When a news organisation discovers bad news about itself, the temptation is to junk its commitment to free and fearless reporting and bury the story. When the bad news is about how unhappy staff are with their bosses, the temptation is overwhelming. That’s what happened to SBS when it unwisely asked its staff what they thought about their managers – and the staff told them in no uncertain terms. … Read More
As SBS attempts to chart a new course after the 10-year reign of fashion designer Carla Zampatti as Chairman, we look back at what many critics say was not so much a series of bungles and missed opportunities but more a lost decade in the multicultural broadcaster’s once-illustrious history. How much was the wrong person in the wrong job and how much the result of a conscious policy of the Howard Government? … Read More
Reactions to attacks on Indian students in Australia show how far our discussion on race has deteriorated, with ethnic lobby groups themselves among the guilty. Critics have long argued that while Australia is not a racist country there is a vein of racism running through society that must be constantly worked on. In this second of a two-part series we ask: Has neglect let the racist cats out of the bag? Read More
The likely merger of the ABC and SBS was the elephant in the room during a senate estimates hearing in the Australian Federal Parliament. But is the threat of losing an independent multicultural broadcaster enough to galvanise renewed support from the ethnic lobby? In 1986 the threat brought thousands onto the streets in protest but can ethnic leaders rally their supporters today? Or is it too little too late? … Read More
Fijian coup leader, military dictator and then elected Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama wanted to be remembered as a man who implemented reform in his island nation of 800,000 people. But it was the very journalists he bullied who would be writing his legacy. More than 10 years have now passed since this article was first published, but has anything really changed in the Pacific islands state? Read More
Why did Mary Kostakidis really quit? What made David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz flee to the ABC? How many millions did SBS actually spend on Top Gear? Why was a millionaire fashion designer really appointed to head an Australian public broadcaster? Sorry, but you won’t find your answers in “The SBS Story”.
In the often rocky relationship between journalists and governments, it is a sad truth that we are often liked best when we are at our worst, and disliked most when we are at our best. Few governments like a free and unrestrained media to criticise them, give voice to opposing views and expose corruption. In opposition, those same politicians support free media. So it is important journalists hold true to core principles. Read More
A decision by an Australian court that an accused paedophile must be set free because he could not get a fair trial sent a clear warning about the limits of campaigning journalism in free societies. While the media play a vital role in exposing crimes and corruption, we are just one of the four pillars holding up western democracies. Independent courts are another and it pays not to cross them without a very good reason. Read More
Journalism can be a very dangerous business. When we hear that as many as a hundred are killed each year just doing their job, we immediately picture war reporters. But for all the glamour attached to the dangerous lives of front-line correspondents from the western media, most journalists are killed reporting in their own countries, often in oppressive regimes or lawless societies. And the toll continues each year. Read More
