Australian Media

In Australia, there are three different types of media organisations: government, commercial and community. Government media organisations are those owned by the government. In many  countries, government ownership equates to government control of the media.

With the ability to sway public opinion, the media is widely seen as an important and influential industry. According to the Centre for Democracy and Governance, the media is essential to a healthy democracy for two key reasons: “First, it ensures that citizens make responsible, informed choices rather than acting out of ignorance or misinformation. Second, information serves a “checking function”by ensuring that elected representatives uphold their oaths of office and carry out the wishes of those who elected them. In some societies, an antagonistic relationship between media and government represents a vital and healthy element of fully functioning democracies.”

Government

In Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Special Broadcasting Corporation (SBS) are both owned by the federal government. The ABC’s editorial independence is enshrined in legislation. The act specifies that the ABC must maintain an “independent national broadcasting service”. The ABC is also prohibited from broadcasting advertisements to ensure that it maintains independent of commercial interests. According to the Special Broadcasting Services Act of 1991, the responsibilities of the SBS board include maintaining the “independence and integrity” of the organisation. The fact that the independence of these organisations is protected by legislation means that, although they are owned by the government, the government does not have the power to control content or editorial policy. The services offered by ABC and SBS aren’t limited to television. The ABC has forty eight local radio stations in addition to nationwide broadcasters like Radio National and Triple J. SBS has two radio stations in addition to its television presence.

The ABC Charter is outlined in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act of 1983. The ABC must provide an “innovative and comprehensive” broadcasting service of a “high standerd” within Australia. They are mandated to broadcast programs that contribute to “a sense of national identity and inform and entertain, and reflect the cultural diversity of, the Australian community.” They are also required to broadcast programs of an “educational nature.” As part of the charter, the ABC is also required to transmit material to other countries to encourage an awareness of Australia and allow Australian citizens who are overseas to obtain information about Australian affairs. The ABC is also required to “promote the musical, dramatic and other performing arts in Australia.”

Community

Because the Australian government recognises the importance of the mass media to politics and society, the Australian Communication and Media Authority allocates television and radio frequencies to community broadcasters. Community media organisations are usually funded by the government, membership and advertising. Content is usually created by unpaid volunteers. Channel 31 is a community television station that broadcasts in a number of Australian cities, including Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney and Perth. According to Channel 31 Melbourne’s constitution, the organisation aims to: “Encourage community based participation and training in the production and transmission of television programs and for the encouragement of art, sport, music, and culture sourced from and directed to community groups within the wider Australian context through community television programming”

Commercial

Commercial media organisations are privately owned companies that compete to make profits through advertising and program sales. In Australia there are three main commercial media organisations: News Corporation owned by Rupert Murdoch; PBL Media; and Fairfax Media which was owned by the Fairfax family until 1990.

In Australia, News Corporation owns a number of newspapers and magazines including The Australian, The Courier-Mail, The Daily Telegraph, Herald Sun, The Weekly Times, Leader Newspapers, MX, The Mercury, Donna Hay and Vogue. News Corporation owns a 25% stake in Foxtel.

Fairfax Media owns a number of newspapers including The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sun-Herald.

Media Ownership Regulation

In 2007, the Howard government relaxed media ownership laws. Although there are still limits on cross media ownership, media companies can now own more than one television station, newspaper and radio station in the same broadcast area. Under the new laws, there must be no fewer than five independent media groups in metropolitan markets and four in regional markets.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is the government body which makes sure that companies comply with the law. The Australian Communication and Media will oversee safeguards to ensure diversity and local content, including ensuring transactions comply with the minimum number of media groups requirements.

Traditional foreign media ownership laws have been abandoned. However, the media is regarded as a ‘sensistive sector’ under the Foreign Investment Policy. Proposals by foreign companies to invest in the Australian media must be approved by the Federal Treasurer.

Links

A pressing case for standing up to Rupert Murdoch’s bullying

Murdoch Makes No Retreat From Scandals With Attack on Australia Government

An inquiry that ignores media ownership is pointless

Senator Conroy’s inquiry too far

Assessment Task: ABC Research Report

Word Length: 750-1000 words

1. Give an overview of the type of programs that the ABC produces. Which forms of media do they use to broadcast texts? (5 marks)

2. Where does the ABC get its income and finance from? How much does it cost to run the ABC? (5 marks)

3. Who owns the ABC? What is the role of the Board of Directors? (5 marks)

4. In your own words, describe the ABC’s Vision, Mission and Values. What is the ABC’s Charter and what does it say about what they should do? (5 marks)

5. What sort of audience does the ABC attract? (5 marks)

Much of the above information can be found from the 2009 ABC Annual Report.

Assessment Task: Presentation

Duration: 5 minutes

Investigate one of the following Australian media organisations: Triple J, 774 3LO, ABC1, Channel 7, Channel 10, Channel 9, RRR, Channel 31, Nova, Radio National, The Age, The Herald-Sun, The Australian

You need to include the following information in your presentation:
• ownership of the Media organisation;
• a brief history of the organisation;
• circulation or ratings figures for the organisation;
• types of programs and/or content of the organisation;
• type of audience/demographic that the organisation attracts;
• code of conduct, vision statement or any other institutional.

As part of your presentation you must provide a one-page fact sheet covering all of this information for the class.

Triple J
Official Website
Wikipedia

The Age
Demographics

The Herald-Sun
Demographics

The Australian
Demographics

Ratings

Australian Television Ratings
Melbourne Radio Ratings

The Australian Film Industry

Watch an Australian film and give a review to the rest of the class. Your brief review of the film should also note—if possible—the funding, budget and box office takings of the film.

Read the following articles on the Australian film industry and briefly summarise them in your workbooks.

Putting Red Dog in his rightful place
Australian film disaster at the box office
An open letter on the state of the Australian film industry
Tough lessons for the film industry
The Australian Film Industry – Hungry Beast
Hack: The Australian Film Industry