Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
What we want to do is show our people from our view for our people. We know
that white people are misrepresenting us. They have been for almost 200 years.
We need our own information. We need to control our own information.
We need to put out the messages that community needs to hear. (Quigley,
1987, p.2)
The Howard Joumal of Communications, Vol. 2, No. 2 (Spring 1990), pp. 149-169 149
Copyright " 7990 Howard School of Communications
spoken by very small and diminishing groups (Black, 1983, p. 3). This cultural
diversity makes questions about Aboriginal media even more complex, because
each group's requirements must be addressed.
Mass media ownership in Australia (radio, television, and print) is heavily
concentrated in the hands of a few European Australians. Commercial television
has increased its Australian content (news, sport, and drama) since the 1970s,
but is still dominated by a large percentage of imported programs, mainly from
the United States. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABCa statutory
institution funded by the federal government and programmed along BBC lines
with no advertisements) features quality news and current affairs, and a large
number of imported British and European programs along with Australian
programs. The Special Broadcasting Service (SBSthe ethnic broadcasting net-
work set up along lines similar to the ABC) broadcasts a range of local and
imported programs and films for ethnic communities. Commercial radio in
Australia is very similar to the radio format in the United States. It operates in
all major cities and rural areas. ABC has three radio networks featuring a variety
of current affairs, technologically sophisticated talk programs, drama, and fine
music. The ABC has the largest radio network in the country, and it is the service
most likely to be heard in remote communities. SBS runs ethnic radio stations
in major cities, backed up by large numbers of volunteers from the groups
concerned, and these groups produce and present special language programs
for their communities. There are also 88 public radio stations operating in rural
and urban areas. These stations are noncommercial and receive little government
funding. They are heavily dependent on volunteers for programs, and their
program content is very diverse.
Aborigines are rarely featured in the Australian mainstream media. They
are, in a sense, invisible. When they do appear. Aborigines are depicted as one
of the following four stereotypesa romantic nomad in travelogs; a victim of
poverty or alcoholism; a criminal; or a radical spokesperson for Aboriginal
causes. These stereotypes cause concern in Aboriginal communities, as they do
little to enhance the self-image of Aborigines, especially younger Aborigines.
Aborigines have a number of supporters in the mass media, but European
program conventions in news and current affairs, combined with insufficient
knowledge of Aboriginal culture and traditions, do not advance understanding
of Aboriginal issues in the Australian mass media. "Media images of and messages
about Australian Aborigines are constructed by non-Aborigines operating within
the dominant Anglo-European cultural framework for consumption principally
by those who share this framework" (Jennett, 1983, p. 28).
Aboriginal broadcasters feel Aboriginal media can help counter these ste-
reotypes:
I see Aboriginal radio as enlightening people. I'm sure that the zimount of racism
that exists in Australia is basically because of ignorance and stereotyping by the
media, and we have to break down that. Then I think we're going to have better
race relations in Australia for sure. (Rose, 1986)
Only since the 1970s have Aboriginal actors actually portrayed Aborigines
in Australian films. In 1967, a film called "Journey Out of Darkness" still had
The launch of the Aussat satellite in 1985, with its long-term consequences
for remote area communications, was one of the major reasons for examining
the possibilities of Aboriginzd broadcasting. The delivery of the mainstream
media via satellite to remote areas raised questions about the potential harm
these signals and/or messages might have on Aboriginal lifestyles and the already
disappearing Aboriginal languages. It also encouraged Aboriginal groups, and
relevant government departments to consider what the options for Aboriginal
program content were, given the availability of this new delivery system. Both
the federal government and the Aboriginal groups were worried about the
impact of television, in particular, with its glossy local and overseas productions.
Many assumed that urban and rural Aborigines will be better served by
gaining access to public radio and, if possible, the mainstre<un media, because
they need to live within the dominant framework of a European society. This
view was certainly indicated in a spedal report on Aboriginal broadcasting com-
missioned by the federal government, OiU of the Silent Land (1984). On the other
hand, the government appears to have recognized the needand the right
of traditional communities to control and produce their own information in
remote areas, and is working with Aboriginal groups to set up a media structure
Aboriginal Media
Radio
By the late 1970s, Aboriginal broadcasting groups were actively canvassing
the possibilities for Aboriginal media. The sodal problems affecting Aboriginal
people (unemployment, lack of education, housing, and alcoholism) provided a
practical and immediate reason for them to supply appropriate information to
their communitiesurban, rural, and remote.
