WEEK 7 - "Public Media"

In this week’s lecture Dr BR introduced us to public media; the opposite of commercial media. This lecture was interesting to me as it quickly became apparent that there was a lot more to the distinction between these two than I had previously realised. I knew that one had ads and the other was government funded, but as you’re about to find out, it goes a lot deeper than that. 

As we already know (that is, those of you who are following my blog), commercial media is hat which is profit driven and privately funded. As such, its success or failure rests on its business success. On the other hand, public media doesn’t follow this business model.

As Nigel Milan, the form Managing Director of SBS wisely stated, “The difference between commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting is the difference between consumers and citizens.” Generally speaking, public media is described as media that is committed to serving or engaging with the public. Usually government or publically funded, this media uses public platforms that include radio and television networks along with ‘newer’ mechanisms such as the Internet, podcasting and blogging.

Here are some public media outlets:

• ABC, ABC2 and ABC3
• ABC News 24
• ABC Local Radio, Radio National and Classic FM (my personal favourite)
• Triple J
• SBS, SBSONE and SBSTWO
• SBS Radio

 Public media should have public value. According the BBC this means:

• Embedding a ‘public service ethos’
• Value for licence fee money
• Weighing public value against market impact
• Public consultation.

Public media functions include:

• Nation building
• National heritage
• National identity
• National Conversations.

Similarly, public media must:

• Produce quality
• Make itself relevant
• Engage with the democratic process
• Inform the public
• And be independent.

In 1985, the Broadcasting Research Unit suggest that public media should involve:

1. Geographic universality.
2. University of appeal.
3. Special provision for minorities.
4. A special relationship to the sense of national identity and community
5. Distanced from all vested interests
6. Universality of payment
7. Competition in good programming rather than competition for numbers
8. The liberation rather than restriction of broadcasters.

So really, it’s a big job to be the public media. There are a lot of citizens to please, goals to achieve, governments to keep happy and roles to fulfil. Interestingly, 41 percent of Australians receive their news through the ABC, 12.6 millions Australians watch ABC television each week and the ABC is the only source of length interviews with politicians and nations leaders in the media other than talkback. 

 

Public media faces a number of challenges just as any other media outlet. ABC journalists have always been briefed about the taboo of bias and of course there is always the matter of funding. Although public media appear to be ‘owned’ by the government, they are not. Actually there is a tension held between these two competing forces as public media has to play the watchdog of the government while being allocated funds and at the same time, bite the hand that feeds it.

I think public media is doing a pretty good job of this, but of course there are some people that complain of how boring, elitist, poorly presented and out of touch public media is. I’m assuming these are the types of people that are pining to bring Big Brother back to television...

If you’re one of these people, please turn your television on to the next episode of Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, The Straits or Q&A. You don’t know what you’re missing and you may surprise yourself!!