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Save Our SBS, Wednesday, 24 February, 2016
This opinion piece by Save Our SBS President Steve Aujard, was first published on 23 February 2016 in the New Daily, here.
ANALYSIS: A merger of Australia’s two public broadcasters would spell the end of multicultural programming in this country.
While ABC chief Mark Scott is prone to talking up the idea of merging Australia’s two public broadcasters, he has never been able to justify how multicultural broadcasting would be improved under ABC control.
Let’s be realistic about what Scott is proposing. It is not a merger of equals but a takeover of SBS and
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Save Our SBS, Tuesday, 23 February, 2016
A 40-page report released today raises the possibility of niche programs being relegated to internet, apps and catch-up platforms as part of an ABC-SBS merger. Niche programs are central to SBS.
Commenting on the report, Save Our SBS President Steve Aujard said, “This is deeply disturbing. The SBS and NITV free-to-air broadcast channels could cease to exist as we know it.”
The Australia Institute’s report, titled, “I want my ABC (and SBS and NITV)” claims to have examined the risks and potential benefits of a merger.
The report was written by former ABC digital
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Save Our SBS, Thursday, 18 February, 2016
SBS – the Special Broadcasting Service – is the world’s first broadcaster established solely as a multicultural, multiethnic broadcaster. Prior to SBS, other broadcasters including the ABC had aired various foreign language programs (on Sunday mornings) but the Anglo-centric monoculture of the ABC hampered the full potential of multiculturalism in all its glory. The need for SBS to exist in its own right was soon realised.
Established by the Fraser Coalition government, SBS began its own TV transmissions in 1980 broadcasting on channels 0/28. SBS-TV was built on the back of the publicly
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Save Our SBS, Friday, 5 February, 2016
Save Our SBS has called on the federal government to hand back a significant portion of the funding to SBS that was cut from the national broadcasters under the previous prime minister.
In May, the federal government will hand down funding details for SBS over the next three years.
Save Our SBS President, Steve Aujard said, “In our pre-budget submission we outlined a series of options to Treasury that would assist SBS to better fulfil their Charter obligations.
“Basically we examined various options ranging from no commercial activity at one end, to limiting
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Save Our SBS, Friday, 5 February, 2016
This is best printed in colour as it contains colour coded graphs
A submission to the Budget Policy Division, Department of the Treasury
Pre-Budget Submission 2016: The SBS Community View
A submission from the peak body representing supporters & friends of SBS
There is strong evidence that SBS’s ability to comply with its Charter obligations was severely diminished by disrupting programs for commercial breaks, thus making it less efficient in its primary function.
A PDF of this submission is here
Budget Policy Division Department of the Treasury Langton Crescent
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Save Our SBS, Friday, 1 January, 2016
There is excitement in the air at SBS for its 2016 program line up.
SBS goes back to its Charter with multicultural diversity and a boost in local Australian productions at the forefront of its programming. In contrast one could have mistaken 2015 as being monocultural fixated on all things royal and British.
But this year SBS will have 24 new Australian documentaries, including 10 Indigenous productions, two new Australian dramas and five new locally made food shows.
The Family Law is not another series featuring lawyers. It’s a comedy series about a
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Save Our SBS, Tuesday, 15 December, 2015
The Turnbull government gave $4.1m to SBS today. This one-off Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook equates to the revenue SBS forecast it would have raised in the 2015-16 year if the parliament had not rejected the bill to double primetime advertising. SBS funding was effectively cut by the same amount last July.
Communications Minister Senator Mitch Fifield was influential in this partial restoration of funds but the question is – will the full $53.7m of cuts announced under the Abbott government be returned to SBS.
Save Our SBS welcomes the $4.1m one-off grant but
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Save Our SBS, Tuesday, 10 November, 2015
Quentin Dempster recently delivered a talk to the Ryde-Macquarie Teachers’ Association Annual Dinner about the threats facing the ABC, SBS and NITV. Here is an extract of his talk.
"The public broadcasters are in grave danger. These institutions – the ABC with an 83 year legacy; SBS with 36 years, have legislated Charters requiring all program makers to regard their audiences as citizens in a robust democracy … and not consumers to be delivered up to advertisers. Programs should be commissioned on the basis of their creative merit, sometimes with risk. On-air conversations should
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Save Our SBS, Thursday, 22 October, 2015
Foodies across Australia are counting down the days to Tuesday 17 November. That’s when SBS will launch their new TV channel – the Food Network – a 24 hour, seven days a week food channel. It’s an Australian first. The channel will broadcast nationally.