In the early 1980s, public radio was the first medium to open up Aboriginal
broadcasting in urban and rural areas. Radio is a perfect extension of Aboriginal
oral society. It is also a very personal medium, which, at its best, features people
talking to the audience, not at them, as television does. This suits the personal
nature of Aboriginal communications. Radio offers Aboriginal groups a number
of possibilities. Radio equipment and tape cost less than video, the technology
is less labor-intensive than video, and adequate programming can be simple (e.g.,
music and announcements), which means that initially lengthy training periods
are not needed until groups want to make more technologically sophisticated
programs later. Radio's portability also makes it an appropriate medium for
mobile remote communities and communities without electricity.
Public radio was founded in 1975 with the philosophy that it would provide
information and music not found in the mainstream. It would also be available
to disadvantaged groups, including Aborigines. In 1988, with 74 public radio
stations on the air, there were 30 Aboriginal programs ranging in length from
1-30 hours per week. In 1986, the Public Broadcasting Foundation (PBF) es-
timated that approximately 300 Aboriginal volunteers and some paid staff worked
CAAMA
Ninety to ninety-five percent of the Aboriginal people in Alice Springs listen to
the station all day long. You can-go anywhere and you can hear it blaring out
of houses. It's extraordinaryit's what we in other forms of radio could only
dream about. It's so different working in a station, where not only do you know
who your audience are, you know them intimately. You visit them, you go and
talk to them; they go on the radio because you interview them; they sing for
you, they tell you stories. It's a much more intimate relationship with your
audience up there, because you know everyone in the community is listening
because it's their station. (M. Knott, personal communication, March 30, 1989)
In 1979, despite the large Aboriginal population in Central Australia, there
was no Aboriginal programming on commercial or ABC radio to serve that
group. In that same year, 8HA, a commercial station in Alice Springs, was
applying for its license to be renewed. During the license hearings, some per-
sonnel from Northern Territory Education Department lobbied the Austnilian
Broadcasting Tribunal and the station for Aboriginal programs. As a result, the
station set aside half an hour late at night for Aboriginal programming. The
two people involved with this program (John Macumba and Philip Batty) then
canvassed support for an Aboriginal Media Association in the Aboriginal com-
munities. In February 1980, a meeting with all interested parties was held in
Alice Springs, and CAAMA was started. Only Aborigines were appointed to the
CAAMA Board and this still holds today. CAAMA's founding aims vvere:
To promote Aboriginal culture and identity;
To encotirage the development of an informed and educated Aboriginal
community; and
To improve the understanding of Aboriginal people and their aspirations
by the Central Australian European community (Quigley, 1987, p. 43).
Macumba and Batty then approached the ABC. At this stage the ABC had
no set policies about Aboriginal broadcasting, but some staff realized that the
8CCC
By 1981, CAAMA was also producing 30 hours a week for a new community
public radio sution, 8CCC. This was funded with the money earned from the
ABC and various government grants. By late 1981, CAAMA had a staff of six
or seven people and studios in Alice Springs.
In 1982, CAAMA began work on its own public radio license because its
relationship with 8CCC had become tense. CAAMA had played a speech by a
well-known Aboriginal activist. Despite the fact that the same speech had been
broadcast previously on the ABC, the 8CCC board of management objected to
the broadcast and said that there would be no more programs until CAAMA
toned down the content. The 8CCC management also had a number of other
concerns, chiefiy:
There should be no broadcasting in Aboriginal languages, only English.
(A number of conservative groups in Australia also object to ethnic broad-
casting on the same grounds. This concern is a mixture of two elements:
first, they feel that all Australians should speak English; second, they don't
understand the Aboriginal languages.)
8CCC tried to criticize CAAMA on techniciil grounds, but as Batty points
out, their programming was no poorer than other 8CCC programs.
