Structure of television in Australia

Television in Australia is currently structured around five networks. They include the ABC, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), Seven, Nine and Ten. Of these, only the ABC and SBS are publicly owned (controlled by the government) whilst the other three (Seven, Nine and Ten) are privately owned. Thus, the ABC and SBS both work within a yearly budget which is allocated by the government whilst the other networks rely mostly on advertisements for funding. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is the regulatory body for the Seven, Nine and Ten networks. It “makes announcements on key activities and issues, conducts major investigations, calls for public comment, submissions and tenders and hosts and participates in training programs and conferences.” Of the three private networks, Channel Seven is currently owned by civil engineering equipment czar Kerry Stokes. Furthermore, PBL Media, “a joint venture between CVC Asia Pacific Limited and Consolidated Media Holdings”, has now taken 100% ownership of Channel Nine. Lastly, Canadian company CanWest owns a majority sharehold in Channel Ten.

Whilst these networks are organised by ACMA through the Australian Communications and Media Authority Act 2005, the ABC and SBS have their own act of Parliament and charter due to government ownership. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 gives the network the responsibility of being an independent news service. However, Posetti argues that the election of the Howard Government in 1996 encouraged the ‘dumbing down’ of programming, “resulting in the undermining of political reporting and the erosion of journalistic standards.”Posetti continues by arguing that the “ABC Radio and Television Current Affairs – which traditionally produced influential, hard-hitting, agenda-setting programs – have been singled out for the harshest criticism from conservative political forces.” Judging on the recent ‘Four Corners’ program relating to the group-sex culture within rugby league, it appears as if the Howard Government’s criticisms of bias reporting by the ABC were founded. Public outrage over the unfair exposure of Johns is certainly an indication that some of the community believes the ABC and Ferguson have overstepped the boundaries of professional journalism.