Some of the imported programs will not be in English and SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid said that SBS has a “proud reputation for delivering distinctive food programming that allows Australians to delve into different cultures”. Ebeid said SBS’s locally commissioned cooking programs that are currently shown on SBS ONE, will be
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Save Our SBS, Sunday, 4 October, 2015
When SBS unsuccessfully argued for the parliament to amend the SBS Act to double the hourly advertising limit – a move that Save Our SBS and 62,000 petitioners opposed – SBS forecast the increase would raise an extra $28.5m over four years. The commercial networks Free TV Australia (channels 7, 9 and 10) also opposed the move saying SBS would generate around $148m in the first four years. Back then, the forecasts were based on ad revenue from SBS-ONE, SBS 2, and NITV as SBS did not reveal
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Save Our SBS, Monday, 21 September, 2015
Liberal Senator for Victoria, Senator Mitch Fifield is the new Minister for Communications & the Arts. He replaces former Communications Minister – now Prime Minister – Malcolm Turnbull, and Senator George Brandis who was Arts Minister; communications and arts have been merged into one portfolio.
Before Tony Abbott lost the prime ministership last week in a vote of 54 votes to Turnbull and 44 to Abbott, Senator Fifield was the Assistant Minister for Social Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate.
One of the issues potentially facing Senator Fifield will be how to deal
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Save Our SBS, Sunday, 6 September, 2015
Two years ago Tony Abbott told the nation there would be no cuts to SBS. Abbott made the announcement on SBS World News Australia in a live interview with Anton Enus the night before the election. But since then $53m has been slashed from SBS.
Part of the Prime Minister’s broken promise includes $28.5m in an agreed funding arrangement between SBS and government that that amount would be removed from SBS’s budget with a guarantee that the SBS Act would be amended to increase the five minute hourly advertising limit to
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Save Our SBS, Friday, 26 June, 2015
Joint statement by Save Our SBS President Steve Aujard, and public broadcasting advocate Quentin Dempster.
The budgetary ‘haircut’ now under consideration by the SBS Board and management should come from Foxtel carriage charges and not SBS staff or commissioned Australian content.
Federal Parliament’s decisive rejection of the SBS advertising and product placement Bill last Wednesday was motivated by a widespread concern that SBS would be turned into Australia’s fourth fully commercial TV network while favouring advertisers ahead of Charter obligations and at a time when free-to-air networks seek all the local advertising revenue they can get.
Now
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Save Our SBS, Wednesday, 24 June, 2015
The Parliament has rejected the Bill that would have increased primetime advertising on SBS.
The majority by which the SBS advertising amendment Bill has been rejected in the Senate has rescued SBS from itself.
Save Our SBS thanked the majority Senate view for rejecting the Bill to further commercialise SBS and in holding the line for SBS’ raison d’être: a multilingual and multicultural public broadcaster committed to serve audiences, particularly from non-English speaking backgrounds, as citizens in a robust democracy and not as ‘ethnic’ consumers to be delivered up to advertisers.
Save Our SBS President, Steve Aujard said,
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Save Our SBS, Tuesday, 2 June, 2015
Today, Independent Senator Nick Xenophon received from Margaret Pomeranz (left) & Quentin Dempster (right) the Save Our SBS petition of 62,000 SBS viewers who do not want the law changed to double primetime advertising. The Bill, which allows product placement in SBS programs, would result in 14 minutes of commercial breaks per hour 6pm to midnight and in sport.
Last Tuesday in the House of Representatives Minister Turnbull defended his Bill saying it was a recommendation of the efficiency study that advertising flexibility be given to SBS. However Shadow Minister Jason Clare said
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Parents and teachers to join the fight to protect and enhance the ABC and SBS
Quentin Dempster recently delivered a talk to the Ryde-Macquarie Teachers’ Association Annual Dinner about the threats facing the ABC, SBS and NITV. Here is an extract of his talk.
"The public broadcasters are in grave danger. These institutions – the ABC with an 83 year legacy; SBS with 36 years, have legislated Charters requiring all program makers to regard their audiences as citizens in a robust democracy … and not consumers to be delivered up to advertisers. Programs should be commissioned on the basis of their creative merit, sometimes with risk. On-air conversations should
Click here to read the full story . . .