[LINK] The ABC

[Bill D'Arcy]

Linkers
I watched the Sunday Program today. I am unsure whether 24 hour a day tap
dancing will pull an audience for the ABC, or that a reduction in the
budget for news and current affairs will somehow improve the ABC's online
presence. In the longer term Donald and Jonathan would do well to remember
the ingenuity of journalists, summed up in a story told to me by the then
Age political correspondent, the late Alan Barnes, over lunch in a seaside
cafe in Crete:
A new head accountant was employed by the British Daily Telegraph, mainly
on his perceived ability to cut expenses, particularly those of
journalists. On his first day, the bean counter called for details of
editorial expenses. He noticed that the Rome correspondent was making
weekly claims of up to 100 pounds for entertaining a chap called Count
Rinaldi, nominated by the journalist as an expert on the Vatican. The
accountant consulted the Italian Who's Who, noting that the Count didn't
rate a mention. He then rang the Ambassador at the Italian Embassy in
London who said that he had never heard of Count Rinaldi. The accountant
followed this up with a call to the Vatican where he was told the same
thing. He then sent a telegram to the Rome correspondent: "Extensive search
reveals that Count Rinaldi does not exist. Please explain." This naturally
caused a degree of anxiety in Our Man in Rome. After a drink lasting 24
hours, he fired a telegram back to London which surely must be the
definitive answer to those seeking the scalps of journalists: "Thanks tip
re Count Rinaldi. Was beginning to suspect him myself."

Bill D'Arcy