Author of The Slap Christos Tsiolkas (pictured) wrote to the ABC Board last Monday to plead the case for maintaining a stand-alone books program on Radio National.
Currently the hour from 10am weekdays is devoted to literary culture, with The Book Show followed by a book reading. ABC management plans to fold this content into a one hour general arts program with the working title Arts and Books.
Station manager Michael Mason is correct with his reply that 'the current management team have in fact increased the coverage given to books and writing'. There will be more discussion of books in general non-specialist programs such as Radio National Breakfast, which is having its airtime increased by half an hour each weekday, and the new Radio National Drive.
But Tsiolkas' point is that the daily stand-alone literary show we are losing 'is vital to the health of literary culture here in Australia'.
The key word is 'stand-alone'. It refers to the segmentation of programs according to particular specialisations or disciplines. In the past, this has enabled the intellectual rigour that has been Radio National's point of difference. Each discipline offers a different way of looking at the world, and isolating one from others allows us to reach a greater depth of understanding.
A specialist program on religion — such as The Religion Report, which ended in 2008 — might talk about transubstantiation, but a religious discussion on a non-specialist program such as Radio National Breakfast would only speak about sacraments in general terms, or risk alienating the listener.
Similarly The Book Show would discuss elements of literary theory, but its general Arts and Books replacement it is likely to simply refer to the existence of different literary theories.
Michael Mason denies that the proposed changes signal a 'dumbing down' of Radio National. He stated in June that management is 'committed to retaining and improving specialisation', and insisted to Tsiolkas that 'the new draft schedule in fact increases the number of original specialist programs across more genres'.
According to the draft schedule, two specialist programs lost in 2008 — The Religion Report and The Media Report — are returning. But it's hard to escape the impression that the drift is away from specialisation. It is reported that Background Briefing — the Sunday morning program that has specialised in investigative reporting for more than 30 years — is being folded into a live Sunday morning program titled Weekend Extra.
Tsiolkas says that