It
“is such a special vehicle for voices to be heard … [for]
visions and viewpoints … ignored by commercial media.”
Robert Richter (independent producer of
PBS, CBS, ABC, NBC, Discovery Channel)
I related to the content of this
lecture to a greater extent than the lecture that regarded commercial media. I associate
this to the fact that I have grown up with public media due to the influence of
my parents. I guess you could say I grew up in the 'Aunty ABC' era and so most
of my childhood I was obsessed with shows such as Playschool, Bananas in Pyjamas,
and other general ABC kids news shows. Nowadays I work in Community Media as an
announcer at my local community radio station 99.7fm (which you can see the
logo for below). In any case, what I found the most appealing about Public
Media is that it is owned by and serves the people and maintains an
independency I approve of.
(This is where I go to work every weekend. Ain't she a beauty?)
There is a misunderstanding that public media mediums, such
as the ABC, are run by the Federal Government, particularly because they hand
them their money. But that money is tax-payer money and is therefore controlled
by the general public. We are the ones who pay, we are the ones who watch and
listen; we are the ones in control.
Of course the ABC is not the only Public Media resource, we also have SBS and access to the UK's BBC and when I was in Japan I watched
plenty of NHK (which is a huge public
media channel there).
To me, Public Media serves a great purpose; supports public
and democratic processes while aiming to hold public value. It aims to reach both
majority and minority groups, which is probably why they are so successful. We
were told that:
·
41% of Australians received their news from the ABC,
and;
·
12.6 million Australians watch ABCTV per week.
I find myself of the similar
opinion that Public Media generally contains less bias and is wonderful
for doing longer, more detailed interviews, which is the only medium to do so
besides talk-back radio.
I do, however, find that the
popular opinions against Public Media do hold some merit. While I appreciate the
serious "News style" that is used, I do find the limited interest and
overall presentation out of touch and slightly boring. Society seems to have
developed a strong value in entertainment. If there were a way to take the best
of Commercial Media and Public Media and merge it, I think we would all be
winners. As it is, I think the ABC and other Public Media domains are on the
right track - if they can produce quality that is relevant, engaging,
intellectual and socially valuable whilst continuing to 'bite the hand that
feeds it' than Public Media will remain a strong force in modern day society.
The only issue I have is the idea that personal opinion in
Public Media should be taboo. Once again I think balance is key. I want to hear
opinions and be able to debate because that is how I best learn - I don't want
to be told what to think, I want to be able to hear both sides of an argument
and make an educated decision. To me this falls under the 'give me a fish and I
will eat for a week, teach me to fish I will eat for a lifetime' scenario.
Telling me the news, what is happening around the nation and globe is one
thing, but providing me the opportunity to hear new stories whilst urging me to
think for myself and I will have lifetime skills.
Also, I would probably never change the
channel...
‘The difference
between commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting is the difference
between consumers and citizens’
– Nigel Milan (former Managing Director of
SBS)
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