Jobs at ABC Canberra are expected to be lost as part of the latest round of cuts at the national broadcaster.
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It's understood at least five jobs will be cut from ABC Canberra at its Dickson newsroom and Parliament House bureau, including a chief of staff, radio current affairs reporter, director, editor and a project manager.
The positions are expected to be among 250 jobs that will be axed from the broadcaster under a plan to save $40 million.
ABC management announced on Wednesday the cuts would lead to ABC radio's flagship 7.45am news bulletin being axed.
Its lifestyle website ABC Life will be rebranded to ABC Local and shift its focus to cover suburban and regional news, with half of its staff to be cut.
Out of the 250 jobs set to be lost, 70 of them will be from news and investigations.
An ABC spokeswoman declined to comment when asked how many jobs were expected to be lost from the ABC's Dickson newsroom.
Managing director David Anderson said federal funding cuts to the ABC made job losses inevitable.
"This is a difficult time for us, as it is for the broader economy and community as we all struggle with the events of this year," he said.
Former ABC Canberra journalist Andy Bell said the cuts were not surprising but the loss of the 7.45am radio bulletin had blindsided people.
"The 7.45 bulletin is an iconic program. It would be like not broadcasting the minute's silence on Anzac Day. It's been a signpost to the day to Australians for decades," he said.
"That bulletin allows for more local stories and it means for the Canberra region stories produced by those in Bega and the Riverina get a run.
"It's either the biggest rating program on ABC radio, or it's up there in the top three."
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The 15-minute bulletin will be replaced with a five-minute bulletin at 8am, while current affairs program AM, which airs following the bulletin, will be reduced to 25 minutes from 30 minutes.
Fellow former ABC Canberra journalist Marcus Kelson, who produced the flagship radio bulletin for more than two decades, said the loss of it was devastating.
"It was always considered an essential part of the everyday tapestry," he said.
ABC Friends ACT convener Peter Lindenmayer said the latest round of cuts would mean there would be less capacity for regional or local stories.
"We are concerned that there's been a progressive erosion of an ABC capacity that all Australians expect," he said.
"News has never been more important and local news organisations are struggling."
Author and former ABC journalist Ginger Gorman, who worked at the broadcaster for 13 years before she was made redundant, said newsgathering and reporting had been eroded over multiple budget cuts at the organisation.
"These latest brutal cuts are simply the most recent. They have the cumulative effect of completely eroding the organisation's news gathering and reporting and investigative capabilities - which amounts to a democratic threat," she said.
ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury has criticised the announcement of the cuts.
"These cuts are an attack on public broadcasting, an attack on independent, quality journalism and an attack on democratic principles," Mr Rattenbury said.
"In an era of fake news and state-sponsored disinformation, the need for impartial and unbiased media has never been more important."
Andrew Brown
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
