First of all, that video of the journalist stumbling over her words was absolutely hilarious...
Anyway, this week's lecture was about Public Media.
"The difference between commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting is the difference between consumers and citizens"
In comparision to commercial media, public media's purpose is to engage or serve the public, utilising a variety of different mechanisms including traditional newspapers or broadcasters, to more modern, innovative mechanisms such as the Internet or podcasting.
Examples of public media in Australia include: SBS, ABC, ABC National Radio and Triple J.
Examples of public media overseas include: BBC, 4, TVNZ, NHK, NPR
Public media's role in democratic society is to support public and democratic processes, and should have public value:
- Incorporating a 'public service' ethos
- Value for license fee money
- Weighing public value against market impact
- Public consultation
In 1985, the Broadcasting Research Unit set out many guidelines for public media and also defined public media's role in society. Many of these guidelines are quite specific which is what I was surprised about. I think I always had an image in my mind that most forms of mass communication was completely 'uncensored.' I didn't realise that there was a clear mould to fit.
The ABC, founded in 1932 as a 'national building project' and an organisation that reaches deep into the interest of Australian minds, has created many other forms of mass media including ABC news, movies, television shows... Each week 12.6 million Aussies watch the ABC news.
And SBS, founded in 1980 as a multicultural channel has done the same thing, creating World News, insight and RockWiz.
Dr. Redman put the functions of public media into four categories: nation building, national heritage, national identity and national conversations. I believe all of these categories are linked in some way... They all seem to overlap each other.
The news is also a big part of public media, as it is the only source of radio news analysis and current affairs explained in detail. It is also the only source of lengthy interviews with policitians and nation leaders.
Robert Richter describes public media as "such a special vehicle for voices to be heard, for visions and viewpoints ... ignored by commercial media."
(I really like that quote.)
And of course, like any form of mass media, the challenges of public media...
- Like commercial media, public media needs an audience. Surprisingly, it is not a matter of competition. Apparently there are bigger issues below the surface that should be addressed. Rupert Murdoch, or as Dr. Redman likes to call him, Uncle Rupert says that government regulation of both commercial and public media:
- penalise the poor = constrain choice, BBC license fee, government allocated funding
- promote insufficient infrastructure = duplication and waste
- build inaccessible institutions = BBC, ABC, ARD, RHTK
- threaten the growth of independent news and investment in new forms of journalism
- stunt the growth of the creative industries dampens innovations
Whilst this may be quite an extreme analysis, Rupert makes a few good points... So public media has a few things to work on, including production of quality news, to promote their relevance, to engage with the democratic process and to become independent.
TO BECOME INDEPENDENT:
- Differing ground rules of commercial and public media. For example, the ABC and the SBS are not owned by the government, they are held 'in common' by the people. Therefore, if the ABC or the SBS are making negative statements about the government, it is seen to be 'biting the hand that feeds it,' due to the government given allocated funds to them
- Commercial pressures for one = political pressures for the other
- Perceived lack of political independence = more control and more targeted funding
- The government's exercise of indirect control, through legislation and funding, allowing public media to get politicised
- Allegations of bias/agenda (Peter Costello takes this view)
- Opinion: ABC journalists were always told not to provide their opinion, but rather a balanced presentation of both sides
- Funding: once again, biting the hand that feeds it
Future of public media project "An expanded vision for 'public media 2.0' that places engaged publics at its core: educating, informing, and mobilizing its users... an essential feature of truly democratic public life... media both for and by the public"
I found this a very interesting lecture, particularly after just learning about commercial media the week before. It was good to have a comparison, but also to think about the differences and similarities, challenges and obstacles faced by both commercial and public media.
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