Environment and Communications Committee Wednesday 25 May 2011

QUESTION NO. 356

Senator Ludlam asked the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, upon notice, on 13 December 2010.

With reference to the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and, in particular, p. 13 of the SBS Corporate Plan 2010-2013 (the Corporate Plan):

(1) What are the brief definitions of ‘government base funding' and ‘government appropriation' for SBS.

Answers to Senate Estimates Questions on Notice - Supplementary Estimates Hearings October 2010
Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Portfolio
Special Broadcasting Service Corporation

Senator Ludlam asked:

Can you disaggregate the advertising and sponsorship breakdown? For example, can you tell us the forecast figures for revenue from television-only advertising for those forward estimates?

Senator Ludlam (Western Australia) asked the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, upon notice, on 2 July 2010:

(1) Which positions are being made redundant in the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) subtitling and news and current affairs areas.

(2) What are the reasons for these cuts.

(3) Will these cuts make a difference to the quality of SBS's news and current affairs coverage; if so, how.

Special Broadcasting Service Corporation
Tuesday 19 October 2010

Senator LUDLAM-You mentioned the SBS corporate plan 2010 to 2013 in your opening statement. I want to ask some questions about that, particularly the forecast revenue and expenditure figures on page 13 of the PDF. The government appropriations, 2010 to 2014-15, I have not had time to cross-reference this against your annual report or your budget portfolio statement, but are they the same as in the budget forecast? Is there any reason we would expect them to be different?

The Australian Greens are calling on SBS management to explain whether it is planning to slash newsroom staff at a time when the Special Broadcaster is expanding and increasing its revenue base from advertising and marketing activities.

"There are rumours that the 6.30 TV News bulletin is going to cut back to half an hour, and editors may be losing their jobs once digitisation is introduced," said Greens communications spokesperson Senator Scott Ludlam.

Senator LUDLAM-Welcome back. I think you spoke in your opening comments-and I came in a little bit late-about the internal review that you are undertaking at the moment. Did that get a bit of a mention?

Mr Brown-No, it did not. I did not talk about the internal review. Do you mean the strategic review that management and board are currently carrying out?

Senator LUDLAM-I guess it is the same one. You mentioned it last time we were here on 8 February and I think you had only just started. I am just wondering if you can provide us with an update of where that is up to.

Senator Wortley asked:
Following up from a question in the May budget estimates on the development of audience engagement through the new social media activities such as Facebook and Twitter, how are they
progressing?
Answer:
In recognition of the need to engage more deeply with audiences, SBS intensified its focus on audience engagement in 2009 with the creation of an engagement marketing team dedicated to