The key to a continued high level of Australian content is to make stuff that is actually good, that people want to watch.

Just like other industries Australian media needs to complete with imports. They can't win on price they need to win on quality.

Sometimes I have to look in my passport to see which country I belong to. Sometimes when I open it up I half-expect to see the word 'AMERICAN!'

The amount of brain-washing the average Australian/American (can you tell the difference?) receives each day is truly alarming. Whether it's via videos, television, newspapers and movies, the saturation continues.

Even our news seems to be mainly about the USA with the fiscal cliff and snowstorms dominating. Australia is rapidly sinking beneath waves of U.S. crap.

Whenever Obama speaks, there he is on our screens. If there is a mass shooting in the U.S., every Australian knows about it. We even get to see the burials! American sports are being shown more frequently and of course, American wars which Australia is always involved in feature heavily.

When does the Australian stereotype disappear all together? Has it already gone?

Cornoacob, it is not that Australian content is potentially poor but rather Government funding bodies, which act as intermediaries and decide what Australians should watch, say what gets funding. There have been so many potentially good productions halted in the writing stage or even changed to fit with what funding bodies believe will work. Usually, it is more of the same rather than try something new. What is needed is an industry-based funding scheme, as in the US, where it is planned that 80% will fail in order to get the 20% that are successful. The 20% are then taxed to support the rest. As long as the government controls content it will remain poor. The rules governing funding are stringent and almost impossible to navigate and there is no room for new players, no matter how qualified. The startup of digital was handled badly from the start. If one looks at the UK example, the UK government asked that each licensed channel (the existing networks were given 5 each) were populated with predominantly UK content and to keep them on their toes, they introduced a new competitor with the same conditions. What happened was a complete overhaul of the production industry, with decentralised production into Wales, Manchester, Scotland etc. Loads of indi's were set up and the content increased in quality and quantity. The Internet has provided a more level playing field, albeit a less lucrative one, for new Australian content. If the FTA networks were to populate the online IPTV and throw their resources behind local content, we could see new models happening and with more employment in the industry. Billionaires should stay out of the equation also, because without profit gouging, the networks might actually be viable.

David Leigh wants TV stations to stop profit "gouging".

Me I just want potential producers to stop "gouging" my taxes.

He complains that the funding bodies won't fund what he wants produced. I complain that they fund any of the garbage. I can think of much better things to do with our taxes than produce make believe, or propaganda for TV.

Mary the main thing wrong with television today is it is all the same. Why? Because all the people involved have come through a school like yours. They are all left indoctrinated, "B" grade, & incredibly boring.

The stuff they produce, even the news, is politically correct, has left political overtones, & is not worth watching. Hell I even had to stop watching Catalyst, when it became more propaganda than science.

Perhaps if TV producers tried to be a bit less pontificating, & a bit more entertaining, they might get an audience back. They have a problem there however. I will not be likely to see any improvement to be attracted back to, as I never watch the stuff these days, apart from a few SBS documentaries, & Time Team.

Hasbeen,

We privately funded a documentary on mainly barramundi fishing up north, after being assured we could recoup some of our investment when it was shown on t.v.
For added interest we included some amazing shots of wildlife [my favourite was the feral cat as large as a medium size dog] - never knew until then how large they get], and the landscape and colourful characters who live in that area.
Kevin [Bloody] Wilson provided the catchy little 'A bad days fishing beats a good days working every time' And the voiceover was done by a Perth radio announcer, so we expected it to be well received.

We then tried to sell it, but were told "we provide those sort of documentaries 'in house'. Our attempt to provide an interesting doco now sits on a shelf collecting dust.

Like you we are tired of being served mindless drivel on the t.v. Even the ads are of such a poor standard, they insult one's intelligence.

My gripes with australian movies & other entertainment is that it is always a cheapened-down version of american stuff. Surely they could sit down & think up something australian ?
Just look at all these competition shows, the only real difference is the dialect spoken.
Get original, get thinking, stop copying.

"The ACS quota and sub-quotas have been vital for the viability of the local audiovisual production sector in which television production (advertising and programming) and feature film production have cross-fertilised and cross-subsidized one another."

Translation: huge amounts of taxpayers' money have been spent on producing boring films and mediocre television.

Next time you come across a DVD for an Australian production that you wouldn't watch if they paid you, check the back for those magic words: 'Produced in association with... ' some government funding agency. It's pretty much a dead cert.

JonJ,

We were encouraged in our venture by channel 7, who assured us they would be happy to show it when finished if it met their expectations.
We went ahead with no outside funding. Professional photographers and sound recordists, - voiceover and music also done by well known professionals

When it was shown to the station director, he agreed that it was a professionally produced and interesting doco which should go over well, and at that stage it appeared to be a done deal.

Then we had the letter stating that they now produce these kind of docos 'in house'. Have to wonder if they applied for government funding when they did a similar programme to ours later on.

I would happily not have TV in the house

The News service is pathetic, especially on the Commercial stations. I get my News from the Internet.

Everything else is intended for those of low intellect. Namely "Reality shows"

What happened to good documentaries, political discussions other than Sunday on 10, variety shows?

Where is Canute when you need him?

Channel Ten is the canary, sent ahead in the mine that is "free-to-air" television, and is slowly expiring on its perch.

The medium "free to air" is a zombie, indistinguishable from being dead only in that it still moves. The concept of quality in this form of entertainment has disappeared completely, replaced by the more simplistic formula, "will it make money?". Which can, of course, only be achieved through advertising revenue.

The idea that it is even possible in this environment to improve the standard of output is, frankly, no more than the wishful thinking of the self-interested.

It has also led to the ridiculous situation where taxpayer money is frittered away on projects that are by definition loss-making; if they were able to make money, they would be broadcast on the main channels, and would attract the advertising dollars they deserve.

We are no longer and audience, there to be entertained. We are merely consumers, measured by our ability to absorb marketing messages.

We have become accustomed to being treated with the utmost contempt by the television channels, and are in the process of reacting accordingly. The viewing statistics in the present "non-rating" period (a concept that itself speaks volumes about the medium's problem) shows a flight to pay TV that is both understandable, and the shape of things to come.

Oh, and on the topic of Australian content, I suspect that worldwatcher has said all that needs to be said. Such a programme that he described would struggle to get a late-night showing on the Lifestyle Channel.

Australian content with the aid of the Great and Good, what a lot of cobblers. How do you clear a Cinema in an emergency? Just yell out "Australian Movie". People will not only watch less Australian with any support, they will deride it. Just keep the hand wringers out of the way and "stuff" will be made.

One just has to think of the utterly brainless incessant playing of promos on Australian TV. It is beyond insanity. Are Australians so thick that they can tolerate that ? It drives me mad with rage when the same promo is quite often played only a moment later. What morons are in charge of that ? Can't they be removed & let intelligent people organise programming ?
The promos take up more time then the actual program by the time it gets played. Is that just brainless or is it simply Australian ? Maybe if these promos were played on refugee boats it might discourage them from heading for here.
Make the best of what's left for 2013.