For those self-interest groups that can afford it, election time is a good time to push one’s own barrow in the hope that one can frighten the government into thinking that the public is going to side with said self-interest group and give their vote to the opposition. Take the current campaign for something called the Alliance of Australian Retailers. Coming in on the coattails of the mining industry’s outrageously effective campaign, the hastily formed AAR is trying to convince voters that ‘mum and dad’ corner stores will go broke if they are forced to sell cigarettes in plain packaging. The campaign’s main proposition, that plain packaging won’t have the desired effect of reducing smoking anyway, touches on the absurd as it begs the question as to what then are the retailers complaining about? At least, it would be absurd if it was their own money. But the $5 million or so that the campaign is costing is actually coming from the absurdly deep pockets of ‘big tobacco’ – without a word of disclosure, BTW. Which is a side issue you might like to comment on.
By comparison to ‘big tobacco’ the poorly funded but infinitely more socially acceptable community broadcasting sector is finding it hard to put any pressure whatsoever on government to increase its funding.
The sector is seeking an additional $195 million over five years to increase community-generated content, upgrade necessary infrastructure, improve coordination, and train volunteers.
Spokesperson for the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, Georgia Webster, was reported on the Alternative Media Group of Australia’s website as saying that the Federal Government’s investment in the sector has effectively decreased in the last fifteen years even though the number of services has doubled.
“There’s a large discrepancy between the funding that the sector gets compared with the mainstream commercial media. For example we have at least 60 per cent of the reach of the ABC, but we receive about three per cent of their funding.
“We just want about six per cent. In relative terms it’s still a small amount; but our audiences could really benefit from that,” Ms Webster said.
Sadly, despite their own ad campaign exhorting both sides to reveal their plans for community radio, with the election campaign now in its final stages, it doesn’t look remotely like media policy will get an airing in the frenetic political debate between now and Saturday.
Perhaps their ads haven’t worked because they just don’t scare anyone. There’s no implicit threat that the country will be brought to rack and ruin should community stations not prevail in their quest for more money.
At present government funding accounts for around 13% of the community sector’s revenue with the rest coming from sponsors and subscribers.
No doubt their listeners would be devastated if they woke one morning to static from their local community station. But are they passionate enough to either aggressively lobby the government for more funds or to reach into their own pockets and find the extra funding themselves?