Thesis
Community Television in Perth, Western Australia: The consequences of Malcolm Turnbull’s 2014 announcement to move CTV permanently to online-only services
Masters by Research, Murdoch University
2023
Abstract
On September 10, 2014, the then Communication Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, declared that Australia's Community Television (CTV) sector would not have access to the free-to-air 7-MHz radio spectrum, effective December 31, 2015. CTV sector members, including Western Australia's West TV Ltd (WTV), were issued numerous licence extensions at the discretion of three liberal coalition communication ministers. Despite the licence extensions, in February 2020, WTV discontinued their free-to-air broadcasting due to financial unsustainability caused by years of licence uncertainty. Existing studies of CTV include discussion of the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting (Rennie 2001), the role of community television in Australia (Johnston 2005), the commercialisation of CTV services (Caraway 2008) and cross-cultural collaborative approaches to Aboriginal Community Television production (Johnston 2013). This study analyses the effects of the Turnbull 2014 policy change on WTV and its stakeholders between 2014-2022 and the potential future of CTV in Perth if the 7-MHz radio broadcast spectrum cannot be utilised. Nineteen West TV stakeholders were interviewed about the impact and consequences of the decision and asked their thoughts about the future of CTV services. Key findings from the interviews with WTV stakeholders included that the 2014 CTV policy change was implemented without consultation with the industry or stakeholders, resulted in economic losses, decreased employment opportunities, reduced industry training, caused sponsorship setbacks, and damaged the reputation for CTV. The interviewees emphasised the importance of reinstating CTV services in Perth with ongoing government financial support to maintain a “healthy democracy” and provide diversity in the media (Brevini and Ward 2021).
Details
- Title
- Community Television in Perth, Western Australia: The consequences of Malcolm Turnbull’s 2014 announcement to move CTV permanently to online-only services
- Authors/Creators
- Tibor Meszaros
- Contributors
- Lauren O'Mahony (Supervisor)Kathryn Trees (Supervisor)Glen Stasiuk (Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Murdoch University; Masters by Research
- Identifiers
- 991005657670307891
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Media and Communication
- Resource Type
- Thesis
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