SBS serves no real purpose.

Congratulations on setting out the issues so clearly. The demise of SBS reflects Howard's goal of assimilating all into the "mainstream". At a time when real leaders like Peter Cosgrove and so many in our business community are calling for greater awareness of other peoples and cultures, and a greater capacity for communicating with our near neighbours in their own languages, SBS is becoming an Anglophone commercial bore. Gone are the days when, as a secondary school teacher of Chinese, I could direct my students to watch regularly-programmed Chinese language films or documentaries. The corruption of SBS not only deprives Australians from non-English language backgrounds of a right to maintain an interest in, and exposure to, their languages and cultures; it also deprives many in the so-called "mainstream" of an opportunity to develop skills, including language acquisition, in intercultural understanding.

As a wise man once said: "The pump don't work 'cos the vandals took the handles".

Civic Health and Wellbeing is under threat everywhere. Individuals within our many public institutions have never been under such oppressive "thinking" as under this one-sided cultural obtuse Costello and Howard government.

Keep working hard SBS. Your News is most important. Especially your coverage of the minority voices in the world who seek our attention and greater understanding.

Africa - The Flood - Darfur

Burma - the farmers struggle to grow food, the Monks struggle to end a dictorship.

We would never get this coverage monitored AND - AIRED in this country, if it were not for SBS.

Then there's DATELINE and INSIGHT. Both of these programmes have done much to elevate national discussing contributing to our educationed opinions and views which matter as we face the face of the future TOGETHER!

I still cant get over the interview of the SUN KING... REAL business speaks with such hope.

http://www.miacat.com/
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As something of an ABC/SBS tv addict I can but agree with the article and the two foregoing comments. SBS is losing relevency and seems to rely totally on soccer brodcasting to hang on to its pathetically small share of the viewing audience. The docos are moving away from political and religious comment, and the news bulletins are becoming increasingly bland, little more than copies of the commercial channels. Even Mary K has had enough. The Howard government is right on target with its clear policy of subverting independent information dissemination - SBS has virtually fallen victim, and ABC is under constant attack. If this man and his various cohorts are not sent to political oblivion at the forthcoming federal elections, then I predict the total demise of SBS qua original charter, and commercialisation of that marvellous (almost unique) institution - the ABC.

'...and a fourth commercial television licence might provide the type of variety SBS is currently serving up in defiance of its charter obligations.'

I doubt it very much. Commercial television in Australia has always pandered to the lowest common denominator and I can't see a fourth station being any different. Not that we want one anyway; we need another commercial channel like we need a hole in the head. If it was guaranteed to free up SBS so it could once again live up to its multicultural charter as suggested here by Peter it might be a good thing, but I think that's very much a case of wishful thinking. Besides, no matter how good the content, it's never the same once it's spliced with inane and annoying advertising.

I still think SBS's news is ahead of anything else we have in Australia, because of its international content and the fact it runs for an hour and has time to be more comprehensive. Dateline and Insight as mentioned above are good shows and Tuesday's Cutting Edge docos are some of the best on television. Yes, there's still a lot of good stuff on SBS.

Apart from the advertising and the winding back of its multicultural content, SBS for me is increasingly being spoilt by the amount of content that appears to have no purpose other than sexual titillation. Pushing boundaries is okay but for me it has to be for a wider purpose than mere titillation, or it really does reduce to nothing more than appealing to our baser instincts. A public broadcaster in particular I feel needs to rise above this trap.

In a country and a world that is crying out for greater understanding and dialogue between people from differing cultures, SBS's original charter of multiculturalism and diversity is needed more urgently than ever. There is however also a need for SBS to inform the nation more broadly and it should be able to perform both these functions. They are in no way mutually exclusive as Peter has tended to suggest.

A very astute oberservation by all, but caution must proceed the desires of increased commercial television and curtail the operations of those who use 'our' money (tax dollars) to promote their interest. When SBS was first awarded its license, with the assistance of public money, it was to provide multicultural media. This same principle has also been afforded to the ABC, and since 1993, the community television sector in Australia has also been on a vigorous campaign to obtain federal funding (public money) as well and they have also steered more towards commercial programming and practices. When will it stop, and when will the federal government have enough gumption to curtail these misguided media entities, such as SBS and community television. The problem here is that as more government funding is allocated towards these types of publicly-focused media structures, the more they line their pockets with higher pay than commercial media operatives and set their ambitions way beyond their expenditures, the more they will drain the government (our money) for services outside their intended charter. It's time we tell the federal government enough is enough. Merge SBS with ABC, restructure community television and give the public more local programming that is relevant to its society and not increased sudo-commercial television, or radio. There is too much of that in community radio as well.