SaveOurSBS.org

Some staff working in the SBS news & current affairs department are about to be made redundant.

SBS World News Australia has fallen victim to the ill effects of the chronic under funding that has plagued the broadcaster for more than a decade. Already operating with strained resources, the news department can take the strain no more.

In an email sent last week by the SBS Director of News & Current Affairs, staff were told the redundancies “will not be a hands-up exercise”. However the email went on to say that an effort would be made to give preferences to staff

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3D television was first broadcast in Australia by the SEVEN NETWORK on 29 October 1983. Eager viewers watched that evening with their red and blue-green cellophane 3D glasses. They cost a dollar. A two tone colour 3D feature was shown and some 3D shorts. The publicity leading up to the broadcast was big. The 3D worked. Sort of. But the technology was

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The income to SBS from air time sales has taken a blow. SBS has suffered a double whammy according to SBS Managing Director, Shaun Brown.

In his opening presentation to last week’s Senate Estimates hearing, Brown told the Senate Committee that SBS needed to find a way to offset the hits to the broadcaster’s commercial revenue that have occurred.

Brown said that the hits to SBS’s advertising revenue had come about: “firstly as a consequence of the global financial crisis and secondly because of the explosion of multichannels from commercial broadcasters

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This week SBS began announcements of a restructure of its subtitling and closed caption department.

SaveOurSBS.org understands that the restructure has come about because many people who were originally employed to subtitle foreign language programs have found their duties were later extended to create closed captions. Closed captions are the teletext subtitles for the hard-of-hearing on English language programs – not the superimposed subtitles used on foreign language programs.

In a statement to SaveOurSBS.org, SBS management said: “At present we have an over supply of capacity in some languages relative to need. As a result many staff are spending considerable amounts

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The purpose of the SBS, the reason it exists, is to be found in the Charter at section 6 of the Special Broadcasting Service Act 1991.

The Charter is very clear: “The principle function of the SBS is to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services . . .”

Section 45 of the Act states that SBS may broadcast advertisements “before programs commence, after programs end or during natural program breaks” but no definition is given of a “natural program break” or when that might occur. The Click here to read the full story . . .

Save Our SBS has welcomed the appointment of Joseph Skrzynski A.O. as the new Chair of the SBS. He replaces Ms Carla Zampatti A.C. whose five year term expires in mid December.

Commenting on the appointment Save Our SBS spokesperson Darce Cassidy said:

“Mr Skrzynski is well qualified to lead Australia’s multicultural broadcaster. He arrived in Australia as a refugee from Poland after the Second World War. He has held Board positions with the Australian, Film Television and Radio School and the Australian Film Commission and is a former Chairman of the Sydney Opera House Trust. He has been recognised

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Yesterday the Greens spokesperson for Communications, Senator Scott Ludlam, introduced a Bill that would ban SBS-TV from interrupting programs for commercial breaks. The Bill, would allow SBS-TV to run advertisements between programs only.

In a media statement Senator Ludlam said: “The Bill will not prevent SBS from generating advertising revenue, nor from running advertisements and station promotions between programs”. He added the “character [of SBS] is under threat from the shortfall in public funding”. Previously the Greens had called for more funding for the broadcaster.

The Bill, the Click here to read the full story . . .

For a quick overview click to read:
No ad breaks on SBS part 1: When is a policy not a policy?

In the May 2009 Senate Estimates the Greens spokesperson for Communications, Senator Ludlam questioned Minister Conroy about Labor’s pre-election policies in regard to SBS interrupting programs for commercial breaks. Part of the proceedings are cited below:-

Senator LUDLAM- You might require a

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Has the Minister for Communications, Senator Conroy denied the Labor Party’s opposition to the interruption of SBS-TV programs for advertisements?

Responding to Senator Scott Ludlum (Greens) in a recent Senate Committee hearing, Senator Conroy suggested that statements he made before the 2007 election, which had severely criticized SBS management for interrupting programs for commercial breaks, “Labor has opposed and continues to oppose the decision by SBS to introduce in-program advertising” were not official Labor policy, but simply his “opinion”.  According to the Click here to read the full story . . .

On 25 May 2009 at Senate Estimates, the Greens spokesperson for Communications, Senator Scott Ludlam questioned the Managing Director of SBS, Mr Shaun Brown as to how the broadcaster could justify forcing breaks into programs that were never intended to be interrupted. BBC programs and cinema release movies were the examples cited.

