Radio National is a national Australian radio/media channel funded by Australia’s public broadcaster – Australian Broadcasting Commission. Radio National flies under the slogan – A world of ideas – a rich zone for people seeking access to intelligent, inspired and creative radio programming.

During the weekdays from 8.30am to 9am slot, Radio National run a series of reports exploring medical, law, religion, media and sport ideas and issues – wonderful and intelligent programming that is a great alternative to the morning radio chit chat.

This morning Stephen Crittenden announced that his programme – the Religion Report, and the other media and sports reports are being replaced the following week with more consumer friendly content. Alarm bells sound, particularly with the loss of the Religion Report.

Behind many of the major headlines, religion is factor that has a great influence, yet our society has little information exploring the machinations of religion, their people and their policies.  The Religion Report was devised to explore not convert, comment not preach, and its presence underlined society’s need for more programming that intelligently explores religion.

It is deeply concerning that the network with “a world of ideas” is focused upon becoming consumer friendly. Religion is the glue that binds our societies and it is important that it is reported in an informative and enriching format.

It is a sad day for a multicultural Australia – Stephen Crittenden and his team presented religion at its best, most interesting, most diverse and without fear or bias. Crittenden and his team put religion to the top of the big ideas that make up our culture, and made religion very listenable and empowering. A regular listener has the potential to discover the richness of religion, via the Religion Report, offering the potential of replacing ignorance with enlightenment.

It is a sad day for “a world of ideas”, because the ABC management have overlooked that the world of ideas are a rich mix of: prominent to minority, popular to fickle, creative to practical, and so on… sectors of our community. Shame on you ABC management, shame on you for daring to fly the banner of ”a world of ideas” and yet be servants of popularism.

Thank you to Stephen Crittenden and his team many religious, non religious, spiritual, non spiritual people will miss your exploration of one of our society’s big preoccupations.

In such days, downloading podcasts from the mass of international media choices is fast becoming an attractive alternative to public broadcasters emulating their commercial broadcasters.

This is a transcript of Crittenden’s opening comments on this morning’s, the last sadly, Religion Report programme, (source Eagle’s Nest Blog)

The Religion Report has been de-commissioned, along with The Media Report, The Sports Factor, The Ark, Perspective, In Conversation, Street Stories and Radio Eye. These programs are going in order to make room for (quote) ‘more inter-disciplinary work on the network’, and the 8.30 timeslot is being remodelled to give it (quote) ‘more consumer focus’.

The decision to axe one of this network’s most distinctive and important programs has been
approved by the Director of ABC Radio, Sue Howard, and it will condemn Radio National to even greater irrelevance.

The ABC’s specialist units have been under attack for years, but the decapitation of the flagship program of the Religion Department effectively spells the death of Religion at the ABC. That
such a decision has been taken in an era when Religion vies with Economics as a determinant of everything that is going on in the world almost beggars belief - but you have to remember that just a couple of years ago they axed the Environment program.

The Religion Report has always been fearless - and I don’t have to tell you that it has put many powerful noses out of joint. This is a signal to the churches that the ABC has decided to vacate the field. If you care about this program and what it represents, I suggest that you might consider writing to the ABC Board or the Managing Director, Mark Scott.

Visit the Religion Report here