‘Woke’ didn’t kill The Project
... but its demise is bad news for all legacy media. Also: Bluey meets The Doctor? Brisbane ABC staff no longer national? Is publishing old photos a good idea?
“Woke” gets blamed for a lot of things by lazy commentators who are more interested in getting the attention that that buzzword attracts on social media than dealing in the facts.
First a tangent: I happen to think being “woke” is not a bad thing, even if a lot of people, or at least a lot of loud people, want us to think otherwise.
According to Google’s AI Overview:
“Woke” originated as a term within African American English to describe awareness of racial injustice, discrimination, and social inequalities. It has evolved to mean being aware of and attentive to important facts and issues, especially those related to racial and social justice.
The point I want to make here is that The Project — Channel 10’s long-running light entertainment/current affairs show — was not cancelled because of its alleged “woke” agenda.
What killed it was that it was tailored to an audience that simply no longer watches television.
As this article in The New Daily, quoting OzTam data, points out: free-to-air TV viewing among young people has dropped dramatically since 2009, when The Project debuted. For people aged 13 to 17, it dropped 80%, from 64 minutes to 13 minutes per day.
Young eyes are increasingly pointed at anything but the offerings of Channels 10, 9, 7, the ABC and SBS. It’s a problem for all the legacy media and especially so for 10, which specifically targeted younger viewers with The Project and a lot of its other programming.
So, The Project has to go and will be replaced by something that appeals to older people who actually still watch FTA TV.
It’s a commercial decision and one that the 10 Network took a long time to make. From a business viewpoint, it probably took too long.
Now, of course, the cancellation is bad news for the people employed on the show, and we shouldn’t be reveling in their misfortune.
The good news if you work in the TV industry is that at least The Project is being replaced by a new news/current affairs show, which is hiring staff.
Now, back to the problem facing all FTA broadcasters: streaming services and even non-professional creators on social media are making drama and comedy programs and documentaries and syphoning off their audiences.
So, it’s not just young people who are finding something more to their tastes on Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, Prime, Apple and their like.
And, even if it were, young people will become older people who will never embrace FTA, except perhaps for certain programs they can’t see elsewhere. And the number of “programs they can’t see elsewhere” is getting smaller.
News, sport and reality shows are just about all the broadcast networks have left in their arsenals — and the streaming services are nipping at their heels in those categories, too.
Only government regulation is stopping the streaming giants from getting more sport broadcasting rights, and the streamers are getting better at broadcasting real-time events.
Can three commercial networks survive, fighting over the advertising crumbs, if they continue only doing what they’re doing now? Can two? Or, eventually, even one?
Mister Brisbane is free to read, but if you appreciate what I’m doing here, and/or
at The Wrinkle and Radio Bert, you can buy me a coffee.
Radio redundancies
The Project team are not the only people losing their jobs in the media. About 50 positions are to be shed at the ABC, some related to the axing of Q+A.
A Radio Today report notes, “Several Radio National staff based in Victoria, Queensland, South Australia are believed to be facing redundancy.”
So, it seems like the N in RN will soon stand for New South Wales.
The ABC changes follow a slew of redundancies made at ARN — including Andy Procopis, who seems to be taking it philosophically.
Bluey, that’s Who!
The BBC has announced that it is seeking a production company to make a kid-friendly animated version of Doctor Who for its CBeebies channel.
Surely Brisbane’s Ludo Studio would be the frontrunner if it wants the gig.
If you’ve not heard of the company, Ludo produces Bluey, which is the number one young children’s cartoon in the world.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d love to see a Who-Bluey crossover!
Past imperfect?
I note that The Courier-Mail website is re-running photos taken at a nightclub 20 or 30 years ago. It occurred to me that some of those people may not appreciate seeing those pictures again, because they are reminders of lost youth, lost love, or bad decision-making.
And, sadly, some of them might be dead.
Disclaimer: Brett Debritz used to work in legacy media.
Sadly, I too am watching less FTA TV, mostly because with the advent of streaming services, the quality of programs has gone downhill. I remember loving the 'Sunday' program on 9 with Jim Waley, when 60 Minutes was presented by exceptional journalists, people you trusted. When Foreign Correspondent featured light-hearted stories from around the globe, and not the more depressing and sensationalist stories that we already find on our local news bulletin. When the ABC axed The Drum, a unique program that featured experts in their field, who weren't celebrities, I knew it was a downhill slide. It makes me sad that young people, or anyone for that matter, no longer has access to good quality journalism and tv programs.
Just turned 60, I do not watch FTA and have not for about 10 years. It's not just the under 30s turning away.