This week’s announcement that Stan Grant will be permanent host of the ABC’s Q&A follows widespread speculation about the future of the program. On some estimates, ratings have fallen by more than 50% from a peak of over 600,000 during its first decade under Tony Jones, who served as host from 2008.
Hamish Macdonald succeeded Jones in November 2019 but resigned in July last year, describinghis 18-month tenure as “a bruising experience”. Aside from being attacked on Sky News for his “far left Green agenda”, he was relentlessly trolled on social media, with virulent accusations of bias from both the left and the right.
Curiously, the BBC’s Question Time – Q&A’s prototype – has followed a parallel trajectory. Its ratings have fallen precipitously, from nearly nine million to just over a million – and the decline coincides with the replacement of veteran host David Dimbleby by seasoned BBC personality Fiona Bruce, whose own brand of charisma is no match for the gravitas of her predecessor.
