'... and in doing so, reflect Australia's multicultural society' : the contemporary role of the SBS

This portfolio is submitted in the context of a professional doctorate degree in Cultural Research (DCR), intended to serve both organisational interests and interdisciplinary fields of academic scholarship. As Manager of Policy, Research and Community Engagement at the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) - Australia's national broadcaster providing multicultural and multilingual radio, television and online services - I have a grounded perspective on the challenges of cultural diversity in public broadcasting. The title of this set of Doctorate of Cultural Research projects is ' ... and in doing so, reflect Australia's multicultural society: the contemporary role of SBS'. This title quotes the principal function of SBS under its Charter, which is: ... to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect Australia's multicultural society. (SBS 1991

Multicultural sociability, imperfect forums and online participation

This article explores the conditions for multicultural sociability facilitated by online current affairs forums hosted by Australia's multicultural public service broadcaster, SBS. Multicultural sociability is defined as exchange of opinion, information-sharing and mutual acknowledgement within a commonly understood framework for participation. The analysis suggests that conversations facilitated by multicultural online forums are an important resource in a culturally diverse society as they offer up important new forms of participation and opportunities for mutual recognition and the exchange of views

SBS's multilingual dilemma : global media, "community languages" and cultural citizenship

The increasing complexity of the multilingual environment, in large part resulting from globalising media trends, is creating new challenges for multilingual media. This article explores forms of citizenship, issues of ‘community’ and transnational media use through the case study of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), Australia’s multilingual and multicultural national public broadcaster. SBS was developed as an element of Australian multicultural policy in a response to political pressures of a diverse society. It now needs to engage with contemporary forms of identity and increasingly sophisticated media use trends to maintain its relevance

Cultural threats, cop drama, and 'community PR' : diversity and security cultures in EastWest101

This study seeks to explore the ways viewers generate meanings and understandings of 'mediated reality' through television drama. It tests out the idea that drama programmes intended to reflect contemporary cultural diversity can assist viewers to negotiate anxieties about cultural difference. The analysis draws on viewer responses to SBS drama series EastWest101, including from Arabic-speaking backgrounds. EastWest101 is a cop show, set in Sydney's west and based on a real (self-titled) 'wog squad' police team, which centralizes cultural difference as the context and, often, the source of the drama. Analysis of responses explores the ways viewers interpret fictionalized portrayals of issues of belonging, personal security, and state authority and use them to negotiate their own responses to contemporary security cultures

User-generated content and the future of public broadcasting : a case study of the Special Broadcasting Service

New media formats that engage audiences as producers as well as consumers/users of content are transforming media worldwide, and present particular challenges for public broadcasters as they open up new questions about both the mandated responsibilities of the broadcaster and their responsiveness to new community expectations and needs. This paper considers how the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) has been responding to the challenge of user-created content, and adapting to the new environment of participatory media culture. It draws upon an action research framework and ethnographic research into media organizations, and considers SBS’s responses alongside the emergence of citizen journalism in Australia