Brown took exception to the expression that SBS had forced breaks into these or any programs. However he did admit that SBS interrupted programs that were never produced for commercial breaks. Brown insisted that SBS only had natural breaks which is

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Last month, the Managing Director of SBS, Shaun Brown publicly admitted that SBS did not ask for any funding to “wind back the amount of advertising”. Brown was being questioned in Senate Estimates (25 May 2009).

Senator Scott Ludlam, the W.A. Greens spokesperson for Communications had been questioning Brown about the SBS advertising policies and operations.

Surprisingly Brown also told Senate Estimates that SBS had not sought “revenue to offset the commercial revenue” when SBS recently made its submission to government for funding for the next three years. Brown also said he was aware of the

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The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, is consulting the public on the future of Australia’s national broadcasters, the SBS & ABC. Comments from the public are welcome.

This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity to make your thoughts about SBS known directly to the Minister via the Departments online submission form.

We will make a submission and we strongly encourage you to make one too before 12 December 2008 at the Department’s online form. See URL under the box of our suggested questions below.

You may use any

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The Minister responsible for SBS, Senator Stephen Conroy wrote to Save Our SBS on 26 August 2008 in response to the petition that we gave to his staff on 8 April 2008. Senator Conroy apologised for his late reply and wrote. 
 

SBS is one of Australia’s most important public institutions.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of its role as a national public broadcaster, catering for diverse interests in the Australian community and reflecting Australia’s culturally diverse society. Issues of funding and independence are crucial to a vibrant and

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In 2007 SBS-TV forced almost 6000 commercial breaks into some 2000 program broadcasts that were never intended to have commercial breaks. Programs made for non-commercial networks, such as the BBC, were interrupted for ads when screened on SBS-TV. In the public interest, Save Our SBS is publishing the times to air and title of every program where SBS-TV forced an interruption for an ad break, when one was never intended by the program as originally supplied to SBS. Save Our SBS is of the opinion that such breaks were hardly natural.

A log of the full list of programs that

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A few days ago SBS-TV re-branded itself. Their logo changed. SBS will continue to emphasise its commercial approach but with a new look.

This is the second time SBS has re-branded in a little over 12 months. Just over a year ago SBS World News Australia changed the set and adopted a more tabloid and commercial style of news presentation. Long time news presenter Mary Kostakidis ended up departing the broadcaster.

The idea of a multicultural, non commercial public broadcaster is now but a memory of the past. Will there be nothing special remaining?

The re-branding this time is more than just

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The No Ads on SBS petition closed today. It is expected to be presented to the Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy in early April.

The petition (full title: NO ADVERTISEMENTS OR SPONSORSHIP ON SBS) attracted more than 7000 signatures which was much more than the target of 5000.

Many people felt outraged when the world’s first multicultural broadcaster began interrupting programs for advertisements in late 2006. Prior to that ads were only shown between programs, not in them. SBS-TV does not hold a commercial broadcast license. It is a public broadcaster funded from

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Today the leader of the Australian Democrats, Senator Lyn Allison, will introduce her private members bill into the Senate that would prohibit SBS from interrupting television programs for advertisements. The bill, the “Special Broadcasting Service (Prohibition of Disruptive Advertising) Amendment Bill 2008“, allows SBS to carry limited advertising between programs only. SBS began interrupting programs for advertisements in late 2006. Prior to that, advertisements were screened between programs only.

The Object of the bill states:

“The object of this Act is to prohibit the interruption

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Today the leader of the Australian Democrats, Senator Lyn Allison, announced that tomorrow she will introduce a private members bill that would prohibit SBS from interrupting television programs for advertisements. If her bill became law, SBS-TV would be allowed to carry limited advertising between programs only.

It is understood that the intention of her private members bill is to prohibit the interruption of programming on SBS television by restricting advertising to the period between the completion of one program and the commencement of another program.

Prior to the November 2007 federal elections, the ALP stated that, consistent with their SBS policy

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Both in Canada and Australia anger is mounting against what many see as the destruction of public broadcasting.

In Australia more than 7,000 people have signed a petition at www.SaveOurSBS.org calling for a ban on interrupting programs with advertisements. In Canada a Senate inquiry has recommended a ban on advertising on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and a significant increase in the national broadcaster’s budget.

Senator Lyn Allison has indicated

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Despite the election of a new government and the long time stated objection of the ALP to SBS interrupting programs for advertisements, the Managing Director of SBS, Shaun Brown was quick today to call for SBS to continue down the commercial path.

Brown wants SBS to continue to operate as a commercial network.

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