8CCC claimed that CAAMA was politically active, and such activity was
not the business of a public radio station. (P. Batty, personal communi-
cation, April 13, 1989)
8KtN-FM
The Australian Broadcasting Tribunal then intervened in the dispute, put-
ting pressure on the 8CCC management by telling them their license was under
review. This episode strengthened CAAMA's resolve to get its own license, and
in 1985 it began broadcasting on its own public station, 8KIN-FM in Alice
Springs. When CAAMA got the FM license, it also applied for three translator
stations, so it now has four transmitter sites. Station 8KIN-FM broadcasts for
16 hours a day, six days of the week (there is not enough funding to broadcast
on Saturdays). CAAMA's reach was further increased in 1986, when the ABC
gave it 11 hours a day on three of its new HF Shower services. This means that
CAAMA can reach another 47 thousand people in the remote areas with its
service called Bush Radio (CAAMA Report, 1987, p. 4). The ABC, for its part,
realized that most of the people in the service areas were Aborigines, speaking
Aboriginal languages, and that its staple programs of technologically sophisti-
cated documentaries and news in English would have very little relevance to
these groups.
Station 8KIN-FM has always featured oral history programs and historical
Imparja
CAAMA won a commercial television license, Imparja, on January 22, 1987,
despite heated opposition from the Northern Territory government, which backed
the rival commercial bidder. Imparja is a private company owned by a group of
Aborigines and Aboriginal organizations, and CAAMA is the biggest share-
holder. Imparja is the anglicized spelling for impatye, which means "tracks" or
"footprint" in the Arrente language of Central Australia (Goddard, 1987, p. 12).
Aborigines have been the object of non-Aboriginal film makers for years.
This is changing now. Estimates on the number of Aboriginal communities
producing their own videos are difficult. But some sources indicate that more
than a dozen remote Aboriginal communities now produce and transmit their
own video productions. Video was introduced into Aboriginal communities be-
fore Aussat (1985) by adult educators working with the Education Department,
church groups, and Europeans living in these communities who rented videos
for entertainment.
Aborigines started to make community video productions in the .1980s, re-
sulting in various forms of community television. First are community video
exchanges, where tapes are played on community VCRs; second is low-powered
television, where Aborigines produce and transmit their programs locally; and
third are Aborigincd programmers who interrupt the main satellite signal trans-
mitting European programs and "embed" their own locally produced programs,
which they consider more appropriate. The growth of Aboriginal video pro-
duction in remote areas has been encouraged by a combination of portable video
technology, VCRs, and satellite technology. The role of European adult edu-
cators in some of the communities has been crucialthey brought the equipment
and provided the training.
VCR ownership has spread quickly among Aborigines in remote Australia
in the 1980s. But a receiverA^CR system is not cheap. Goods in remote areas
are "marked up," and a complete system may cost more than $2,000, which does
not include tape supply (Michaels & Granites, 1984, p. 20). In order to make
the systems more affordable. Aborigines have often shared the costs within the
community. Aboriginal ownership of VCRs is very different from European
ownership, and is best described as "fluid." Michaels's study foctised on the
development of community television at Yeundumu. Yeundumu is 300 kilo-
meters northwest of Alice Springs, and at the time of his study (1984) it was
home to 1,000 Warlpiri Aborigines. Michaels found that there were 18 VCRs
in the community. Nine were used by the 75 Europeans, and the other nine by
the Aboriginal community (Michaels &: Granites, 1984, p. 18). Communal view-
ing is not unusual and can involve groups of up to 100 f>eople. The more typical
Aboriginal viewing audience is 25-35 (Michaels & Granites, 1984, p. 19). During
BRACS
The government has not committed the level of financing needed to op-
erate a community television and radio station at a reasonable standard.
In 1988, a DAA official made it clear that he did not see the BRACS
facility producing "sophisticated" programming. The minimal level of
equipment supplied means that only the most basic of programs can be
made. This will be frustrating for Aboriginal producers, especially those
who have been working in video and radio for some time. DAA has said
that it may be possible to add a range of editing suites for radio, TV, and
other equipment, and that the government will consider this in future
policies (S. Paton & H. Grant, personal communication, April 6, 1989).
DAA is basically supplying the unit only. The community, therefore, has
to find funding for extra equipment, tape costs, and salaries. The com-
munity also has to find a suitable air-conditioned building for the equip-
ment, and, where this is not available, find the resources to construct a
suitable building.
