Anna's JOUR1111 Blog: LECTURE #8

Lesson 8 – Public Media = It’s all about ‘the people’!

“the difference between commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting is the difference between consumers and citizns…” - Nigel Milan (former Managing Director of SBS)

Defined, public media is media whose mission it is to serve or engage a public though mediums such as the television, print, radio, as well as new distribution mechanisms like the internet, podcasting and blogging. It may be for profit as long as the ultimate purpose of serving the public remains.

Public Media must have “Public Value” which (according to the BBC) is:

· Embedding a ‘public service ethos’

· Value for licence fee money

· ‘Weighting public value against market impact’

· Public consultation

So Who Are The Major Players?

…in Australia?

ABC, SBS, SBS radio, TRIPLE J, ABC CLASSIC FILM, ABC 2, ABC 3

…Internationally?

BBC, DR,CBC,NHK, RTHK, 4, PBS, TVNZ, ARTE, NPR

Only 8 cents a day – what a bargain!

Thank goodness for the ABC…

Founded in 1929, the ABC is Australia’s primary media outlet (attracting 41% of news seekers) – proof that Aussies are still engaging with public media (THANKFULLY!). Personally, the ABC is my favourite TV station and I am always accessing their online programs through ABC iView.

SBS (created as a ‘multicultural’ news and entertainment outlet) is also one of my choice stations for international news with their German news program being a great way to brush up on some (much needed!) comprehension. It’s also great to be able to see what’s going on in the world from a different country’s perspective.

Internationally it is the BBC that has been labelled the ‘granddaddy’ of all the public media outlets throughout the world.

Locally we are more likely to come into contact with community media – such as popular local outlet Brisbane 4zzz which actually started at UQ.

Public media is in support of public and democratic processes and cannot be bought like commercial media can be.

Robert Richter – “(Public media) is such a special vehicle for voices to be heard...[for] visions and viewpoints...ignored by commercial media."

The challenge that faces public media can be the risk of appearing ‘boring’ and/or ‘long winded’ to some viewers. In order to combat this however most public media today is moving with technology, encouraging a two-way experience by many programs engaging with immediate public consultation. For example, ABC’s ‘Q and A’ has an average tweet stream of over 60, 000 tweets an hour! The ABC and SBS are not ‘owned’ by the government, they are held in ‘common’ by the people, and are both critiqued by and created for ‘the people’.

IN CONCLUSION, if the past two weeks have taught us anything it’s that the ying and yang provided by commercial and public media are both equally important in a democratic society. Public and commercial media each provide different elements to our news and entertainment consumption, both with their respective pros and cons.

JUST FOR FUN – I’ve included a few clips from a couple of my favourite Public Media programs on the ABC – ENJOY!

Hungry Beast: