Fourth in a series of interviews with ABC Friends members about their views on the past, present and future of ABC and ABC Friends.

Felicity Cook worked in media, marketing and communications before retiring in 2022. In the 1980s she worked at the ABC in various roles including as the producer of The Alan Stokes program on 3LO (ABC 774), before leaving the national broadcaster to work in commercial radio. Felicity has been a supporter of ABC Friends for over a decade and recently joined as a member.

In the beginning …

I was brought up in an ABC radio household. We had an old brown Bakelite wireless perched on a shelf in the kitchen. It was on most of the day blaring out regular news bulletins and programs such as the Country Hour, Blue Hills, and Alistair Cooke’s Letter From America. So this is when my lifelong love of ABC radio started. My family was slow to get TV, not until the 1960s, but it was the ABC when we did.

I’m hooked on…

Radio National. I’m so impressed with the breadth and quality of its programs. I wake up to Breakfast with Sally Sara and then listen on and off to RN throughout the day finishing up with the RN Hour with Fran Kelly. I’m a huge fan of ABC podcasts, especially the true crime series. I love the convenience of ABC iView too.

I’m also hooked on Instagram and the access it provides to a plethora of excellent small independent news companies – both local and international – that have sprung up over the last few years and who utilise social media to reach their audience.

The ABC is really good for …

Connecting Australians from all demographics through its programs. The ABC puts out an incredible variety of programs from children’s shows, Triple J, Classic FM, the Gardening Show, the cricket, and so on – there’s something for everyone on ABC!

I’d like to see more … 

Locally made documentaries and films. More locally made comedies that capture our uniquely Australian sense of humour and comedies that are prepared to take risks. More fostering of diverse new talent so we don't see the same old faces over and over. Budgetary constraints aside, I do think ABC TV relies too heavily on overseas productions.

I’d like to see less of …

Repeats of old English TV shows. If we must have repeats, couldn’t they be repeats of ABC gems from the past, like Frontline or Kath and Kim?

I joined ABC Friends because …

I'd been meaning to join but hadn’t got around to it and was spurred into action after hearing Pauline Hanson's address to the National Press Club a few weeks ago. She is calling for the ABC to transition to a subscription-only service. Clearly this would be the end of the ABC as we know it.

ABC Friends is good for…

Bringing people who value the ABC together to fight for its survival.

I’d like to see more of …

The Friends campaigning on better funding for the ABC at the next federal election.

Final advice

We need to make Australians aware that the ABC we all know and love is at serious risk. 

Read more interviews here