Austra/i(UI. Studies In Journalism

Commercial influences on Indian public-servite broadcasting lJsha IV[aochanda Rodrigues In the UK, the Conservative Party has been drafting a proposal to 'Withhold part of the consumers ' broadcasting licence fee from the BBC and place it in a contestable fund for public-setvice programming. In Australia, the ABC continues to struggle ro meet its funding requirements just whe:n the Federal conservative coalition government is considering a hid to use public funding tO engage a conunercial consortium to nm the col.Dlt:rfs Asia-Pacific television channd and so take it away: &om the ABC. These struggles for independence and for an appropriate level of funding are part of the landscape of public-service broadcasting in many developed coWltries. Those who believe in the public-service ethos are concerned about the potential diminishing value of these gre.at broadcasting assets because of privatisation an