Crikey picked it up this afternoon here.

it is a case of the bland leading the bland

ABC replied to Religion Report presenter Stephen Crittenden’s extraordinary opening comment this morning with:

Stephen’s comments were made independently without the knowledge or approval of network management. The matter is under review.

But the story actually appeared last night, courtesy of twitter.com/abcpool. Interestingly it’s now been deleted.

Dear members of the ABC board

I must protest using the strongest of terms the axing of these shows and others from Radio National. As a daily consumer of Radio National, I expect it to be different from all other radio stations, including the usually disappointing Local Radio (in my case, Brisbane) which is practically indistinguishable from commercial radio. Each morning at 8.30am I was always glad to get introduced to a topic, including interviews with leading world experts, in areas where I have no personal expertise.

I don’t require “consumer” information or “cross-disiplinary” shows. There are plenty of the former everywhere – they are nothing but weasel words for “dumbing it down”. The latter term is again just more managerial blather for shows about nothing in particular. A mile wide but an inch deep. That is what you are doing to the once-mighty ABC Radio National.

The fact of the matter is these specialised shows appealed to this non-specialist – I am neither a lawyer, nor do I work in the media, and nor am I religious. However these areas are immensely topical for modern society and changes that are being wrought on us all; I consider it both a duty (as an informed citizen) and a pleasure (as an individual) to learn of new topics and ideas in wholly new areas I had not previously considered.

If the ABC wants to remain a credible broadcaster, you have to maintain this so-called “high-brow” radio. It is one thing to have some populist channels and shows – it is entirely another to have *only* populist channels and shows. In the latter lays irrelevance and death. Without your specialism – the reason you exist as a separate entity from all others – you are just another static filled noise-machine undifferentiated from all the others crowding the electronic spectrum.

Sack all management who suggested or supported this appalling idea. Such jargon-laden ratings-driven weasel-word-infested time-wasters are precisely the people you don’t need in your organisation.

Please immediately reinstate these shows.