Media Control By Government

Australian ABC Media Network logo. Image courtesy ABC.

It’s a pretty emotive title I guess, but when you really think about, maybe it’s not so emotive at all.

This story made news here in Australia today.

On the surface, it just looks like another of those mega rich bleeding heart media moguls bleating about how tough things are for his media enterprise. However, sit back and think about it for a minute, and everything he says is absolutely correct.

What the younger Mr Murdoch of the huge News Corporation is complaining about is how the largest media corporation in the UK, the BBC, which is funded by the Government, seems to be immune from the same regulations that the Government imposes on all other media outlets, and while most private media enterprises are losing money in this current economic climate, the BBC has its funding guaranteed absolutely, and in fact has its funding increased by the Government

Admittedly, this story comes out of the UK, and it is specifically directed towards the enormous and all encompassing BBC, which is the National Media Network for News, TV, Radio, and Online News.

It may not really apply in the U.S. where, because of your great size, population, and diversity, you have many large networks that cover all those areas, so the need for a National Broadcaster may not seem particularly relevant, and if there was one, then those huge existing networks would literally swamp it completely.

However what I do want to do here, and with reference to this particular story is to point out the situation that exists here in Australia.

Here in Australia, we do have a very strong National Broadcaster, and because it has been around for so long, they have the distinct advantage of establishment.

Our National Broadcaster is called the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the ABC.

Now, don’t confuse it with the American network also called the ABC, because the one here in Australia has absolutely no link to the ABC in the U.S. In point of actual fact, the Australian ABC has been in existence longer then the U.S. ABC network, which started in 1943.

The Australian ABC was founded, as the National Broadcaster, on July 1st 1932, so ours is 11 years older than the US ABC. This link will take you to a wonderful resource detailing some of the early history of the ABC. The small coloured rectangles under the image there cover each of the decades, and if you click on one of those colours, inside each will be small squares indicating history time lines. ABC started with radio in 1932 was at the dawn of TV in Australia, in fact the first broadcaster, starting with the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956, and initiated the Online Broadband news service in 2001.

The ABC is available at every place you are in Australia. No matter where you are in this huge Country, you can hear ABC radio, both AM and FM. If you turn a TV on anywhere in Australia, you will pick up ABC TV. Radio broadcasting has literally thousands of studios broadcasting into local areas, and also the National broadcast. TV has some things that are centred upon local areas, but in the main, all programming other than the News is the same no matter where you are.

Their Online News has the hugest coverage and also the largest reader numbers, and this is the link to their Online News Facility. At the top of that link are links back to the other areas of the ABC.

All of this is funded by the Government from the people’s taxes. There is no advertising whatsoever on the ABC, other than for other ABC ventures. Each year the Government allocates funding for all areas of the ABC in the Budget.

You might think of this a wonderful and altruistic thing, and in the main, the ABC is a tremendous asset here in Australia, because of its ubiquitous coverage. The ABC is even affectionately referred to as ‘Auntie’, because, as it is absolutely everywhere, then it’s like everybody’s favourite Aunt.

However, there can be some problems associated with that, and as such, the above story, even though said in reference to the BBC also applies here in Australia when referenced to the ABC.

Being the National Broadcaster, there is a strong emphasis on News and also Current Affairs, and in fact, the ABC is at the cutting edge of both News and Current Affairs here in Australia. Their radio and TV coverage in both those areas is without doubt the best ‘go to’ if you want the best of both those sectors.

Radio Current Affairs has three programs, AM, The Midday Report, and PM. TV Current Affairs has two programs, The 7.30 Report immediately following the half hour evening news bulletin and Lateline, which comes on late into the evening.

Both of those TV programs would like to think of themselves as being unbiased, and again, it could be said that any bias is in the eye of the viewer. However, having said that, both programs lean decidedly to the left when it comes to politics. Both main commentators would fiercely defend their even handedness when it comes to political comment, but it is patently obvious which side of politics they follow, and in fact one of those commentators was at one time early in his career the press secretary to a former Labor Prime Minister.

On that political front, I have mentioned it many times before, but for any new readers, there needs to be some explanation as to the names of the political parties and the politics they observe.

Here in Australia, there are two main parties, Labor and Liberal. Labor is the party of the left and closely observe similar policies to the U.S. Democrats. The Liberal Party is Conservative and they closely observe the same ideals as the Republicans in the U.S. so where you see the word ‘Liberal’, be fully aware that in Australia, it is the exact opposite to what that word entails in the U.S. Currently the Government in Australia is from the Labor side of politics, and the Prime Minister, from that Labor Party is Kevin Rudd.

Back to the ABC and their Current Affairs broadcasting. As much as the two programs would defend any allegations of political bias, it is nevertheless plainly obvious. Their idea of even time for both sides means time given to praise the Labor Party and equal time given to running down the Liberal Party, and that applies to interviewing techniques that both commentators use. Sometimes, ‘hard’ questions are actually asked of Labor politicians, but they are never as ‘hard’ as questions asked for the other side. Often, leading questions are asked of Labor politicians, allowing them room to stay ‘on message’. The politician being interviewed is often allowed to stray into matters not even related to the question, to actively denigrate the other side, or not even address the question at all. They are, in the main, allowed to speak without interruption. However, when any politician from the Liberal side is being interviewed, the attitude seems to be more antagonistic, they are often interrupted, spoken over, not allowed to move into other areas, and when they stray from the topic, the question is repeated. They are often ambushed about other matters not even related to the subject, and any ‘leading’ questions are worded so that any answer might gain political capital, as being a ‘gaffe’. As it is the only outlet for politicians to get any message across, they have to put up with it.

Both announcers have their set opinions, and any interviews from the non political sector are carefully arranged to agree with those announcers opinions. Climate Change is a point in question. The vast bulk of people talking in this area are from one side only, and if on the rare occasion someone who does not agree with that debate, they are treated almost in a sneering manner.  Both announcers would fiercely deny these things, but I have spoken with people who have no outright political leanings and they even notice the way the commentators lean, and even some of my friends from the left even think the same as well, only they tend to see nothing wrong with that.

Which leads us back to the comment from the media mogul above, and after thought, you realise just how close to the mark he might be when it does come to National Broadcasters per se.

The Labor Governments here in Australia have always been very free with money. After all, it’s not theirs. To that end, whenever they are in Government, they always increase the Budget to the ABC. That being the case, it could be said that any commentators, and on any subject, could have the perception that they might not wish to comment badly about the Party that has control over its funding. So, and perhaps it’s even done subconsciously, there is always that niggling doubt to be, and also to be seen as ‘not biting the hand that feeds you’.

Prior to coming to this blog site which I now use as my place to comment, I would comment at those fora that the Online ABC would open up for public comment. The prevailing comments, and by a considerably large percentage, are in the main those that support the Labor side of politics. There are those who do comment to the opposite, but they usually draw adverse comment from others who come in and add their piece. I soon found that even though some of the comments I was making in a manner I thought of as innocuous, they were not well received by other commenters.

Luckily, I have this outlet where I can write, and do so at length, on subjects I have researched that lead to me to my beliefs.

A National Broadcaster such as Australia’s ABC is something that is a wonderful thing, but it can also be perceived as something that might also be open to control from a Government that provides it with its funding.

Having said that, there is no possible way I could do without the ABC, and that would be the prevailing opinion of nearly every Australian.

Tagged: ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), Australian ABC, Australian ABC News, Australian Labor Party, The Liberal Party of Australia

Posted in: Australia, Media, MSM (Main Stream Media) Leftist-Socialist, Muddled Media, News and Views, Politics, Public Opinion