- Have any questions?
- 02 9247 6000
- media@commsroom.co
- Have any questions?
- 02 9247 6000
- media@commsroom.co
Menu
After the Coalition slashed $526 million from the ABC funding, the Albanese government is looking into ways to safeguard the future financial viability of the media giant.
Besides a new five-year funding cycle, a review of financial certainty is now being worked on, communications minister Michelle Rowland told Guardian Australia.
How to offer the national broadcasters more stability to “safeguard against funding cuts and political interference” will be the subject of a public survey in the next year.
Rowland said, “The ABC must be funded to a level that ensures it can fulfil its charter to provide high-quality, accessible, and diverse programming.”
“And deliver public-interest journalism that holds people in positions of power to account, exposes corruption, injustice, and counters dangerous mis and disinformation campaigns,” she added.
Learn how you can advance your use of the latest social media trends in our Social Media for Gov Summit!
According to Rowland, her office will conduct a focused public consultation the next year, but that a number of topics, such as efficiency, the charters of the ABC and SBS and any merger of the two broadcasters, won’t be covered.
In an effort to continue financing beyond the election cycle, Labor has already reinstated $83.7 million in funding cuts and pledged to extending the three-year cycle to five years.
The ABC said that the reinstatement of funding will increase its capacity for emergency broadcasting services, further investment in ABC Education and improved digital services for the company’s websites, podcasts and streaming platform ABC iview.
Read also: ACMA to hold consultation on news measurement framework (commsroom.co)
Rowland said the Albanese government is in favor of the ABC’s decision to put the funding back into local programming, educational services, and emergency broadcasting.
“Both national broadcasters support diverse ecosystems, including across education, screen production and international broadcasting, and greater certainty supports stability in these areas as well,” she said.
Source: The Guardian
Jaw de Guzman is the content producer for Comms Room, a knowledge platform and website aimed at assisting the communications industry and its professionals.
