ABC online : a vortal for new opportunities?

This article undertakes an analysis of the ABCs website, ABC Online -- www. abc.net.au -- to explore how the public broadcaster uses the Internet to offer new services. While recognising that the ABC aims to enhance its traditional radio and television services using the Internet, the article establishes the extent to which ABC Online also provides innovative, original, and interactive new services, including those with no connection to traditional radio and television programs, as is often demanded by audiences. This article examines the capacity for ABC Online to develop a unique and distinctive role via the Internet through the potential to offer novel and interactive content and services.

Multiplatform innovation and participatory citizenship : the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s digital children’s television projects

This paper examines children’s multiplatform commissioning at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in the context of the digitalisation of Australian television. A pursuit of audience share and reach to legitimise its recurrent funding engenders a strategy that prioritises the entertainment values of the ABC’s children’s offerings. Nevertheless, these multiplatform texts (comprising complementary ‘on-air’ and ‘online’ textualities) evidence a continuing commitment to a youth-focussed, public service remit, and reflect the ABC’s Charter obligations to foster innovation, creativity, participation, citizenship, and the values of social inclusiveness. The analysis focuses on two recent ‘marquee’ drama projects, Dance Academy (a contemporary teen series) and My Place (a historical series for a middle childhood audience). The research draws on a series of research interviews, analysis of policy documents and textual analysis of the television and multiplatform content. The authors argue that a mixed diet of programming, together with an educative or social developmental agenda, features in the design of both program and online participation for the public broadcaster.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s multiplatform projects : industrial logics of children’s content provision in the digital television era

This paper traces the development of children’s multiplatform commissioning at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in the context of the digitalisation of Australian television. Whilst recent scholarship has focussed on ‘post-broadcast’ or ‘second-shift’ industrial practices, designed to engage view(s)ers with proprietary media brands, less attention has been focussed on children’s and young adults’ television in a public service context. Further, although multiplatform projects in the United States and Britain have been the subject of considerable analysis, less work has attempted to contextualise cultural production in smaller media markets. The paper explores two recent multiplatform projects through textual analysis, empirical research (consisting of interviews with key industry personnel) and an investigation of recent policy documents. The authors argue that the ABC’s mixed diet of children’s programming, featuring an educative or social developmental agenda, is complemented by its appeals to audience ‘participation’, with the Corporation maintaining public service values alongside the need to expand audience reach and the legitimacy of its brand. It finds that the ABC’s historical platform infrastructure, across radio, television and online, have allowed it to move beyond a market failure model to exploit multiplatform synergies competitively in the distribution of Australian children’s content to audiences on-demand.

Disgusting television

Television readily and regularly produces moments of disgust, where revulsion and the fear of contamination rises up and takes one’s body over.

How has alcohol advertising in traditional and online media in Australia changed? Trends in advertising expenditure 1997-2011

Introduction and Aims The aim of this study was to determine changes in advertising expenditures across eight media channels for the four main alcohol beverage types and alcohol retailers in Australia. Design and Methods Yearly advertising expenditures between January 1997 and December 2011 obtained from a leading media-monitoring company. Media channels assessed were: free-to-air television, newspapers, magazines, radio, outdoors (billboards), cinema, direct mail (from 2005) and online (from 2008). Data were categorised into alcohol retailers (e.g. supermarkets, off-licences) or four alcoholic beverage types (beer, wine, spirits, premixed spirits/cider). Regression analyses examined associations between year and expenditure. Results Total alcohol advertising expenditure peaked in 2007, then declined to 2011 (P = 0.02). Television advertising expenditure declined between 2000 and 2011 (P < 0.001), while outdoor advertising expenditure increased between 1997 and 2007. Alcohol retailers' advertising expenditure increased over time (P < 0.001), and from the mid-2000s exceeded expenditure for any single beverage category. For both beer and spirits, television advertising expenditure declined over time (beer: P < 0.001; spirits: P < 0.001) while outdoor advertising expenditure increased (beer: P < 0.001; spirits: P = 0.02). However, the number of advertised beer (P < 0.001), spirits (P < 0.001) and wine (P = 0.01) products increased over time. Discussion and Conclusions Retailers are playing an increasing role in advertising alcohol. As our study excluded non-traditional advertising media (e.g. sponsorships, in-store) we cannot determine whether declines in television advertising have been offset by increases in advertising in newer media channels. However, our findings that media channels used for alcohol advertising have changed over time highlights the need for adequate controls on alcohol advertising in all media channels.