Two opinions in the Oz today.
Case for YES
Case for NO
Funny that the national broadcaster is unable to offer such balance!
Our own opinion sides with the YES case. There is little justification for retaining the current system. A portion of the billion dollars (plus) currently spent on public broadcasting (ABC and SBS) could be re-directed to private production houses and publishers to produce a diverse array of Australian media content that would be able to better meet the ABCs charter. This could be broadcast on free to air radio and TV stations, or via the internet. ABC's current excellent educational programming could be broadcast on digital by any number of media organisations, with the government subsidising the cost to allow for ad free transmissions, or the costs might be borne on a subscription basis.
A large portion of ABC's programming is middle class welfare.
A large portion of ABC's programming has a niche audience (take any number of Radio National's offerings for example). Why should the tax payer be subsiding the interests of such a small group at the expense of others in the community with different interests. It's long overdue that this small group put their money where their hearts are and contributed to what they are interested in rather than rely on the tax payer to do it for them.
An eye on ABC NEWS: Keeping the bastards who keep the bastards honest - honest.
We can't call it privatisation though. Why not call it reform of the ABC? A nice neutral word. Everyone is always in favour of reform.
ReplyDeleteEither way I can't wait to see the day that the ABC as it currently exists is unceremoniously dumped into the dustbin of history. The whole concept is half a century out of date. It's a dinosaur. We need to make it an extinct dinosaur.