Diversity in Australian Media

AUSTRALIANMOSAIC The magazine of the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia Spring 2016 Telling stories for all Australians Diverse reporting, representation and the transformation of the media Issue 44 Australian Mosaic The magazine of the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) Print Post Publication No. PP229219/00162 ISSN 1447-8765 EDITOR: Lavanya Kala DESIGN: Kylie Smith Design PRINTING: Elect Printing DISCLAIMER: Any views and opinions expressed within Australian Mosaic are solely those of the individual author, authors, or other information source and do not necessarily represent the opinion of, or any endorsement by, FECCA. ADDRESS: PO Box 344 CURTIN ACT 2605 Telephone: 02 6282 5755 Email: [email protected] www.fecca.org.au © 2016 FECCA No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of FECCA. FECCA received funding from the Department of Social Services to produce Australian Mosaic magazine. contents A MESSAGE FROM THE DIVERSITY IN THE MEDIA FECCA CHAIRPERSON Christian Astourian 04 Joseph Caputo OAM JP 25 ‘A CRUCIAL STITCh’: ROLE OF ETHNIC MICHAEL EBEID ON TV DIVERSITY: AND multicultuRAL MEDIA IN A “WE STILL HAVE A LONG waY TO Go” PLURALISTIC AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY 06 Michael Ebeid 27 Dr Tangikina (Tangi) Moimoi Steen THERE IS A GROWING APPETITE FOR YOUNG WOMEN: TRUSTED INDIGENOUS CONTENT AND SEEN BUT NOT HEARD VOICES IN AUSTRALIAN MEDIA 08 30 Sienna Aguilar Tanya Denning-Orman DIVERSITY at THE ABC: DIVERSITY DRIVES INNOVatiON ON A PUBLIC BROADCASTER FOR AUSTRALIAN SCREENS ALL AUSTRALIANS 10 32 Lisa French Michelle Guthrie HOW AUSTRALIAN MEDIA COULD FIND CultuRAL DIVERSITY AND THE MEDIA GROWTH THROUGH DIVERSITY Helen Vatsikopoulos 14 Megan Brownlow 35 DIVERSITY IN AUSTRALIAN MEDIA: THE IMPORtance OF ETHNIC PRODUCTION, CONTENT & COMMUNITY BROADCASTING REPResentatiON IN AUSTRALIA 19 38 Daina Anderson, Grace Hardy, Victor Marillanca JP Rose Ng and Fabiana Weiner #DIVERSITYINMEDIA: IS SOCIAL MEDIA THE SOLUTION? 22 Dai Le 3 A message from the FECCA Chairperson Joseph Caputo OAM JP Welcome to the 2016 spring edition of our information, resources, and tools that they need to Australian Mosaic magazine: ‘Telling stories for All participate in Australian society, as well as foster Australians: Diverse reporting, representation and social, cultural and economic contributions. The the transformation of the media’. provision of information and stories that relate to In this edition, contributors explore the role and effect all members of society is also an important part of of the media in a pluralistic society; in particular, building community cohesion and understanding. reporting of diverse issues, the representation of SBS, Australia’s multicultural broadcaster, has diverse communities by the media, the shifting played an important role in Australia’s success as media landscape and whether it is reflective of a migrant country by facilitating social cohesion Australian society as a whole, and the critical role between groups of differing cultural backgrounds. the media plays as a conduit for a strong and Broadcasting in 74 different languages, SBS delivers cohesive Australia. enormous value to the Australian community by Information access is fundamental to enabling a ensuring that all Australians – regardless of cultural truly multicultural Australia. Targeted media and or linguistic background – actively participate and diverse and representative reporting are critical are engaged in Australian society. to ensuring migrants are empowered, have the Ethnic community radio is of incredible valuable to Australia’s diverse and vibrant communities. It plays a fundamental role in promoting positive messages regarding Australia’s cultural diversity and the need for the continued development of a strong, resilient and inclusive Australia. The ethnic community broadcasting sector is unique, as it assists communities to transition more smoothly into Australian society, as well as actively engages and involves migrant communities in the community broadcasting sector. 4 The Australian context is unique, and home to a successful multicultural media sector. However, FECCA believes the broader media landscape must diversify to reflect Australia’s cultural and linguistic diversity, and supports calls by industry, media and other commentators to do so. The media also has incredible power to create social There has been an increase in diversity on Australian change. We have recently seen many media outlets TV and in other parts of the media in recent years, adopt guidelines on how to report responsibly on but there is still a long way to go for the media family and domestic violence. A study released landscape to be truly representative of society as a by Australia’s National Research Organisation whole. With one in four Australians born overseas, for Women’s Safety, or ANROWS, earlier in the and another one in four with at least one parent year, (Media representations of violence against overseas, it is critical that the media continues to women and their children: Key findings and future