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Media watchdog to investigate local content on regional broadcasters

ACMA is calling for public submissions on whether commercial broadcasters are providing enough local content in regional areas.

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2013-07-09_1118Media watchdog the Australian Communications and Media Authority is calling for public submissions on whether commercial broadcasters are providing enough local content in regional areas.

Commercial broadcasters are required to broadcast minimum amounts of material of local significance in Regional Queensland, Regional Victoria, Tasmania and parts of Regional New South Wales.

ACMA will also consider whether the rule should be extended to broadcasters in other areas, such as South Australia and Western Australia.

The investigation ordered by former Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, follows concerns at losses in local content, including recent news bulletins being axed, re-located and staff being made redundant.

Individuals and organisations are encouraged to comment on a range of issues, including:

the importance of local information in regional Australia
the availability of local information across media platforms in regional Australia
particular issues faced by television broadcasters in providing local content in regional Australia.
Read the ACMA consultation paper for more information about these issues and how to make a submission.

Closing date for submissions is August 20.

More info: acma.gov.au

10 Responses

  1. ACMA will do nothing to upset the bosses of SCA, Prime and WIN, particularly if the coalition win the election. I travel quite a bit in country Victoria and local content is a joke. I well remember the days before aggregation when STV8, BTV6, BCV8, GLV8, GMV6 and AMV4 provided a broad mix of genuine local programming. ACMA has a duty to ensure that SAC, Prime and WIN are not merely relay stations for the big city networks.

  2. Definately not enough local contact. Great to see someone is thinking about this but I fear they will have the power of a toothless tiger.
    Local content went out the door with aggregation of the regional stations over 20 years ago.

  3. None of the regional broadcasters are making enough local,content.. Local news should be broadcast locally… And they should have local shows produced… They have plenty of “channels” now to find an hour a day for local content I will vote for any party that introduces tough legislation to force networks to produce local,content or make community tv licenses easily available and let the viewer make up their mind

  4. @MonashMan – In Wollongong, we don’t get anything like “2 minutes updates”. Prime’s run 50 secs and SCTEN’s are 20-30 secs., as you say, “by someone sitting in a tiny studio in Canberra reading the local newspaper of the area”.
    As for the local news on TNT9. Big deal. They did that as a local station from day #1 – but – they also had a local, live, 20 mins Late News, and much more locally-produced programs than now.
    A music clips show produced in Canberra using freebie promo clips has absolutely no relevance to Wollongong.

  5. @neat121, and to add to MonashMan’s comments, a 2 or 3 hours music clip show is hardly local content for a local audience either. Apart from being cheap as chips to produce, hows does running music clips from international and some national artists constitute local produced content with the innane hosting links to camera? Not in my books it does not. Unless local artists from each region are showcased, it should not count.

  6. @neat121 when you list them like that of course it sounds like SCA are investing a lot into regional programming but when you consider outside of that list that places such as Canberra, Wollongong, Newcastle, Goldcoast etc. only receive 2 minutes updates, 5 times a day, 5 days a week by someone sitting in a tiny studio in Canberra reading the local newspaper of the area as the only and acceptable news offering by a television network. That is just ridiculous

  7. SCA does a fair bit of local content –

    Local news in Tasmania (SCTV) – usually the highest rating program of the night!
    Local news/current affairs program Weeknights in Shepparton (SCTen)
    Local news & weather updates in all markets
    local music content on weekends – RADAR

  9. It’s About Time, you only have to look at Canberra (nice picture) which is this country’s Capital city to see how regional broadcasters have been able to get away with the bare minimum of local content, currently Canberra has not one program that is dedicated and broadcast from the city on any commercial stations. Regional broadcaster need to look back at the older views of the WIN network where by holding a broadcast license you have a duty to the community in which you serve. Demand for local news has never been greater yet supply has never been worse.

  10. Surely they should have sorted this out before Parliament debated the removal of the reach rule permitting takeovers of regional stations.

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