The ABC has announced its plans to axe 15-year-old panel show The Drum, with the final episode airing this Friday.
ABC News director Justin Stevens announced the “difficult decision” in an email to all staff on Tuesday saying that there would be a number of job losses.
The ABC said the move was part of a wider restructuring which would lead to one executive getting the shop and the ABC News Channel disbanding.
“The Drum began in 2010 and it went on to be groundbreaking in championing diversity on air, leading the way in finding new voices and inspiring other ABC teams to follow suit,” Stevens said.
“It did this at a time when it was relatively uncommon to see diverse talent in our news programming.
“So much of the program’s pioneering work has now become an expectation for all our teams.”
The show is hosted by Julia Baird, Dan Bourchier and Ellen Fanning. All are expected to stay at the ABC.
Fans were unhappy with the move, with #TheDrum trending on X (the platform previously known as Twitter).
“The Drum is/was pretty much the only thing left on the ABC I consistently watch. This is a terrible decision” one viewers said.
The Drum is/was pretty much the only thing left on the ABC I consistently watch. This is a terrible decision.
— Prof. Amanda Wise find me @amandawise on BlueSky (@AmandaYWise) December 12, 2023
Others were confused as to why the ABC is axing The Drum compared to other TV shows on the ABC.
One Tweeter said they would have canned a number of shows including Insiders before cutting The Drum.
Personally, I would’ve canned Afternoon Briefing, Insiders and QandA, before binning The Drum.
I barely recognise ABC TV any longer.
— Victoria (@VictoriaFreshy) December 12, 2023
They were not the only one to call for the Insiders to get the chop with another viewer saying that the hosts and content were better on The Drum.
Absolutely Rick! The Drum should stay and Insiders should go. Better host(s) and better guests (especially you). And no talking over anyone in a Murdochcracy fashion. 🙏😏
— Stefan Stefanovitch (@StefantheRussky) December 12, 2023
Meanwhile, Annie White who is executive producer at The Drum thanked her colleague Dan Bourchier and said that The Drum has “tried to quietly make sense of the world with clear thinking open minds and bloody good questions”.
1/2 Thankyou my friend @Dan_Bourchier for the toughest job on a day where we grieve the end of a dearly loved community #thedrum is a small but mighty team, 5 shows a week, 46 weeks on a modest budget. We’ve always felt part of something bigger because of the 1000s who come on ..
— Annie White (@anniewhiteabc) December 12, 2023
Host Dr Julia Baird paid tribute to the professionalism of The Drum team.
My colleague @ellenmfanning and I on what we have learned from hosting the Drum for the past few years: a tribute to the professionalism of our team, the challenging of who has the right to speak, and the enduring foundation of hope. https://t.co/hmurpG0Jxi
— 💥Dr💥 Julia Baird (@bairdjulia) December 12, 2023