CAAMA has also pointed out that the issue of equipment maintenance
and repair has been overlooked. Telecom is responsible for the upkeep
of the transmission equipment, but not the production facilities. Equip-
ment located in these harsh climatic conditions needs constant mainte-
nance. In some instances, BRACS equipment has come to a complete
standstill because when a tape gets stuck, there is no one available to repair
the equipment.
BRACS is being broadcast on UHF, and communities that only have VHF
feel disadvantaged. UHF covers shorter distances, which means that peo-
ple living in outstations miss the reception. It is estimated that as many as
17,000 Aborigines live on outstations, sometimes in small family groups
of about 30 people. Such a small community could not support a BRACS
facility, but a number of these outstations would like to receive the pro-
gramming available via satellite and from the communities. This problem
has yet to be resolved (Paton, June 4, 1989).
Further Considerations
We don't have the opportunity to stop being Aborigines. We are Aboriginal 24
hours a day; it's not a sodal issue we cap take up and drop. Non-Aboriginal
people can take an interest for a while and drop out. The same with governments
when it's politically expedient. (Stevens, 1987, p. 11)
If Aboriginal broadcasting is to succeed, it must be encouraged in all sectors,
from low-power community stations in remote areas through rural and urban
The ABC
In the past, the only training available for Aborigines has been a series
of government-funded short courses. The difficulty with these is that they
don't guarantee employment, and they lack the recognition of more formal
qualifications. The ABC is the only mainstream broadcast sector in metro-
politan and regional areas to address the issue of Aboriginal training and
employment on a long-term basis. The ABC has trained Aborigines since
1980 at its stations around Australia. From 1980 to 1989, it is estimated that
the ABC trained about 150 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for
work in independent and community radio in remote areas of Australia
(G. Steele, personal communication, April 5, 1989). But in June, 1987, it was
found that there were only seven Aborigines employed at ABC stations (ABC,
1988, p. 1). This was because there was no commitment to employ Aborigines
after their training had been completed. As a result, the ABC put in place a
new Aboriginal training and employment program in 1988 that covers ABC
radio and TV stations throughout Australia. The federal government's
Aboriginal Employment and Development Policy (AEDP), launched in No-
vember 1987, also encouraged the ABC to design this program. AEDP aims
to increase the number of Aborigines in government and private sector em-
ployment to 2% by 1991. The ABC training program is administered by
an Aboriginal woman, Cheryle Schramm, who was appointed in July 1987.
The major advantage of this program is that the trainees are employed as
ABC staff at the start of their training, and assured of a job when they have
finished.
The ABC target for 1991 is 40 Aborigines in radio, 65 in television, and 15
in the corporate (administrative) sector. The training program will then be reas-
sessed. The ABC is a huge bureaucracy, and Schramm's job is not an easy one.
Some departments have been slower than others to respond to the need to fill
positions with Aboriginal people. Meanwhile, Schramm has also given sensitivity
lectures to the ABC executives and journalists. These lectures talk about media
stereotyping of Aborigines, reporting black issues in the media, and Aboriginal
culture.
In late 1987, the ABC also set up an Aboriginal Program Unit to produce
and buy Aboriginal television programs. However, the unit has not had a major
impaa on the organization because of limited funding. Moreover, the producer
in charge of the unit is a European. The first major program initiative from the
unit was a weekly current affairs program presented and produced by Aborigines
called "Blackout." The series went to air in May 1989 in the unfortunate timeslot
of 10:40 p.m. (Friday). This, combined with problems in the unit, prompted
some to criticize the ABC for "black tokenism."
Other Outlets
Commercial TV and Radio. The commercial television and radio networks
appear to have no policies for Aboriginal content and employment. The com-
mercial industry does recruit heavily from the ABC, and it is possible that some
of the ABC's Aboriginal broadcasters will move across to the commercial net-
works.
Public Radio. Public radio has provided minimal training because of a
shortage of funds, facilities, and trainers. It did attempt a national training
project involving 12 Aboriginal broadcasters from different states in 1987.
Conclusion
References
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Bellamy, L. (1987). Black and white TV from the heart. The Age Green Guide, 1, 22.
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