[LINK] The ABC: an overview by the Parliamentary Library

[Marghanita da Cruz]

The Parliamentary Library's latest publication
>  Parliament of Australia Departmentof Parliamentary Services
> 
> Contents
> 
> Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 1
> 
> Public broadcasting ....................................................................................................................... 1
> 
> Establishing the Australian national broadcaster ................................................................................ 2
> 
> Charter and national identity ......................................................................................................... 3
> 
> Regulation .......................................................................................................................................... 4
> 
> Codes, classifications and complaints ............................................................................................ 4
> 
> Codes ....................................................................................................................................... 4
> 
> Box 1: one man's satire---another man's distress ...................................................................... 4
> 
> Classifications ........................................................................................................................... 5
> 
> Complaints ............................................................................................................................... 5
> 
> Editorial policies ................................................................................................................................. 5
> 
> Box 2: the ABC and political and election broadcasts ................................................................ 6
> 
> Management ...................................................................................................................................... 7
> 
> ABC Board ..................................................................................................................................... 7
> 
> Advisory Council ............................................................................................................................ 8
> 
> ABC divisions ................................................................................................................................. 8
> 
> Management controversies ......................................................................................................... 10
> 
> Staff-elected director .............................................................................................................. 10
> 
> Political appointments ............................................................................................................ 12
> 
> Services ............................................................................................................................................ 14
> 
> Radio ........................................................................................................................................... 14
> 
> BACKGROUND NOTE 20 April 2011
> 
> The ABC: an overview
> 
> Dr Rhonda Jolly Social Policy Section
> 
> Television .................................................................................................................................... 16
> 
> International ............................................................................................................................... 19
> 
> Online and mobile ....................................................................................................................... 20
> 
> Accusations of unfair competition .......................................................................................... 21
> 
> Box 3: online with Telstra ....................................................................................................... 23
> 
> ABC and bias .................................................................................................................................... 24
> 
> Box 4: Iraq: bias or balance? ................................................................................................... 28
> 
> Funding ............................................................................................................................................ 30
> 
> Commercial activities .................................................................................................................. 30
> 
> Funding dilemmas ....................................................................................................................... 31
> 
> Advertising: a budget solution? ................................................................................................... 35
> 
> Box 5: the SBS experience ....................................................................................................... 37
> 
> ABC revenue sources ........................................................................................................................ 41
> 
> Total revenue .............................................................................................................................. 41
> 
> Additional funding information ............................................................................................... 46
> 
> Transmission services ........................................................................................................ 46
> 
> Capital Use Charge............................................................................................................. 46
> 
> Consolidated Revenue ....................................................................................................... 47
> 
> Orchestral Subsidies .......................................................................................................... 47
> 
> Capital payments and equity injections .............................................................................. 47
> 
> Concluding comments ...................................................................................................................... 48
> 
> Appendix A: an assortment of public broadcasting models ............................................................... 49
> 
> United Kingdom........................................................................................................................... 49
> 
> United States ............................................................................................................................... 51
> 
> Canada ........................................................................................................................................ 53
> 
> New Zealand ............................................................................................................................... 56
> 
> Acknowledgements: The author is grateful for the constructive comments and suggestions made on a previous version of this paper by my colleagues, Dr Nicholas Horne and Dr John Gardiner-Garden.
> 
> The ABC: an overview
> 
> 1
> 
> Introduction
> 
> Public broadcasting
> 
> The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) describes public service broadcasting as:
> 
> ... broadcasting made, financed and controlled by the public, for the public. It is neither commercial nor state-owned, free from political interference and pressure from commercial forces. Through [public service broadcasting ], citizens are informed, educated and also entertained. When guaranteed with pluralism, programming diversity, editorial independence, appropriate funding, accountability and transparency, public service broadcasting can serve as a cornerstone of democracy.1
> 
> This description reflects the intention of the first Director General of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which is seen as the definitive public broadcaster, that the BBC would serve as the 'interrogator of democracy', creating a 'symbolic heartland of national life'.2
> 
> After the BBC was established in the mid 1920s: .....
<http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22library%2Fprspub%2F711230%22>
-- 
Marghanita da Cruz
http://ramin.com.au
Tel: 0414-869202