include culturally and linguistically diverse voices directions) found that media coverage of violence in its reporting and ranks. It is also essential that it against women has the potential to reach a wide reflects our diverse cultures, views and ideas. audience. The report concluded that Australian The media can play a vital role in promoting positive media has the potential to more accurately reflect messages regarding Australia’s cultural, linguistic, the reality of women’s experiences of violence, but intersectional, and gender diversity, as well as the there is further work to be done. need for the continued development of a strong, I hope that the articles in this edition provide our resilient, cohesive and inclusive Australia. readers with a better understanding of the role and Furthermore, a strong, independent media can effect of the media. My thanks to all the contributors play a crucial role in a robust democracy. Media for sharing their thoughts and knowledges in this organisations have an obligation to be socially important edition. FECCA looks forward to seeing responsible; that is, to be fair, accurate, balanced and the media landscape transform into a more inclusive comprehensive in their presentation of information. industry, reflective of Australian society as a whole. 5 SBS Managing Director Michael Ebeid on TV diversity: “We still have a long way to go” Michael Ebeid Michael has nearly 30 years’ Why Screen Australia’s report is so important. experience in the technology, “Put more beautiful people of colour on TV and telecommunications and connect viewers in ways which transcend race and media industries in Australia unite us.” and abroad and has been SBS Chief Executive Officer since A sentiment so elegantly expressed by Miranda June 2011. Under Michael, SBS Tapsell at the 2015 TV Week Logie Awards and has leveraged its credentials in echoed further by Waleed Ali in his Gold Logie digital to deliver on its Charter obligations, including speech this year. It’s not a new conversation but delivering a major expansion of in-language services one that has increasing presence in the Australian on digital platforms for Australia’s LOTE community. media – and so it should. Michael is a former Executive Director of Corporate Screen Australia’s findings released in August into Strategy and Marketing at the ABC, Commercial cultural diversity, disability and LGBTQI in Australian Operations Director at Optus Communications television drama are timely. Whilst the research and started his career at IBM in finance, sales indicates some positive progress, it reinforces the and marketing positions in Australia and Asia. growing national discussion about a lack of diversity Michael has a Bachelor of Business (Charles Sturt in media and the need for change. We still have a University), International Executive Development long way to go if we want to truly reflect Australia. Program (INSEAD Business College, France), As media organisations in a country where over a and Media Strategies Program (Harvard Business quarter of our population was born overseas, we School, Boston). have a responsibility to our audiences to represent our nation’s diversity. It’s also just good business. But we must move past our consideration of diversity in its simplest form and embrace its full spectrum – from ethnicities, cultures, sexual identities and disabilities, through to the presentation of varied ideas and perspectives. Our sector has no doubt made inroads and certainly at SBS our intent is to position ‘difference,’ in a positive way, at the forefront of what we do. However, when I look at Australia’s media offering, and those afforded the opportunity to work in our sector, I feel the weight of the changes we still need to make. 6 “We still have a long way to go if we want to As a sector, we also need to address the lack of truly reflect Australia.” opportunity for actors with disabilities. Storytelling serves to break down stigmas in society and we Operating in a competitive media environment, must look to be actively making decisions that where we all need to attract audiences and create increase disability representation in our programs a commercial return is a challenge in itself. It is also and our creative workforce. essential that programs resonate with all Australian audiences, otherwise how do we maintain our At SBS, diversity is much more than a buzzword; it’s relevance? our way of operating. While the diversity of programs reflect our purpose; we strive to reflect diversity in all For over 40 years, driving cultural understanding its forms: 42 per cent of SBS employees are from and promoting the benefits of diversity through our a non-English speaking background, 48 per cent programs has been at the heart of SBS. We are were born overseas and 13 per cent identify as motivated by our belief that connecting communities LGBTQI, which places SBS above national diversity and inspiring greater understanding can shift measures, but more importantly, this diversity perceptions of ‘difference’ and normalise diversity guides our content.

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