- The Strategist - https://www.aspistrategist.org.au -
Blind spot fix: rebuild Australia’s international voice
Posted By Graeme Dobell on October 15, 2018 @ 06:00
Commentators and ministers have been concerned at the rise in influence of other states that don’t share Australian values and that seem to be using their power and influence in disruptive, and at times coercive, ways. Beyond concern, though, little seems to be being done to strengthen Australia’s voice and influence outside formal defence and development partnerships.
For about $75 million per year, Australia could fund a new separate arm of the ABC—the Australian International Broadcasting Corporation—to reach out and engage with audiences in Pacific states, and in nations across Asia, through a variety of platforms—online, mobile telephony, and traditional broadcast tools such as radio and satellite.
The influence and credibility that comes from an independent but state-funded broadcaster like the ABC has an impact far outweighing propaganda-driven content and broadcasts from state-owned media entities that are now broadcasting to the peoples in our near region—sometimes precisely because it’s critical of its ‘home’ government’s actions.
Article printed from The Strategist: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au
URL to article: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/blind-spot-fix-rebuild-australias-international-voice/
[1] chairman and managing director: https://theconversation.com/grattan-on-friday-abcs-challenge-is-to-keep-calm-and-carry-on-104021
[2] (‘Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?’): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_no_one_rid_me_of_this_turbulent_priest%3F
[3] Hard news and free media as the sharp edge of Australian soft power: https://www.aspi.org.au/report/hard-news-and-free-media
[4] launched in Canberra tomorrow night: https://www.aspi.org.au/event/hard-news-and-free-media-sharp-edge-australian-soft-power
[5] Is Australia losing its soft power the Asia Pacific?: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/losing-our-soft-power-the-the-asia-pacific/10342398
[6] international radio service: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/oz-voice-in-the-asia-pacific-part-1-speak-for-ourselves/
[7] ‘The time has come to speak for ourselves.’: http://about.abc.net.au/press-releases/abc-radio-australia-celebrates-70-years-broadcasting/
[8] great depression: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression
[9] great recession: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Recession
[10] new cold war: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/10/11/under-trump-us-enters-new-cold-war-with-china/
[11] demands of geography: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/oz-voice-in-the-asia-pacific-part-5-the-fading-broadcast-signal/
[12] South Pacific: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/china-challenges-australia-in-the-south-pacific/