Australian Television - Case Study Example

Australian Television Name Instructor Course Australian Television Executive Summary Australia is one of the countries which has progressively and continuously developed its media industry. Its media industry consists of newspapers, television, radio, and film. The primary aim of the media industry is to serve the large population which is made of the English-speaking community. The Australian television has progressed steadily over time from being analog to being digital and from being black and white to broadcasting colored images. The report has evaluated the development of the Australian television as well as assessed both its advantages and disadvantages. The report has established some of the benefits of the Australian television to be educative, informative, a source of entertainment, and plays a role in shaping the morals of the society. The report has also found the disadvantages of the Australian television to have a hidden consumerism agenda, jeopardize the moral values of the society, and leads to a complicated relationship between the people, government, and the media. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Overview 4 Development 5 Advantages 7 Disadvantages 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction Australia is known for having a diverse and modern media industry which spans both the digital and traditional formats. The Australian media industry primarily caters to the English-speaking audience which is the dominant population in that country (Nash and Bacon, 2003). Between the years 2011 and 2012, the Press Freedom Index saw Australia being ranked at number 30 out of the 179 countries which depicted a drop from the previous year (Nash and Bacon, 2003). The Australian media consists of a variety of media platforms which include television, radio, film, and even different types of newspapers. All of these media platforms seek to serve the various types of audiences in the country for different reasons (Nash and Bacon, 2003). The Australian television, just like the other media platforms, has developed over the years which have shown a progressive development journey. This media platform has always played a significant role in conveying information as well as serving various other purposes for the Australian population (Nash and Bacon, 2003). Following this, the paper will evaluate the Australian television, its development, as well as its advantages and disadvantages. Overview It is documented that the use of television in Australia started in the year 1929 in the city of Melbourne (McKee, 2001). Other cities like Victoria and the New South Wales got introduced to the use of television in the year 1956 from where the other cities progressively continued to be put in place to the same until the year 1971 (McKee, 2001). In Australia, in the year 1975 is when the colored television was introduced. In the same light, adding on the public broadcasters that are present in most of the Australia’s population, three primary television networks exist in that country. These three networks include Network Ten, the Seven Network, as well as the Nine Network (McKee, 2001). Many of the Australian cities which are densely populated are usually serviced by all of these three major television networks. On the other hand, some of the regional or rural areas often receive a rather limited selection of the same, usually with the channels which are present showing programming from one or more of these primary television networks (McKee, 2001). Just like many other countries, the Australian television began from the analog broadcasts and later progressed towards the digital broadcasts (Jensen, 2007). The analog broadcasts were phased out in the year 2013. The Australian government decided to retain the restrictions on the foreign ownership of its Broadcasting Act. This means that Australia will keep on restricting the international control of the broadcasting license while at the same time limiting the foreign ownership of the firms dealing with broadcasting to a minimum of 20% (Jensen, 2007). This, therefore, means that the Australian government has an immense amount of control over its broadcasting and media firms and channels. Development As noted above, television in the Australia started in 1929 in the city of Melbourne and later progressed in other locations like Brisbane in the year 1934 (Nash and Bacon, 2003). The mainstream television was then launched in the year 1956 in September in the city of Sydney with the Nine Network television station. This new television medium got introduced by Brice Gyngell and from ever since is when the transition towards the digital and color television was experiencing (Nash and Bacon, 2003). The local Australian television programs have over time entailed an extensive range of some drama series, sports, and comedy of course adding on the news as well as the current affairs of that country. The Media Authority and the Australia Communications are the bodies which regulate the television industry in Australia (Nash and Bacon, 2003). They do this through different codes of practice, standards, regulations, and legislations. These same bodies also regulate the radio media in the recent years and have also tried to control the internet in the recent past (Nash and Bacon, 2003). As it is documented, despite the fact that it took a significant amount of time for the television in Australia to be launched officially, several Australian citizens and companies participated in the television development in that country (McKee, 2001). The first television company in Australia was established during the 1920s. After this establishment, what followed were numerous television demonstrations which were made both publicly and privately in the Melbourne city (McKee, 2001). The first television images transmission had already occurred in Brisbane by the year 1933. The VK4CM station was broadcasting These transmission images, and it is the one which continued to show these programs and tests in a regular manner (McKee, 2001). It is evident that it is rather difficult to develop television in a given country especially following the fact that there are usually various factors to take into consideration. It was a long process for the Australian government and the other relevant stakeholders to manage to establish television networks in that country (Jensen, 2007). Although the process of establishing television began in the 1920s, it is until 1955 when Melbourne and Sydney were given the commercial television licenses (Jensen, 2007). Following this, the first television broadcast that was official started in the year 1956 with the first show being broadcast named ‘This Is Television’ which Bruce Gyngell hosted. This first broadcast was on 16th September, which was on a Sunday and on 4th November of the same year; the very first Melbourne television program also started broadcasting (Jensen, 2007). The start of television broadcasting in Melbourne took place in good time as it was the start of ‘Melbourne Olympic Games.’ Advantages The Australian television is educational through some of the programs and shows that are highlighted in several of its stations. Out of the numerous channels that are shown in the television shows, a significant number of them are educational; which includes the daily news (Cha and Chan-Olmsted, 2012). Television in Australia has always enabled their audience to be aware of the latest trends which are present globally, and it has proven to be very efficient in communicating useful information to a wide range of people. This is because television is usually watched by millions of citizens and therefore if there is any relevant information that needs to be conveyed to such a wide range of people (Cha and Chan-Olmsted, 2012). As compared to the radio and newspapers, people watch television directly, and it commands more attention as compared to these other forms of media which make it very useful in conveying important messages and any knowledge (Cha and Chan-Olmsted, 2012). The Australian television has, in many ways, inspired creativity (Harding-Smith, 2011). This is more so for the people who are interested in things to do with art, singing, stories, and many other aspects that usually to inspire different levels of creativity (Harding-Smith, 2011). Additionally, television also tends to inspire some of the creative types of individuals who would wish to get to working in the television industry in the future. Through television, different types and levels of creativity can be spotted, which can significantly inspire other people to develop their ideas and become very creative (Harding-Smith, 2011). One of the most widespread advantages of using television is because it is an affordable source of entertainment (Nash and Bacon, 2003). Different and interesting comedies, music, drama series, movies, and cartoons are always shown on the various television channels which mean that one get easily get entertained at the comfort of their homes. Watching television has been described as a good thing because it usually tends to freshen the moods of the viewers and more so when they watch the shows and programs which they like (Nash and Bacon, 2003). Additionally, the Australian television has shown to be a very effective way of advertising and sharing information with a broad range of audience about a given product or service. In the same light, aside from the local news, the Australian television also shares international news which keeps the audience informed and up-to-date with what is happening in the entire world (Jensen, 2007). To some people, news in their preferred form of entertainment and therefore, through this, they get entertained cheaply. The Australian television has played a significant role in shaping the morals of the society. Aside from the entertainment purpose, for which is the reason many people watch television, various television shows are aired with the primary aim of teaching the society positive moral values (Harding-Smith, 2011). Efforts of boosting the societal moral values and developing a sense of integrity ate evident through the massive campaigns on television (Harding-Smith, 2011). Numerous documentaries are usually made with the same goal of raising the consciousness of individuals hoping that the entire society can benefit in one way or the other from their actions (Harding-Smith, 2011). For example, through the campaigns and documentaries, the significant and massive impacts of smoking, alcohol, and any other drug abuse are displayed so that the viewers can be encouraged and learn to shun from doing such things. Disadvantages One of the primary disadvantages of the Australian television is that people tend to develop a rather complicated relationship with the Australian media fraternity (Cha and Chan-Olmsted, 2012). As much as the television could be educative and informative in numerous ways in that one can learn a lot of things about the world, city, or a given country, there are possibilities of them being skewed as well (Cha and Chan-Olmsted, 2012). This largely depends on the conglomerate together with their views. There have been incidences where a given television channel or network have been accused of either leaning so much on one side in the political world. This means that there is the need to be smart and rather skeptical when navigating through the media landscape (Cha and Chan-Olmsted, 2012). Additionally, since the media influences the audience in great ways, it is the responsibility of the audience to choose wisely what they watch and what they make out of whatever it is that they watch. As much as the television plays a significant role in helping to form good moral values, the negative values are also encouraged, and this is particularly true because of the prevailing rate at which reality television in being broadcasted in Australia (Jensen, 2007). In this country, the Reality Television programs are usually branded as the ‘guilty’ pleasure because many of the individuals who usually watch it do not often admit to enjoying it (Jensen, 2007). Most of the television programs are typically not as educative and promote the negative values but in an indirect manner in such a way that the audience will enjoy it (Jensen, 2007). For example, in the reality television series, the cast members are usually ready to go to a different extent just so that they can get famous which includes even ruining their reputation. This may influence especially the young viewers in the wrong way as they may aspire to do the same in the future as well. It is documented that the hidden and primary agenda of the Australian television is consumerism (Nash and Bacon, 2003). Many advertisers who use television to share information about their products and services usually targets the children and the youth; averagely, those who do not have the ability to discern that there is any hidden agenda. For example, in Australia, in a year, about 40,000 advertisements that are on television alone involves ads about alcohol, unhealthy foods, and snacks, among others (Nash and Bacon, 2003). This is done to lure these target audiences to enhance their consumerism on such products. Thus, it is evident that the ulterior motive of television is to get their audience to but all of these products at any costs that are attached to them which then takes advantage of various groups of target audiences (Nash and Bacon, 2003). Conclusion Australia is one of the countries that has a rather diverse and modern media industry. The Australian media industry consists of films, television, newspapers, and radio. The Australian television has been developing gradually since the 1920s and had their first broadcast in the 1950s. The television networks in Australia have progressively developed from the analog to the digital platforms and serves to most of the Australian population. The three primary television networks that serve the most of the Australian population include Network Ten, the Seven Network, as well as the Nine Network. The Australian television has been associated with various advantages and disadvantages which have been discussed in the paper. References Cha, J. and Chan-Olmsted, S.M 2012, Relative advantages of online video platforms and television according to content, technology, and cost–related attributes. First Monday, vol. 17, no. 10, pp. 1-5. Harding-Smith, R 2011, Media ownership and regulation in Australia, Centre for Policy Development, Sydney. Jensen, P.M 2007, Television Format Adaption in Trans-national Perspective: An Australian and Danish Case Study, Doctoral dissertation, Aarhus University. McKee, A 2001, Australian Television: A genealogy of great moments, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Nash, C and Bacon, W 2003, How the Australian media cover humanitarian issues. Australian Journalism Review, vol. 25, no. 2, pp.5-9. Read More