Including traditional publicly-funded broadcasters and networks as well as public uses of new platforms and distribution mechanisms (eg. Internet, podcasting, blogging), the public media landscape is comprised of ABC, SBS and their digital channels in the realms of television and radio.
The international public media landscape is far-reaching:
Unlike profit-driven commercial media, whose business is in generating audiences, public media is primarily government funded and exists in support of public and democratic processes. This public value, according to the BBC, concerns imbedding a 'public service ethos', weighing public value against market impact, and public consultation or interactivity.
More extensively, the Broadcasting Research Unit defined public service broadcasting as involving:
- Geographical universality
- Universality of appeal
- Special provision for minorities
- A special relationship to the sense of national identity and community
- A distancing from all vested interests
- Competition in good programming rather than competition for numbers
- Guidelines which liberate rather than restrict
The ABC is responsible for producing television channels such as ABC, ABC 2 and 3, ABC News 24, as well as ABC radio stations like Radio National and Triple J. It comprises many interest areas such as documentaries, comedy, religious programming, science, drama and news. It was founded as a "nation building project" - a tacit answer to the kind of nation we thought we would be - and is seen as reaching far and deep into Australian minds.
The SBS produces SBS, SBS 1 and 2 and SBS radio. It was launched primarily as a result of Paul Keating's 'Creative Nation' initiative as a keen multicultural channel, "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect Australia's multicultural society". Therefore, its interest areas were highly concentrated on world news, current affairs, Indigenous cultural works as well as sport, comedy and reality.
The function of public media can be seen as nationally centred - thereby encouraging nation building, nation heritage, national identity and national conversations - focussing on 'the press', entertainment, utility, social and propaganda. Although public media is of public service, it is still commercially associated. These associations evidence themselves in programs like BBC Worldwide, ABC Commercial as well as things like The World Game Shop and PBS. These are money-making mechanisms which are put into action in order to recycle as funding towards further publicly-concerned programs. Of course, a primary component of public media is news, with 41% of the Australian public getting their news from the ABC. Considering the number of news outlets available in our country, this is quite an outstanding figure!
The serious, broadsheet, importance-focussed and considered style of public media is criticised as being boring, elitist, of limited interest, poorly presented and out of touch. However, as Robert Richter maintains, public media is the last bastion of long-form investigative media, voicing opinions largely "ignored by commercial media".
Challenges of public media, like commercial media, is attaining and maintaining an audience. In order to do this it may be necessary for public media to improve its quality, become more relevant, engage with the democratic process, inform the public and aim for independence - which is difficult when it is government funded. However, its ownership by the government means an ownership by the people, thus public benefit must prevail. Its independence, however, must survive possible allegations of bias and agenda, opinion and funding difficulties.
The SBS and ABC are highly influential broadcasting mediums within our Australian society. I believe the ABC is governed by a character to ensure independence, objectivity and national representation. However, in programs such as The Drum, the shift to more opinion-based commentary is prevalent. I see SBS as reflecting the diversity of Australia in its championing of a multiplicity of voices. I fully support its privileging of ethics, which I believe should underpin the practice of journalism.
No comments:
Post a Comment