Public Media

I couldn't think of an original title for the subject of Public Media, because, frankly, I don't know much about it. Apparently ABC and SBS are the main contenders in the game.

Public media presents its news style as:

• serious
• broadsheet - not tabloid
• importance over interest
• considered

Public Media is often perceived as:

• boring
• out of touch
• poorly presented

As mentioned in my previous post, I have more interest within commercial media. So, I will admit I do hold the same perception of public media. However, I was surprised when I saw the values public media holds. There was one main value which stood out to me

encouraging competion = good programming, not good numbers

I believe this is the most important value a station should have. It seems these days many commercial channels only worry about how many viewers they can attract: if one reality TV show works, why not bring along another 4 from America? This is not good programming, it is not original, and it is not going to work forever.

Although I don't associate much with public media, I do appreciate the extra work they have to put into their stations. The Australian Government funds commercial media, but disencourage public media. Yes, they do have their reasons, but this is a democratic country and we have freedom of speech, right? Therefore every angle of presenting (within reason, of course) should be appreciated.

The lack of funds causes the ABC to charge documentaries for segments from their channel. When I first heard the ABC charged $75 a SECOND, I was completely shocked. However, I then realised this is how they gain any money to then fund more television.

I will probably never follow public media, though I'm really happy I now have an understanding of how the two types of media work. Just because I'm not a fan of the entertainment, I definitely respect the hard yards they put in without the free ride of handouts.