The closest we had to a family tradition when I was growing up was watching the ABC news at 7 o’clock. Mum or Dad would always make sure dinner wasn’t ready until 7:25 at the earliest; they didn’t pay that much attention to the weather.
I still remember as a five year old hearing the news that Paul Keating had defeated Bob Hawke in a leadership spill. I didn’t have a clue what that meant. I just knew I was upset. With the help of my mum I sent a letter to Mr Hawke offering my best wishes. A few weeks later I got a letter in the post from one Mr. R. Hawke.
Public Media is the lifeblood of a nation’s news. It helps to shape the national identity. It preserves the national heritage. It encourages and facilitates national debate and conversations. Watch a politician on a commercial outlet and nothing is said. It’s just empty rhetoric. Watch 7:30 or Lateline and there is an actual debate.
The ABC and SBS are the lifeblood of Public Media in Australia. They produce documentaries, news, current affairs shows, dramas etc. ABC has radio outlets and a 24/7 news channel. The goals of Public Media are to prevent unbiased, balanced programming. There should be no vested interest. Programmes should be available to the whole population and cater for all tastes, interests, minority and disadvantaged groups.
But is there bias? 41% of Australians get their news from the ABC, and while over 85% of Australians don’t believe there is any bias, Peter Costello and some other conservative MP’s and commentators disagree. I have been watching the ABC for twenty years and while as a child I wouldn’t have realised any bias, I believe I am now informed enough to make an opinion and I don’t think there is. I daresay Costello’s view that there is a bias is actually proof of the viability of the ABC. A strict guideline of Public Media is not to be a tool of propaganda for the government. Considering Costello served in the Government for over ten years, perhaps he should have realised that a long time ago.
In 1994 Paul Keating introduced the Creative Nation: Commonwealth Cultural Policy which was a significant boost for SBS, particularly the creation of SBS Independent as a production. A quick browse of the SBS guide for Friday the 20th reveals five straight hours of news in the following order: Spanish, Greek, French, Hindi, Arabic, Russian, Turkish, Korean, Japanese and Hong Kong. Then later on in the afternoon there is half an hour of Al-Jazeera News and an hour of PBS. Over six hours of news from around the world, that's very impressive.
In 1994 Paul Keating introduced the Creative Nation: Commonwealth Cultural Policy which was a significant boost for SBS, particularly the creation of SBS Independent as a production. A quick browse of the SBS guide for Friday the 20th reveals five straight hours of news in the following order: Spanish, Greek, French, Hindi, Arabic, Russian, Turkish, Korean, Japanese and Hong Kong. Then later on in the afternoon there is half an hour of Al-Jazeera News and an hour of PBS. Over six hours of news from around the world, that's very impressive.
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