Australian Broadcasting Corporation |
The ABC or Australian Broadcasting Corporation is the national, government-funded public broadcaster in Australia. It provides radio and television services throughout metropolitan and regional Australia. There is
also a chain of ABC Shops selling books, audio and video recordings related to ABC programming. It commenced operation in
1932 as a collection of 12 radio stations operating as the Australian Broadcasting
Commission but changed its name to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1983
with the passage of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 (ABC Act).
The ABC is run by a government-appointed board, but programming and editorial decisions are made at arm's length from the
government of the day. The political bias of the ABC's news and current affairs coverage is endlessly debated. Conservatives
claim that the ABC tends towards the political left wing; those towards the left of the political spectrum contend that the
opposite is true.
Unlike the BBC in Britain, the
ABC has been funded through a government grant-in-aid, since licence fees were abolished in 1974. In recent years there has
been turmoil on the administrative front, with successive Boards of Directors under pressure from the conservative Howard Government. Despite government funding, the ABC is largely independent.
Programming
The ABC broadcasts a wide range of content, to match the broad social makeup of Australia. On ABC Television, this ranges from
British comedies such as The League of Gentlemen and Absolutely Fabulous to children's programs such as Sesame Street and its own Play School.
Bananas in Pyjamas is an ABC production, now seen and
enjoyed by children worldwide dubbed into their own language. It produces specialist programs
for rural viewers (such as 'Landline'), a
large range of high quality current affairs programmes (notably
'The 7:30 Report' and
Four Corners), whose number of
foreign reporters is unmatched by other Australian networks. It also produces Australian drama and comedy. Recent notables have
included the ratings hit Kath and Kim and Grassroots, joining the crypt of Australian TV treasures: Frontline,
The Games and Mother and Son.
Radio
The ABC's radio networks include:
ABC Local Radio, a
succession of stations broadcasting light entertainment, talkback, and some current affairs and most popular with older
audiences; Triple J, a national youth radio network; Radio National, a nationwide network devoted to intellectual discussion of politics, science,
philosophy, the arts, literature, and the like; ABC Classic FM, another nationwide classical-music station; and ABC NewsRadio, a 24-hour news station that also broadcasts the proceedings of federal Parliament when in session.
The ABC's latest radio station, is internet and digital television only. Called DiG, the station has no announcers and is all music.
Radio Australia
The ABC also operates Radio
Australia, the international shortwave service with transmissions aimed at East
Asia and the Pacific Islands featuring programmes in various
languages in these regions, including Mandarin, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Khmer language, and Tok Pisin. Radio Australia concentrates on news and current affairs, but it also features
historical documentaries, information about Australian lifestyle and culture, and light entertainment. Radio Australia bulletins
are also carried on the World Radio Network, which is available on satellite in Europe and North America.
Television
The ABC operates a single nationwide TV channel, sometimes known as Channel 2, on account of the frequency on which it
operates in the state capitals.
Digital Television
The ABC briefly operated digital television channels aimed at a younger audience, called ABC Kids and Fly TV, but these closed
in 2003. It currently broadcasts DiG radio over its digital service.
ABC Asia Pacific
A new satellite television service for East Asia and the Pacific
Islands, ABC Asia Pacific, was launched by the ABC in 2002. Commercially funded and
carrying advertising, ABC Asia Pacific broadcasts a mixture of news, current affairs, entetainment, lifestyle and sport. This
includes tailor-made news bulletins for the region, general entertainment, including the soap opera Home and Away, and also Australian Rules and Rugby League matches.
The channel is received either directly via satellite, or on local cable networks.
Earlier in 1993, the ABC had launched a service for the region called Australia
Television International (known as AusTV or ATVI). This was sold to the Seven
Network in 1997, and later folded.
Postal Address
The ABC's postal address is "[PO] Box 9994 in your Capital city" followed by the postcode.
It is a persistent urban myth that '9994' is in memory of the life-time test
average cricket score (99.94, being 6996 in 80 innings) of Sir
Donald Bradman, the great Australian cricketer. Supposedly, a one-time
Chairman of the ABC, Sir
Charles Moses arranged for this number to be used, however this has been denied by the ABC.
External links
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