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Good Game: ABC TV Show and online communities

ByLaurel Papworth

ABC TV show sacks their host – excuse me, founding host – Jeremy Ray. In the old days, after a week of phone calls and letters to the station that would be the end of it. But now? In today’s social media climate? nuh uh. Jeremy gets online and says it’s cos he’s not a…

ABC TV show sacks their host – excuse me, founding host – Jeremy Ray. In the old days, after a week of phone calls and letters to the station that would be the end of it. But now? In today’s social media climate? nuh uh. Jeremy gets online and says it’s cos he’s not a woman he got sacked, the GoodGame crew go the forums and say it was their decision, the community get their knickers in a knot and start a petition, a Facebook goup and a website called SaveJunglist (his gamer handle or nickname). Active anti-brand communities are an increasingly interesting phenomenon.

I’m not always a fan of the ABC social network policy as sometimes they set up communities in direct competition with Australians who are already running communities, which I don’t think should be the  object of a taxpayers funded service.  Why can’t media organisations work with communities that create content instead of turning them into competitors with sore feelings?

GoodGame

The Facebook group

junglist FB

The site -looks like Drupal is called SaveJunglist

junglist

How can you help?

You can help us try and get Junglist back on the air in a number of ways. Please try and do all of the following if you get the time. The list keeps getting longer so keep checking back and do the best you can. Thanks guys and gals!

  1. Join the facebook group – “Save Junglist!- Keep Junglist as Host of Good Game” at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=189532430599
    Also make sure you post plenty of comments on the wall of the facebook page.
  2. Send a complaint email to the ABC by going here – http://www.abc.net.au/contact/contactabc.htm
    Try and state the reasons why you loved Jung and why he was a great presenter of the show.
  3. Sign the petition at – http://www.gopetition.com/online/31631/signatures-page16.html
    Please use your real name for credibility of the petition
  4. Email Good Game directly at – http://www.abc.net.au/tv/goodgame/contact/emailform.htm
  5. Make a video, upload it to YouTube or Facebook and post it on the wall of the facebook group mentioned above
  6. Make a poster, or print one off here – http://www.savejunglist.com/?q=posters and stick it up everywhere! Get creative people – Uni, Work, Shops, Internet Cafe’s, ABC Studios (ABC Ultimo Centre
    700 Harris Street, Ultimo NSW 2007) the list goes on…
  7. Change your gamertag or gamer motto to something like HELP SAVE JUNGLIST! www.savejunglist.com
  8. Make a photo and unpload it to the facebook group mentioned above
  9. Send an email to Game Scoop at gamescoop@ign.com
    If they get enough emails they may put it in thier upcoming vodcast.
  10. Vote on the poll on the bottom left of the page at http://www.tvtonight.com.au
  11. Let your feelings be heard in the Good Game forums at http://www.abc.net.au/goodgame/community
  12. Bombard the ABC by sending them a fax! Make your own or print off one of the posters ( http://www.savejunglist.com/?q=posters) and send that. ABC Head Office – (02) 8333 5344 (Attention it to: Mark Scott) and ABC TV Head Office – (02) 8333 3055 (Attention it to: Kim Dalton)
  13. Tell everyone in your own gaming community, in forums, in your friends group, facebook, myspace, twitter…. you get the rest.
  14. Nominate “whoever was in charge for axing Jungalist from Good Game” for Triple J’s friday f–k wit
  15. Email to Friends of the ABC – this organisation is not the ABC but influences the ABC. It gets on ABC’s back with proper submissions of discontent, etc, and i’m pretty sure has contact with the ABC decisionmakers. http://www.friendsoftheabc.org/ or email Darce Cassidy at darce@friendsoftheabc.org
  16. Write to the ABC Board (Important Boss People)
    “The duty of the Board is to ensure that the functions of the ABC are performed efficiently with maximum benefit to the people of Australia”
    Board members can be contacted through the ABC Secretariat, GPO Box 9994, Sydney NSW 2001, telephone (02) 8333 5312, or email: board@your.abc.net.au
  17. Send an email to Media Watch. Hopefully they can highlight ABC’s management flaws again. The address is mediawatch@your.abc.net.au

MOST OF ALL JUST SPREAD THE WORD -THEN ACT ON IT! Thanks very much for all everyones help so far. Keep It up guys!

None of this is original – American directors like Joss Whedon have tapped into TV Fan activism for years. But The ABC which provides social network tools yet does not do well with communities is seeing the other side of viewer engagement.
The audience here and overseas are only just starting to realise their power, and a playing with it tentatively…. stay tuned.
wanted savejunglist1

Whether you are in favor of bringing back Junglist and viewer-choice or whether you think the content provider is King and should stick to their original vision, it’s an interesting story. If the ABC responds incorrectly, like Kellogs social media war with Parents Jury, it could become a very hot story indeed.
Hat Tip Asher Moses from Sydney Morning Herald who rarely hat tips anyone. Bad Asher. 😛

9 Comments

  7. The ABC is also failing, epically, at Social Media 101 with the way it is turning off comments on stories once it realises the Save Junglist people want to have their say. Isn’t the concept of allowing comments that you take the good with the bad, not turn it on and off to suit yourself? Someone needs to remind the ABC what social media is all about.

  8. It is an interesting story from a community manager’s point of view. It has become quite apparent that the ABC have dropped the ball on the community management front – this story really shouldn’t have got as far as it has – either the ABC have noone employed to communicate with their communities or they have received ineffective or misleading advice from their social media staff.

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