Past Programs
Government and Politics - 2008
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Media bits and pieces
09/10/2008
1.State and federal governments are continuing to use the public purse for thinly-veiled political advertising; 2. The ABC's TV management accused of insensitivity in handling staff redundancies; 3. The minister for communications who still won't communicate.
'On the record' with Deborah Welch
11/09/2008
An 'On the record' interview with Deborah Welch, president of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia. She talks about the sector's funding pitch to Canberra and its changing identity in the era of user-generated content.
Cyber war or cyber riot?
21/08/2008
The Georgians maintain they've been the victims of cyber-warfare, but there is division within internet security circles about whether what is happening is in fact 'cyber-warfare', whether the Russian government is actually involved and also how significant the event really is.
Lord of the Flicks
21/08/2008
The current head of the New Zealand Film Commission, Dr Ruth Harley, has just been appointed to head-up the Australian film industry's new uber-agency 'Screen Australia'. She tells us about her background and the direction she intends to take in her new role.
The secret treaty
14/08/2008
The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA as it's also known, doesn't sound like a hot media topic, but its international negotiation process, led by the US, Japan and the EU, has sparked quite a deal of online interest and concern. The stated aim of the agreement is to provide a common international framework for the protection of intellectual property. Now a high level of secrecy has surrounded ACTA, and that secrecy has led to a large amount of web speculation about the actual intent of the treaty.
The size of the spin
12/06/2008
There's lots of anecdotal evidence that we live in a world of spin. But rarely do we get statistical information on the size and scope of the various spin machines that work for those in power. Recently, the Queensland Premier, Anna Bligh, was asked in parliament to detail the size of her government's media machine. And in the response she gave, she conceded that her administration employs in excess of 360 full-time media and public relations officers.
For his perspective on this, we talk to Bob Burton, the Hobart-based author of a recent study into the public relations game in Australia. It's called 'Inside Spin: The dark underside of the PR industry'.
Here is the Prime Minister...
05/06/2008
Staff at the National Film and Sound Archive have been sorting through their extensive collection of material looking for all manner of film and audio relating to Australia's 26 prime ministers.
An update on defamation and the south-east Asian media
22/05/2008
Sydney barrister Jim Nolan has just returned from a defamation and the media conference in Indonesia. He attended as a representative of the International Federation of Journalists.
The (non)Communication Minister
17/04/2008
Some in the Australian media are wondering why the communications minister, Stephen Conroy, appears so short on detail and reticent to do interviews.
Recently, The Australian's Mark Day accused the minister of a con job over the release of a digital TV conversion package that looks remarkably like the previous government's effort, except with a new set of clothes.
The minister declined our invitation for an interview (repeatedly). In his place here's Mark Day and Crikey's media writer, Margaret Simons.
Lights! Camera! Open government!
21/02/2008
Just how open are Australian parliaments? We take a look at the restrictions placed on the filming of parliaments around the country.
The voice of Papua
07/02/2008
Journalist and former Media Report presenter Andrew Dodd takes us to Indonesian-controlled Papua. There's no shortage of media outlets on offer, but do ordinary Papuans have a voice?
