The ABC’s new regional division and the TV news department are shooting a documentary series on residents in some of Australia’s smallest communities.
Due to air later this year, the 8-part Back Roads will be presented by Heather Ewart, who last year fronted A Country Road – The Nationals. That 3-part series chronicled the history of the National Party featuring larger-than-life characters Bob Katter, Clive Palmer, Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce as well as old-timers such as Doug Anthony and Malcolm Fraser.
Brigid Donovan, a long-time producer with Australian Story, is working on the project with teams from ABC regional radio, online and mobile. Back Roads will ask why people have chosen the coastal or country life and look at the events and celebrations that bind them.
The new ABC Regional brings together program makers, producers and reporters from across the country to provide a unified service. There are more than 400 content makers from 48 locations across the country in the ABC regional footprint, plus the metro-based rural teams and the Landline, Australia All Over and Saturday Night Country staff.
ABC Regional director Fiona Reynolds said, “The new division builds on this commitment in the digital era by refocusing the ABC’s resources to ensure regional voices are heard locally, across regions and nationally on all platforms.”
ABC’s managing director Mark Scott noted that while commercial media services have reduced their presence in regional areas it is important for the ABC to combine its regional radio and newsgathering capacity to provide a more cohesive service for audiences.
There will be additional 14 regional services, with regionally produced programs and bulletins streaming online via the ABC radio app, starting in August.