The ABC, or the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, is Australia’s national broadcaster. ABC TV offers a wide range of program genres, the widest on Australian free-to-air television. Such genres include: children’s, factual, documentary, drama and comedy.
The ABC was established in 1932, with its first television broadcast in 1956. Today the ABC has two television channels, ABC1 and ABC2, a digital-only national channel.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, or ABC, began on 17 May, 1932 under the Australian Broadcasting Commission Act. (Barr, 2000, p. 61) The ABCs legislation is now under the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983, which changed under the Hawke government. (Cunningham, 2006, p. 48) The first television broadcast in Australia was by TCN 9 on 16 September 1956, in Sydney; the ABC however, first broadcast on the 5 November 1956. (Flew and Gilmour, 2006, p. 177) Two weeks later, Melbourne audiences were watching the Olympic Games opening ceremony as it happened, while Sydney audiences had to wait until the following day to see the action. Unfortunately for the other states, television took much longer, with Darwin receiving television as late as 1971. (‘Historical Facts- Did you Know- 50 Years of ABC TV- ABC TV’, 2009, n.p.) In the beginning, television programs were broadcast for a few hours each day, similarly to radio, which saw a variety of live sports broadcast. News programs and bulletins featured few moving images during the early days of television, while ‘Four Corners’ was created in the 1960s as the first current affairs show to be broadcast on the ABC. (‘Historical Facts- Did you Know- 50 Years of ABC TV- ABC TV’, 2009, n.p.) Four Corners is now the ABCs longest running television programme and the second longest running current affairs program in the world. (‘ABC TV Trivia- Did You Know- 50 Years of ABC TV- ABC TV’, 2009, n.p.) Colour television began on March 1, 1975 in Australia and 1993 saw the ABC start transmitting 24 hours a day, seven days a week. James Dibble presented the first ABC TV News bulletin on November 5, 1956. (‘Key Stories- 1956’, 2006, n.p.) To begin with, only two minutes of film were allowed in a 15-minute news bulletin, as it was thought pictures would trivialise the stories. Currently the ABC has bureaus in 13 countries overseas and reaches 98.19% of the Australian population through analogue television and 95.82% through digital television. ('Historical Facts- Did you Know- 50 years of ABC TV- ABC TV', 2009, n.p.) Here are some useful links from the ABCs website: http://www.abc.net.au/tv/50years/didyouknow/facts.htm http://www.abc.net.au/corp/history/75years/timeline/ http://www.abc.net.au/50years/news/key_stories_nat/ksn_1956.htm
The concept of the public broadcaster originated in Britain in the 1920s when the BBC was founded. (Jacka, 2006, p. 344) However, ABC TV is ultimately accountable to the Australian government. There has been some concern regarding the ABCs political connections, as voiced by Barr. “The notion of a truly independent or autonomous public service broadcasting institution is illusionary.” (2000, p. 64)
The ABC must follow the functions and duties set by Parliament, which are outlined in the Charter of the Corporation (ss 6(1) and (2) of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983). (Jacka, 2006, p.346)
Some of the functions include:
(Jacka, 2006, pp. 346-347)
Meanwhile, the ABC must also provide a balance between broadcasting programs of mass and niche appeal while being aware of the multicultural character of Australia.
There are obviously many connections between the ABC and the federal government. The government generally defines its functions (as stated above), finances it, appoints its directors, and may insist on certain demands being met, such as the broadcasting of parliament. (Wheelwright, 1987, p. 13) This structure evidently affects the practice and content of the ABC.
The ABC has faced issues regarding its “political and budgetary control”. (Brand and Pearson, 2001, p. 196) The corporation however, also has alliances with Universities. These relationships show a “class allegiance”, demonstrating authority and supreme figures in the academic world, with supreme national broadcasting. (Ashbolt, 1987, p. 105) This can further perceptions of the ABC as “elitist”.
The late 1990s saw the ABC seek other avenues for broadcasting as a result of the strict guidelines set by the charter. With only one television channel it was hard to narrowcast, as the charter suggests, so the ABC began to plan its “digital strategy”. (Jacka, 2006, p. 353) The channel was planned to increase information and educational programs. There was much debate about this issue, as the ABC would have needed a substantial infusion of funding from the government for digital conversion and the commercial television sector campaigned against the advent multi-channelling of the PBS (Public Broadcasting Sector). (2006, p. 353)
While the ABC was granted the ability to multi-channel, it came with restrictions regarding funding and content. In 2002 the ABC established two digital channels, FlyTV and Kidz although they were cancelled immediately when the ABC received no additional funding in the 2003 budget.
ABC2 is now the ABCs digital-only national TV channel. (‘ABC Television Contact Us’, 2009, n.p.) It began in March 2005 and features alternative programming from ABC TV (or ABC1). Additional services such as 'dig radio' and 'dig jazz' are also available and in some parts of the country other digital-only commercial and community television channels are available. (2009, n.p.)
iView is a new initiative from the ABC that allows audiences to watch the ABC from their computers. People with high-speed internet can download certain programs to their computer and watch them at their convenience. For audiences with a slower internet connection, shows can still be downloaded onto their computers and are compatible with such programs such as iTunes and video iPods.
