You can call it a “tight budgetary situation”, or you can call it a crisis. Either way, the rumble is that SBS is in real trouble.
Public broadcasting
The last commons: the escalating war on public broadcasting
In a world now perilously short of publicly minded media, what’s needed more than ever is a rigorously independent public broadcaster, writes The Failed Estate blogger Mr Denmore.
Foxtel boss: ABC wasting money? Must be Thursday
Yes, your ABC is pissing money down the drain by creating a 24-hour news channel. But what’s new? says Foxtel chief Kim Williams: Auntie has been squandering taxpayers’ money for decades.
The ABC of independent news
The ABC’s recently announced 24/7 news channel is bad news for SKY, but good news for Australia: we can only rely on non-commercial media to provide genuinely independent news coverage.
A taxpayer-funded declaration of war
The Australian has come out swinging in defence of Murdoch’s Sky News and its battle with the recently announced 24-hour ABC news network, but it’s pushing a fairly weak line, says Jeremy Sear.
ABC v Sky News smackdown: it’s on!
The ABC’s announcement of a 24/7 news channel today just ramped up the battle between public broadcasters and commercial services. Let’s get it on, c’mon!
A behind-the-scenes look at NPR‘s Haiti coverage
A peak behind-the-curtains at how US public radio broadcaster (turned super-savvy online news source) NPR swings into action when a major world event like the Haiti earthquake occurs. A fascinating insight at the inner-workings of a modern newsroom.
Do taxpayers really need to pay for the ABC any more?
Mark Latham has written a piece in today’s AFR arguing that it’s time to privatise the ABC. Perhaps it’s time we let Australians vote on whether they want to keep subsidising Auntie, suggests Sinclair Davidson.
PODCAST: What’s next for the ABC?
An interview with the ABC’s director of news, Kate Torney, on the brave new future of our national broadcaster as it steps up its presence in the online world.
Scott: ABC is right to engage with our region
The ABC has been in the business of “soft diplomacy” for 70 years without becoming a state broadcasting or government propaganda arm, argues ABC managing director Mark Scott.
Future of the ABC: less broadcaster, more webmaster
The shift in the ABC’s Arts programming from TV and radio to the web heralds a much larger metamorphosis for the broadcaster, in which the web is its primary form and other mediums just exist to feed it content, writes Karl Quinn.
ABC chief bites back at Murdoch
ABC director Mark Scott has hit out at James Murdoch over his attack on the BBC, accusing him of wanting to “destroy the BBC as we know it” which would be a “tragedy”.
The BBC’s big spend
The BBC has published five years’ worth of expense claims made by its executive board members, totalling £363,963.83 and including a £100 bottle of champagne and a £500 handbag.
Shaun Brown: Get set for SBS Mark 2
The multicultural broadcaster has its hand out for more funds, says Managing Director Shaun Brown, and that could mean more channels like SBS2.
So who’s really behind Freeview?
So who really controls Freeview, and how quickly has it been thrown together, and why? asks Margaret Simons.
The ABC: outsourcings “R” us
How far can your ABC go in enterprise dabbling before it ceases to be a public broadcaster, asks Margaret Simons?
What does the ABC’s Charter actually mean?
The charters of our public broadcasters are broadly worded, binding them to almost nothing, writes Margaret Simons.
ABC take note: French TV juggles public and private
Australian public broadcasting could learn a thing from France — ads on the nation’s public channels are to disappear from next year after 8pm, and altogether by the end of 2011, writes Charles Richardson.
ABC and SBS look to the future (and hope it’s cashed-up)
This week Crikey begins a series of articles on whether the public broadcasters are fulfilling their charters, what they are doing, what they should be doing and how to take things forward, writes Margaret Simons.
Public broadcasting about to get a shake-up
I understand the federal government will shortly announce an inquiry into the role of public broadcasting in modern day Australia. Margaret Simons spills the beans.
Berg on the ABC, Simons on Berg
What role is there for public broadcasting in the new media age of plenty, asks Institute of Public Affairs fellow Chris Berg in The Australian today. It’s a fair question – indeed the most important question facing the ABC, writes Margaret Simons.
