"Why is this lying bastard lying to me?"

“Public media is important because it is the last bastion of long-form investigative Journalism. It is such a special vehicle for voices to be heard... visions and view-points that are ignored by commercial media.” Robert Richter 

So.. yesterday's lecture was another that I couldn't attend, but this time for legitimate reasons. A scheduled 1pm appointment at the Mater Children's Hospital commenced.. almost on-time. It was 2:10pm when we got underway; by 3pm I was having a needle shoved into my arm. Oh the joys of Journalism! Alas, I knew when I got back to college I would need to view our latest lecture, struggling against an aching back and pounding headache. Sleep is for the weak, as they say.

Ignoring the above drivel, yesterday's lecture was a continuation from our previous lecture on Commercial Media, this time focusing on the alternative - Public Media. The first impression that I gained of Public Media when Bruce alluded to it in the previous lecture, was that the primary difference was the lack of commercial funding. That is, networks like the ABC and SBS received no monetary support outside of public and government funding. This was true, up until recently. As quoted by Bruce, "public media is less associated with taxpayer supported media. It may be for profit so long as its ultimate purpose is to serve the public and not turn a profit." (WGBH Educational Foundation Conference, September 2006) 

The ABC and SBS are Australia's two 'main' forms of Public Media Broadcasting

This raised my eyebrow. No longer is the divide between Commercial and Public Media clearly defined by revenue raising, but by the morally ambiguous 'biased versus unbiased' claim. At this point, I was somewhat skeptical of there really being a 'true' form of Public Media still in existence. It was about this time then, that Bruce brought up a very interesting point. The Government HATES the ABC. No matter the party in control, there has been a long-running history of discontent between the Government and the ABC. Which begs the question, why? The ABC is majority-funded by the Government, so surely they would have government interests in consideration, right? 

Nope.

This my friends, is the true difference between Commercial and Public Media. Whereas Commercial Broadcasters will literally bend over backwards to ensure continued revenue raising, 'true' Public Broadcasters do not. To use an old adage, they must 'bite the hand that feeds them' in order to remain under the banner of 'Public Media'. 

While not entirely my cup of tea, this discussion has raised a number of very interesting questions. When we look at networks like NZTV (who became completely privatised through commercial funding) , do we see an example of the inevitable? As Bruce so eloquently put it, we are safe as long as the Government hates the ABC - for the ABC is owned by the PEOPLE; where its primary interests should henceforth lie.