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Australia's ABC unveils "soft diplomacy" plan

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation plans to open more Asia-Pacific bureaus and to launch services in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, ABC head Mark Scott told ABC Radio National on 5 November.

Scott said Australia had played a key role in creating the G20, and so it was appropriate for the ABC to engage in "soft diplomacy" to promote Australian culture and values. He said Australia was currently spending 35m dollars per year on international broadcasting, while the BBC was spending 900m dollars.

"We think with some more money we can do significantly more, we can get better content into more homes and get the Australian message out." Scott denied that soft diplomacy was a difficult issue for the broadcaster. "It's certainly not propaganda, it's not state broadcasting... but it's a contemporary independent democracy on show." The focus of reporting would be on the Asia-Pacific region, Scott said, but "if you can present some of that content in Arabic, then your audience for that will significantly grow in those parts of the world".

Meanwhile, the parent company of private network Sky News Australia accused the ABC of trying to block competition, Radio Australia reported. The Australian News Channel said the ABC expansion would lock up the Foreign Affairs Department's contract for TV services.

Source: ABC Radio National audio website, Sydney, 5 Nov 09; Radio Australia, Melbourne, 5 Nov 09

 

 


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