5: Social inclusion and cultural diversity
- Contents
- Foreword
- Introduction
- 1: The role of national broadcasting
- 2: Harnessing new technologies to deliver services
- 3: Informing and entertaining Australians
- 4: Education, skills and productivity
- 6: Presenting Australia to the world
- 7: Efficient delivery of services
- Appendix A: Submissions Process
- Appendix B: Overview of the ABC and SBS
- Appendix C: The Changing Digital Environment
The national broadcasters support the building of community and cultural awareness in Australia by providing programming that reflects Australia's multicultural society, allowing audiences to participate in their local communities, and making news, entertainment and information accessible to those with disabilities. Universal access to national broadcasting services also ensures that all Australians, regardless of location or economic circumstances, are able to access information and entertainment programming that supports their participation in Australian society (as outlined in section 2).
These functions are broadly consistent with the Australian Government's social inclusion policy agenda. The issue is whether the services of the national broadcasters canor shouldmake a greater contribution to social inclusion in the transition to a multiplatform and multichannel media environment in ways that are consistent with their statutory independence.
Multilingual programming
SBS's Charter requires it 'to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians, and, in doing so, reflect Australia's multicultural society.'13
One challenge for SBS in fulfilling this function is to serve new language groups in the community without reducing programming for established groups; particularly as the use of languages other than English in Australia continues to change. The next scheduled SBS Radio review is due to start shortly and will be based on data from the 2006 Census.
SBS Radio broadcasts programs in 68 languages on two frequencies (AM and FM) in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Wollongong, and on one frequency in other capital cities and regional centres. SBS Radio services are streamed alongside digital television services on SBS's digital television channels.14 There appears to be ongoing demand for increased access to SBS Radio, both in terms of the areas serviced and the languages provided.
The limits on SBS Radio services reflect, in part, the lack of suitable vacant analog radio channels (AM and FM) in many parts of Australia, particularly larger cities and regional centres.
The national broadcasters' digital radio services are due to commence in the state capital cities during 2009.15 SBS has indicated a desire to progressively introduce nine simulcast and unique digital radio services between 2009 and 2012, including specialist channels featuring languages from China, the Indian subcontinent, East Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.16
While digital radio offers potential for the delivery of programming in languages other than English, this technology is being introduced as a supplement to analog radio rather than as a replacement for it.17 The capacity of digital radio to fully replace AM and FM radio and to support the eventual closure of analog radio services is yet to be established.
There are also cost issues relating to the accessibility of digital services. Although prices are falling as the international market grows, digital radio receivers remain significantly more expensive than basic AM and FM sets. Moreover, the broadcast model for service delivery may be neither optimal nor cost effective for the provision of content for very small audiences.
The on-demand characteristics of broadband may, however, offer some advantages in terms of SBS's mandate for delivering content to diverse small communities and language groups.
Individual language programming from SBS Radio is already streamed via SBS Online. With increasing broadband take-up, the online environment may enable additional non-English language programming to be made available via podcasts, vodcasts and other formats.
However, there are access and cost issues that need to be considered. Broadband involves costs for consumers in the form of periodic subscription fees and IT equipment requirements. Broadcasters, too, must pay for bandwidth-intensive content on a per-user basis, marking a major difference from traditional broadcasting.
Trends and changes in migration
The profile of Australia's migration intake in 2020 may be very different than it is today. Skills shortages are likely to remain an issue if the current environment of low unemployment and an economy operating at or near full capacity continues. In this context, it is relevant to consider whether the services of the national broadcasters, and SBS in particular, can support changes in Australia's migration patterns more effectively.
There may be scope to better harness the foreign-language skills and resources of SBS, and also the ABC, to support public broadcasting or migration initiatives.
Such initiatives might, for example, include English-language education programming targeted to particular migrant groups in Australia and delivered as part of a national broadcasting suite of educational content. This could include the adaption of English-language programming provided to international audiences via Australia Network or Radio Australia (see section 6) for a domestic audience in Australia.
Alternatively, SBS could play a role in providing foreign-language subtitling for Australia Network, or in informing target migrant groups in the Asia-Pacific about Australian life and culture through Radio Australia.
Indigenous programming
At the Australia 2020 Summit, the importance of publicly funded broadcasting in the Indigenous arena was raised:
The ABC, SBS and National Indigenous Television (NITV) [should be] the custodians of Australian stories, creativity and Indigenous broadcasting. (Australia 2020 Summit: Final Report)
At present, the ABC and SBS play distinct roles in delivering services and programs for Indigenous audiences. The broadcasters provide a range of Indigenous news, current affairs, documentary, drama and special event programming.
In addition, the content provided by NITV supplements that provided by the national broadcasters in some areas of Australia.
Launched in July 2007, NITV is a dedicated national Indigenous content service. At present, NITV is available as a channel in remote areas via Imparja Television and nationally on subscription television via Foxtel and Austar. There are also 109 Indigenous community radio stations operating across metropolitan, regional and remote Australia.
It is worth considering whether the Indigenous services provided by the national broadcasters and by NITV might be provided in a more effective, efficient and integrated manner, particularly in the transition to a digital environment that makes best use of the available resources.
Access to broadcasting and other electronic media
The national broadcasters, along with the commercial broadcasters, are required by legislation to provide a captioning service for television programs transmitted during prime viewing hours (6.00 p.m. to 10.30 p.m.), and television news or current affairs programs transmitted outside prime viewing hours.18
The Australian Government is investigating access to electronic media for the hearing and vision impaired. It has put out a public discussion paper that identifies existing arrangements such as the availability of captioning and audio descriptions and considers issues for extending these arrangements.19
There may be scope for the national broadcasters to take a lead in delivering services for the hearing and vision impaired, should there be an identified need to expand the current obligations. This would have resource implications.
These matters are being considered in the context of the Australian Government's separate media access review, but additional comments in the context of this review are welcome.
Questions: Social inclusion and cultural diversity
- What opportunities do new digital broadcasting and other platforms provide for the national broadcasters to more effectively deliver programming in languages other than English?
- Are there ways of better harnessing new media and broadcasting technologies to enhance the value of the national broadcasters' services to migrant groups, particularly those that are newly arrived?
- Is there scope for the Indigenous services of the national broadcasters and National Indigenous Television (NITV) to be provided in more effective, efficient and integrated ways that make best use of the available resources?
Footnotes
- SBS Act, s. 6.
- While the digital television platform adds significantly to the reach of these services, listeners need to have a digital television device, and be prepared to turn it on to listen to radio programming. Television also lacks a key characteristic of radio's audience appeal: mobility.
- The Government announced in the 2008-09 Budget its intention to amend the Broadcasting Services Act to extend the legislated timetable for commercial broadcasters to commence digital radio broadcasting from 1 January 2009 to 1 July 2009.
- Special Broadcasting Service, SBS's Plans for the Future, July 2008.
- 'Digital radio will supplement existing analog radio services for a considerable period and may never be a complete replacement': Explanatory Memorandum to the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Radio) Act 2007.
- Broadcasting Services Act, Schedule 4, Clause 38.
- Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Access to electronic media for the hearing and vision impaired: discussion paper, 2008.
