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

The studio works on a range of not-for-profit causes simply because we feel we are in a privileged position – making a living from doing something that we love.

Dreamed up and realised by UK chef Jamie Oliver in London in 2002, Fifteen in Melbourne is championed by chef Tobie Puttock. Along with Stephen from Spicers Paper we donated our design services to develop this sponsorship tool for the Fifteen Foundation in Melbourne. We then asked Earl Carter (photography), Andrew Pegler (writing) and Gunn & Taylor (printing) to pitch in their services too. Together we produced a sponsor document that assists the Fifteen Foundation with attracting sponsorship for their hospitality and cooking apprenticeship programme for displaced and under privileged young people.

The project came together from nothing.

First we developed a strategic approach – inviting potential sponsors to make a difference.

We then developed a theme – Everyone has a vision of marginalised young people – typically looking down and on the street; we wanted show these young people in the best possible light, up to their arm pits in work and getting on with their new career – which is the point of the Fifteen programme. Around this theme we briefed Earl Carter to come up with a pictorial essay of the apprentices in the kitchen doing their stuff. Earl delivered a selection of honest and lively, black white images.

The design and writing was then applied to compliment the pictorial essay. We felt a spare and practical layout and graphic treatment was appropriate. Sometimes not-for-profit projects can become too elaborate and overwhelming, which can compromise their purpose. This project isn’t about winning awards and pleasing the style critics – this document is being pitched at corporate organisations and we wanted to develop a story about the Fifteen Foundation that is clear, compelling, factual, attractive to sponsors and showed where the sponsor dollars are going.

To train one apprentice in the programme costs around $50,000. We hope that the care, design, communication and manufacturing invested in project assists Fifteen raise millions of dollars in the future. Thanks again to Stephen and Spicers Paper for entrusting us with this project.

If you want to make a difference, make your next lunch or dinner reservation at Fifteen. For bookings contact Fifteen Melbourne here.

Visit the Fifteen Foundation here.

Congratulations to the Australian film maker Jason van Genderen for winning the overall and people’s choice prize at the New York Tropfest – the worlds largest short film festival. 

“Mankind Is No Island” by Jason van Genderen is a film that makes a social comment on the plight of home less people in New York and Sydney. Shot entirely on the camera housed in your typical mobile phone, the text based dialogue told by vernacular street signing leads the viewer through a very moving journey.

Another example of communicating so much, with so little. It is wonderful to witness crude and available technology transcend their physical limitations to communicate with such clarity.

Markets crash, skies seem to be falling and there are Henny Pennies on every corner…

Idea 1

We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful.
– Warren Buffett

Idea 2

A conservation last May (2007) between Andrew Gunn (Gunn & Taylor) and Andrew Ashton (Studio Pip and Co.) looking ahead to the financial armageddon predicted by the then Australian Treasurer – Peter Costello.

Andrew A – Hey Andrew, a recession seems to be looming, how are you going to approach it?
Andrew G – (with non phased expression) Peddle faster.

Idea 3.

Throughout human history some of the greatest ideas, outcomes and designs have come together from adversity.

Addressing new ways in which people function day to day is a process of reprogramming people and their need for convenience. There are thousands of convenient mini products in our shops and markets – like these honey packages – and often it appears that there is more package than product.

Capilano’s Snap’n Squeeze product offer of 12 x 7g packaged units, packaged in an 85g bag for 84g net (total amount of product) of honey, is one of these offers. For one 400g jar of “easy squeeze” Capilano honey, one needs 4.8 bags of Snap’n Squeeze sachets. Or in price terms a $4 jar for 4.8 x $3 bags ($14.40) of the same NET amount of product. Or in terms of waste 1 jar, 1 seal wrapper, 1 lid, compared to 54 spent sachets and 5 bags.

Designers are well positioned to query such products and encourage clients and consumers to adopt less wasteful ways to package, purchase, handle and consume products.

If foods need special conditions to handle them, is it not more satisfying to wait and be rewarded when conditions are right?

Isn’t living all about learning how deal with with foods that have skins, piths, pips, that drip, dribble, leak and stick?