Lecture Seven

Following last weeks lecture on commercial media, this week we focused on Public Media, examining what such a term means, who the major players are in the Australian media landscape, the role of public media in a democratic society such as Australia and the challenges that Public Media constantly face.

Unlike commercial media, which is governed by its primary focus to turn a profit, the purpose of public media is to ultimately serve the public.

Within the Australian public media landscape, the two major players are ABC and SBS in regards to both television and radio. Internationally, the landscape is comprised of Channel Four in the United Kingdom, Arte in France, NHK in Japan and RTHK in Hong Kong to name but a few.

Public Media in a democratic society holds a very important role. It supports public and democratic processes. Moreover, Public Media should have public value. According to the BBC, ‘public value’ refers to:

1.     Embedding a ‘public service ethos'

2.     Value for license fee money

3.    ‘Weighing public value against market impact’

4.     Public Consultation

In 1985, the Broadcasting Research Unit identified what public service broadcasting should essentially involve. Their findings were as follows:

The ABC is responsible for Channels such as ABC 2, ABC 3, ABC News 24 and radio sites such as ABC Local Radio, ABC radio national, ABC Classic FM, triple J, ABC Radio Australia and other digital radio channels such as dig, jazz and ABC country. The ABC was founded in 1929 as a “nation building project.” Dr. Redman described the ABC as a “very important part of living in Australia.” According to ABC, they are “a tactic answer to the kind of nation we though we ought to be.” The ABC is responsible for shows such as ABC NEWs, Hungry Beast, Australian Story, At the Movies, Angry Boys, Compass, Catalyst and many more. According to Mark Scott, ABC Managing Direction, “[t]he ABC is not accountable for profit, but it is for quality.” This remark exemplifies the different between commercial media and public media.

SBS was launched in 1980 as a “multicultural” channel. The SBS makes programs such as SBS One, SBS Two and SBS Radio.  SBS aims “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.” SBS is responsible for shows such as RockWiz and World News Australia.

The functions of Public Media include: Nation Building, National Heritage, National Identity and National Conversations.

Unsurprisingly, the most significant mechanism of public media is the news. Interestingly, 41 per cent of Australians get their news from the ABC and each week 12.6 million Australians watch ABC TV. Moreover, in Australia ABC is the only source of lengthy interviews with politicians and nations leaders in the media other than talkback.

The News “style” of Public Media is serious, broad sheet style, considered (not quick and unchecked) and places importance over interest.

According to Robert Ritcher, an independent producer of documentaries, ‘Public Media is important because it is the last bastion of long-form investigative journalism.”

A challenge constantly faced by Public Media is a lack of money, however, if the Public Media continue to complete the follow check list, as outlined by Dr. Redman, they will be able to keep going into the future. 

The 'To Do' List: 

·      To produce quality

·      To make themselves relevant

·      To engage with the democratic process

·      To inform the public

·      To be independent

This lecture reinforced, for me, that Public Media is more legitimate than commercial media. I do not watch much television ever but if I do I watch, nearly exclusively, the ABC. I watch the News, Q and A, documentaries, crime shows (especially the Agatha Christie series such as Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple) and QI. Dr. Redman in the lecture stated that Australians pay only 8 cents a day to have access to the ABC. I think this is definitely money well spent – a tiny amount indeed for what the ABC provides us with. Moreover, this lecture highlighted the importance of Public Media in a democratic society as it directly engages with the democratic process in an informed and unbiased manner.