricketers playing the recorder.
Most of it worthy of discussion you could argue – but bigger than the racing?
The clincher, for this humble scribe, was ignoring the Caulfield Cup.
The ABC leads the way with their coverage of women’s sport. They do it more and do it better than any other broadcaster.
But for Offsiders to ignore the feats of Jamie Melham – the first female jockey to win the time-honoured race in 149 years – is an error I think even the ABC would privately admit too.
Melham not only competed against male stars, she made history in doing so. Unless I’m losing my touch, it’s an amazing story line every day of the week – even for the ABC.
The ABC, rightly or wrongly, has a perception in racing as being anti-racing.
They rarely cover, promote or get involved in racing in comparison to other sports – but have done some important journalism in exposing short-falls around equine welfare and gambling.
Betsy asked the ABC for an explanation around Offsiders.
According to a spokesperson, racing was originally planned to be covered but was dropped at the last minute.
“Offsiders had the Everest and Caulfield Cup on its rundown last weekend but had to make a change due to the breaking news that Ange Postecoglou had been sacked as Nottingham Forest coach. It will preview the Melbourne Cup on Sunday November 2,” the spokesperson said.
Live TV can be a difficult beast to manage, but to not find time to even mention the feats of Melham or Ka Ying Rising doesn’t pass the pub test – nor does it do anything to alleviate accusations the public broadcaster ignores the sport.
The ABC also made note of their coverage across the network, with plans to cover the next two weeks of Victorian racing.
“Offsiders is just one element of ABC sports programming. ABC SPORT on radio/audio was live at The Everest on Saturday along with Caulfield Cup on the same day. We broadcast both races across Australia on local radio,” the spokesperson said.
“ABC SPORT will be live from the Cox Plate, Derby Day and will provide live coverage of the Melbourne Cup across Australia on local radio and on the ABC listen app.”
Racing no doubt presents the broadcaster with challenges considering they ban anyone appearing on the station if they have an association with a gambling company.
Former Australian fast bowler Mitch Johnson was one of those, once accusing the station of being ‘woke’. He is not the only contractor Betsy is aware of that has been told they can’t appear on the ABC due to their contract work with bookies.
But perhaps the biggest argument on why the ABC should be a supporter of racing has to be its relationship with regional Australia. The ABC is a crucial source of news for country Australians, and racing is one of the biggest employers in regional areas.
Either way the ABC’s treatment of racing on Sunday is indefensible. Which would be their prerogative if the network wasn’t paid for and owned by the taxpayers of Australia.
