Hot on the heels of the divisive mandatory internet filtering debate in this country, comes yet more government control being exerted over the content of media – with the news that the government will require the next operator of the Australia Network to provide advance notice of programming guides to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and even allow programming decisions to be made by the foreign minister, currently former prime minister, Kevin Rudd.
| Rudd to Vet Asia TV Guides |
“Potential tenderers for a new 10-year contract to run this service will have to provide DFAT with a programming schedule for every timeslot over a seven-day cycle, which will be assessed by the department to determine whether it represents an “intelligent mix of the best of Australian content”.”
“This includes news and current affairs where DFAT will require a detailed quality and quantity breakdown to enable it to decide whether this and business programming supports the government’s regional objectives.”
There already is double standards in regards to their filtering policy, and television standards anyway, but this basically sounds to me like the Australia Network now has the potential to become an international propaganda machine for the government, right?
Who else agrees?