Today the ABC is a hybrid organization, with nationwide, metropolitan and rural radio stations, two television programs, an extensive website and ABC shops and centres. According to a Newspoll survey, ABC Online was Australia’s most popular media website, with an average of seven million accesses per month and up to 50 per cent in a year. (Barr, 2000, p. 63)
Take a look at the website for ABC2:
The ABC can often be seen as “elitist”, as it favours high-cultural and highbrow values, despite offering a distinct alternative to mainstream television programming. (O’Shaughnessy and Stadler, 2006, p. 37)
ABC TV has been known to target older, more educated individuals, seen through abundance of news and current affairs programs, as well as the high content of British programs. (Jacka, 2006, p. 351) In 2002 and more recently, ABC TV moved towards some programs that held mass appeal, evident through genres such as reality television and lifestyle programs. This is interesting territory for the ABC, as government funding may be deemed unnecessary if it can show it’s able to support itself commercially.
The ABCs ties with government obviously affect its structures and practices. Over the years, the ABC has encountered complaints in relation to bias regarding to political parties. During the financial year of 2002/03, ABC news and current affairs received almost 39 000 audiences contacts, 27% of which were complaints. (‘ABC News and Current Affairs- Accuracy and Impartibility’, 2005, p.1) Of all audience contacts, only 1.1% was concerning complaints of bias regarding the Coalition and Labor parties. (2005, p.2)
Since the 1970s, funding for the ABC has dropped, which has lead to internal disruptions, restructuring and downsizing. (Jacka, 2006, p. 348) Cuts to the corporation’s funding are often seen as irritation towards the ABCs investigative reporting, which has been known to embarrass the current government, which then leads to accusations of political bias. (Dempster 2000, p. xvi cited in Jacka, 2006, p. 348)
Communications Minister Senator Richard Alston, who was responsible for funding the ABC during the Howard government, regularly accused the ABC of left-wing bias. There was much conflict between the Howard government and the ABC during the Iraq war, with the government accusing the corporation’s reporting as anti-American and emotional. Some can see such interjections as interference; others can see it as a reminder to the ABC of its responsibilities to represent varying Australian opinions. (Jacka, 2006, p. 349)
In 1999 the net budget for news and current affairs for the ABC was $185 224 000. This sum provided audiences with 1 280 hours of news and current affairs on television, while providing 242 hours per week on news and current affairs on national radio. (Brand and Pearson, 2001, p. 196)
Obviously, news and current affairs are a high priority in the ABC; the station is renowned for providing unmatched quality in television reporting and journalism standards. The ABCs news coverage is often more in-depth than commercial stations, with a focus on politics, the economy and the environment, rather than entertainment.
YouTube has a number of clips on ABC news and current affairs such as:
While commercial television’s primary interest is advertiser revenue, the ABC has in some way, more freedom in regards to program choice and content. Like any television station, ratings are important to the ABC, but as it is not funded in anyway by advertising, the pressure of sky-high ratings is somewhat lessened. In commercial television, if audiences do not like a program, then they can simply change to one they do. This audience is predominately working-class and about 50% female. (O’Shaughnessy & Stadler, 2006, p. 36) The ABC however, directs its programs to a much more diverse audience, which is reflected in its programming.
Although this study is on ABC TV, for accessibility reasons we will briefly examine the ABCs news website. The predominant topics have been mentioned previously and the website features international, national and local news. The main story on 6 June 2009, was Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, meeting with Chinalco, a Chinese state-owned miner. (‘ABC News Top Stories- Breaking news from Australia and the world’, 2009, n.p.) This story, titled ‘Rudd reassures Chinalco over failed merger’, incorporates the economy, international affairs, the environment and politics. The page is structured into news topics, in the following order: video; audio; features and analysis; news at a glance; world; sport; entertainment; offbeat; and photos. Obviously, the way the segments are structured indicates the ABCs priorities, which can be seen as agenda setting.
The homepage for Channel Seven news however, features only entertainment stories, such as celebrity gossip, on the same date. (‘TV News- Yahoo!7 TV’, 2009, n.p.) One of the top stories on Channel Seven’s website is ‘Heidi and Spencer quit reality show’. This indicates that each station, or website in this instance, holds different priorities regarding news values and news worthiness. It also indicates the distinct difference in audience between the ABC and the commercial network, Channel Seven.
If we compare ABC1 and Channel Seven on 8 June 2009, we can see there is a dramatic difference in news and current affairs content. ABC1 has eight news and current affairs programs compared to Channel Seven’s five. ABC1 also has many other programs such as BTN Daily (Behind the News), that according to the ABCs website are classified as educational, rather than news or current affairs. There is also numerous documentaries and factual programs.
The eight programs on 8 June 2009 on ABC1 that are considered as news or current affairs, as per the ABCs website are: Landline; Midday Report; Landline Extra; ABC News; The 7.30 Report; Australian Story; Four Corners; and Lateline. (‘ABC1 Television Guide’, 2009, n.p.)
The five programs on 8 June 2009 on Channel 7 that are considered news or current affairs as per Channel Seven’s website are: Sunrise; Seven Morning News; Seven News at 4.30; Seven News; and Today Tonight. (‘TV Guide- Yahoo!7’, 2009, n.p.)
The comparison of news and current affairs between ABC1 and the commercial network Channel Seven is not to say that one is better than the other. Both networks aim their programs towards different audiences and because of such, are structured differently.
To check out each station’s TV guide for yourself:
http://au.tv.yahoo.com/tv-guide/search/index.html?venue=18891&now=1244250000&required=1244412000
