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End COVID For All

COVID-19 could push over 70 million people around the world into extreme poverty – and we all need to play our part!

In Australia, SBS has been informing communities on SBS Radio and in 63 languages in print at the SBS coronavirus portal. This is an amazing service.

But now Save Our SBS is asking you look further afield and pledge support to End COVID For All.

Many of our neighbours around the world are ill-equipped to deal with a pandemic.

So it’s

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Poll: overwhelming support for fully-funded multicultural, multiethnic, and Indigenous programs for children on SBS but with advertising restrictions

An overwhelming majority of SBS viewers want the broadcaster to present programs for children provided those programs are fully-funded, without advertising or reliance on advertising.

A total of 3,981 viewers were polled in two separate polls – one on Facebook, the other on Save Our SBS – in which participants were asked separate questions about multicultural, multiethnic, and Indigenous programs for children.

The questions and findings of the Two question poll on SaveOurSBS.org were:-

SBS is not currently required to carry programs for

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New SBS Chair: familiar face

A new Chair has been appointed to SBS: Mr George Savvides AM.

He is appointed for a period of five years, effective from today.

Save Our SBS President, Steve Aujard said, “We have previously met George as he was the Deputy Chair of SBS for three years.”

SBS Managing Director, James Taylor; said: “On behalf of the Board and SBS, I’d like to congratulate George on his appointment.

“Since being appointed as Deputy Chair in 2017, and most recently as Acting Chair, he has played a key role in ensuring SBS is a contemporary media organisation

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SBS multilingual coronavirus portal

SBS have launched a multilingual coronavirus portal.

The content is produced by SBS Radio and SBS News.

Save Our SBS President, Steve Aujard said, “SBS is the only Australian media outlet with information about COVID-19 in more than 60 languages. In this coronavirus era, many people whose first language is not English need SBS.

“The portal site provides a single place where anyone who speaks a language other than English can get the latest updates about the virus. An information sheet available in multiple languages explains how

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The economic reason to remove in-program advertising on SBS

Apart from ease of viewing, there are many reasons to shift advertising away from programs on SBS but until now, the economic benefits have not been explored.

SBS aims to inspire “inclusivity and social cohesion.” That’s what drives the broadcaster and this aim is articulated in its Corporate Plans, underpinned by its Charter.

Despite SBS’s aims, The Scanlon-Monash Index of Social Cohesion 2007‑2018 shows that social cohesion has been falling in Australia since 2007. The Index parallels the period

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How does learning a language make a world of difference to you?

As part of its Charter educational obligations, SBS Radio is focusing on school age children, adolescents and others.

SBS Radio encourages all Australians to celebrate language learning with the 2019 SBS National Languages Competition and ask, how does learning a language make a world of difference to you?

Following the success of the 2018 competition, SBS’s National Languages Competition is back.

The SBS National Languages Competition celebrates the love of language learning and language retention and is open to every language learner of all ages across Australia.

On the Click here to read the full story . . .

SBS World Movies channel a natural fit for SBS

SBS World Movies is virtually upon us.

At least half the content will be in languages other than English. The World Movies channel will broadcast over 700 films each year. It truly will be a world of difference from that dished up by other channels.

The new free-to-air channel commences on 1 July.

So what’s on?

Loving Pablo (Spain), Rafiki (Kenya), Studio Ghibli (Japan) and Just A Breath Away (France) are among the titles to headline the first month.

The 24 hour channel will be a celebration of the very best of world

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New minister for SBS

The Hon Paul Fletcher MP is now Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts. He is the Member for Bradfield in Sydney.

Fletcher is no newbie to communications having advised in policy development under former Senator, The Hon Richard Alston, then communications minister from 1996 to 2003 in the Howard Liberal government.

‘I am deeply honoured to be appointed as Minister for Communications, Cybersafety and the Arts’, said Fletcher, in a media release. In discussing communications, Fletcher made an important reference to the ‘social contribution’

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Know what you’re voting for!

Do you know what each Party has promised for SBS if elected?

Save Our SBS looks at the election policies of four Parties.

The Greens will provide $130m over three years to remove in-program advertising on SBS[1] and Labor will not increase advertising ensuring SBS remains a properly publicly funded broadcaster[2].

Labor will invest $40m for people who work in Australian media and an extra $20m for SBS[3].

The Greens and Labor have promised to increase funding for SBS.

The Liberals and Nationals don’t have an election policy for SBS[4][5]. But we know their past record.

The night

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SBS World Movies channel

SBS is launching an international movie channel.

The new channel – SBS World Movies – will be on air from 1 July.

At least half the content will be in languages other than English (LOTE) and that may increase over time.

The channel will broadcast in HD.

Save Our SBS President, Steve Aujard, said, “The World Movies channel comes about after the SBS Board of Directors considered a submission from Save Our SBS proposing a languages other than English TV channel. Our submission was discussed at the Board’s April meeting.

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Farewell Darce Cassidy

The first Secretary of Save Our SBS, Darce Cassidy (pictured), died this week.

‘Darce’ as he was affectionately known, was instrumental in transforming Save Our SBS from an unincorporated club to an incorporated association; this enabled Save Our SBS to operate as a legal entity.

Darce first became known to Save Our SBS in August 2007, when he wrote a lengthy comment about the impact of advertising on SBS. Six months later and having made personal contact, Darce took up the honorary position of Secretary of the Association. He was the public

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New TV channel proposed with more foreign language content and commercially less intrusive than current SBS channels

The Directors on the SBS Board have been asked to consider a new, different type of TV channel.

The new channel – proposed in a submission by Save Our SBS to the SBS Board – is for a free-to-air television channel scheduling programs predominately in languages other than English – LOTE TV – with programs subtitled in English.

The submission, which was driven by community views and published evidence from reputable sources including separate studies of four different cohorts totalling 6,202 viewers from every metropolitan and rural region nationwide, also called for

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Budget for SBS not brilliant

SBS has not fared well in this year’s Budget.

Over the next three years, SBS will receive an average of $295 million per year which includes almost $29.6 million over the period to "guarantee the ongoing quality of its television, radio and online services", according to a statement issued by the Communications Minister, Senator Mitch Fifield .

This is a far cry from the boost in funding that SBS sought to commission more Australian content. Only two percent of SBS’s schedule comprises Australian drama. SBS

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SBS & friends say ‘fully-fund Australian content on SBS’ senate committee told

This year, the Senate’s communications committee has been inquiring into the economic and cultural value of Australian content on our media services.

Written submissions to the committee from SBS and Save Our SBS put the case for set quotas of Australian content saying it ought to be fully-funded. Save Our SBS argued that if content were fully-funded, there would be no point in SBS carrying advertisements. To stay faithful to its Charter, Save Our SBS said that SBS needs to present more programs in languages other than English, and that could be done

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SBS appoints new MD

James Taylor is the new Managing Director of SBS.

Mr Taylor (pictured) has been working at SBS for the past six years as its Chief Financial Officer and filled the position of Acting Managing Director after the unexpected departure of former MD Michael Ebeid.

"We have already met James and look forward to working with him in the future" said Save Our SBS president, Steve Aujard.

Save Our SBS welcomes Mr Taylor to his new role.

SBS chairman Dr Bulent Hass Dellal AO said Mr Taylor "sets a very high benchmark as a widely respected leader".

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