Some years back, the late great Gillies Report ran a David Attenborough parody:
"Did you know that if you added up all the, um, wee-wee and poo-poo made by all the animals in the world, there'd be enough to cover the earth to a depth of ten feet? So why doesn't this happen? Well, scientists have just discovered an entirely new species of dung beetle that gets rid of it by rolling it up into great big blobs and screening it on Channel 10." (Or maybe it was 7, or 9.) If you look at today's TV guide, not a lot's changed since then.
For most of the day, the commercial networks would rather just buy cheap US-made filler than go to the expense of making something themselves. If we didn't have local content laws, they'd use even more, not that the Mandatory Australian Content is all that hot. (Kiddy game shows where the 'prizes' are obsolete computers vastly overvalued for tax-writeoff purposes are pretty popular.)
Well, you've given me more of a reason to stay the hell away from the telly when I come out to visit than I've ever had before. Robin Pen informed me of the horrible state of Australian newspapers, but I didn't know that Oz television was even worse.
It's not all bad. The government-funded channels still have their points, though the government's been trying to emasculate the ABC for a long time now.
SBS used to be stigmatised as 'wog TV' but they're doing quite well now - local programming isn't really their thing, but they look further afield than Oprah and Mr. Bean repeats. Sometimes it pays off in ratings, too; they took a chance on 'South Park' before it'd proven itself in the US, and held onto it when it got big.
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no subject
Date: 2006-03-28 10:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-28 11:18 pm (UTC)"Did you know that if you added up all the, um, wee-wee and poo-poo made by all the animals in the world, there'd be enough to cover the earth to a depth of ten feet? So why doesn't this happen? Well, scientists have just discovered an entirely new species of dung beetle that gets rid of it by rolling it up into great big blobs and screening it on Channel 10." (Or maybe it was 7, or 9.) If you look at today's TV guide, not a lot's changed since then.
For most of the day, the commercial networks would rather just buy cheap US-made filler than go to the expense of making something themselves. If we didn't have local content laws, they'd use even more, not that the Mandatory Australian Content is all that hot. (Kiddy game shows where the 'prizes' are obsolete computers vastly overvalued for tax-writeoff purposes are pretty popular.)
no subject
Date: 2006-03-29 12:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-29 12:50 am (UTC)SBS used to be stigmatised as 'wog TV' but they're doing quite well now - local programming isn't really their thing, but they look further afield than Oprah and Mr. Bean repeats. Sometimes it pays off in ratings, too; they took a chance on 'South Park' before it'd proven itself in the US, and held onto it when it got big.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-28 11:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-28 11:29 pm (UTC)