The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has announced the recipients of this year’s ABC TOP 5 media residencies, which are to enable some of Australia’s brightest minds to share their skills with the nation.
In a statement, the ABC said the 15 successful early-career scholars and practitioners, chosen from almost 400 applicants, would each undertake a two-week residency with ABC Radio National (RN) to learn the craft of communicating with a wide audience and how to develop content across radio and digital platforms.
The Broadcaster said the diversity of this year’s intake highlighted the depth of Australian talent, with recipients drawn from across six States and Territories and more than 50 per cent of them women.
“Despite the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, the popular program, now in its seventh year, will enable Australia’s next generation of talent to share their knowledge and expertise with audiences hungry for credible and informed debate,” the ABC said.
It said that, due to the pandemic, the residencies would be presented online, with the ABC TOP 5 Science, offered in partnership with the Australian National University, running from 23 August to 3 September; the ABC TOP 5 Arts, offered in partnership with the Australia Council for the Arts and the University of Melbourne, from 27 September to 8 October; and ABC TOP 5 Humanities, offered in partnership with the University of Sydney, from 25 October to 5 November.
Manager of ABC RN, Cath Dwyer said the university and arts sectors fulfilled a vital role in Australian society and had faced difficult times over the past 18 months.
“We’ve been very pleased to see the passion of our best and brightest for bringing their knowledge and research to a broader audience,” Ms Dwyer said.
“Each year we get outstanding applicants for the ABC TOP 5 residencies and 2021 is no exception,” she said.
Ms Dwyer said the residences were also a great opportunity for the ABC to access extraordinary stories and talent, and cement its relationships with three of Australia’s leading tertiary institutions.
A full list of the ABC TOP 5 winners can be accessed at this PS News link.
