ACC Notebook: Clemson stumbling over spate of recent mistakes (Florida Times-Union)
It’s both mysterious and obvious to Clemson coach **Dabo Swinney.**
The Tigers have lost two of their last three games for one reason only: 11
turnovers, five fumbles and six interceptions.
But how did Clemson (9-2) become so mistake-prone, after leading the nation
with the fewest turnovers (six) through the first eight games, all victories?
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Florida Times-Union
One Nation
Earthbound - One Nation Trance Nation
Behind Bunnings, Next To An Auto Yard And Opposite Sign-A-Rama, You Will Find The Nation's HQ Of A Broadcaster Trying To Encapsulate The Stories Of The World's 6 Bln Folks.
Unsuited as it may seem, the Special Broadcasting Service's home in light-industrial Artarmon is a fitting place for a network attempting to address an identity crisis and the media revolution on scant resources.
When SBS television commenced on October 24, 1980 - United Countries Day - it began with a documentary, Who Are We? It's a nod to the cause of SBS's being : to reinforce the social policy of multiculturalism.
30 years on, a broadcaster that started with commercial-free radio and TV designed to showcase Australia's cultural variety now receives a third of its revenue from advertising. To several it's better known as the station that brought Top Gear down under, and the home of football and the Tour de France.
During the government's review of public broadcasting 2 years back, one viewer bitched that SBS had modified from ''a very special broadcaster of the past, into a de facto commercial lookalike''. Essentially, he asked : who are you, SBS?
Chris Berg, a research fellow with the Institute of Public Affairs, goes further : why are you still here? He says SBS has slipped into ''almost complete irrelevance''. ''It definitely can't hope to cater for the sheer diversity of migrant communities in Australia in 2011, and those communities have accessibility to home content through online and satellite services,' ' he asserts.
''The writing has been on the wall for SBS for many years, nonetheless it lumbers on usually because central authority programs are very tough to shut down.' '
The govt. professes excellent support, but that isn't paired with strong funding. In the last funding round, SBS won $20 million additional, but the ABC got $180 million, while the worthwhile commercial networks were relieved of $250 million in licence fees. SBS runs 2 TV channels and 4 radio stations on 1 / 4 of Channel Seven's revenue and less than a third of the ABC's.
The Net has brought a deeper challenge, undercutting the cause of its existence. Folk can now hear, see and read their own languages and cultures online whenever they want from their homelands.
But SBS's new MD, Michael Ebeid, believes it is needed now more than ever.
Ebeid, 45, personifies the broadcaster's inclusiveness. Born in Egypt, schooled at Epping Boys High and a previous head of promoting at the ABC, Ebeid lives in East Sydney with his partner, Roland, a Qantas pilot.
Three months into the job, he has settled into his pitch. ''Today, we have got double the number of people who talk another language than 35 years back when SBS was set up,' ' he asserts. ''So I'd disagree that cultural difficulty [means] SBS is needed and is more relevant today than ever.' '
Cultural enclaves may develop if migrants get all their stories from home. ''It means they don't seem to be getting news and current affairs from an Australian point of view and, as importantly, news and current affairs about Australia,' ' he is saying. ''I think that's a real worry for our society.' ' SBS can help by reporting Australian issues in migrants ' languages.
As for the harder question of the SBS identity, he wants to take it back to charter basics : less Top Gear and more Return To Where You Came From, which took 6 Australians distrustful about asylum hunters to Iraq and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the time it aired it was SBS's most well-liked program of the year - 524,000 spectators on the 1st night. The other networks frequently do double that. Its prime-time slice of the state audience has been about 6 per cent for the last 6 years.
But its point is to be niche, and Ebeid welcomes it. ''We are returning to being a more particular organisation,' ' he asserts. A ''large majority' ' of programs will focus on a charter that needs ''multilingual and multicultural' ' programs which ''inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing hence reflect Australia's multicultural society''.
His main worry is whether he can afford to get there.
The responsible minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, announces SBS is ''one of Australia's most crucial cultural institutions' ' - there is however without doubt SBS is fighting.
This week although it presented a real life show, Bollywood Star, it also canned its only forthcoming local drama. Dusty was to be a series primarily based on a detective in Darwin, in the custom of contemporary offerings East West 101 and The Circuit.
Nevertheless it just hasn't got the money for pricey Australian drama. ''We don't have anything on our commissioning slate for major drama and I suspect that could be a real shame.' '
The additional $20 million Conroy won for SBS is, in television terms, peanuts, particularly as it has got to compete with other broadcasters rushing to fill their digital channels.
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam claims : ''They are getting hit from a selection of fronts, and we think the most significant concern for the station is a serious increase in public funding.' '
Its three-year deal will be displayed in the following budget, and Ludlam claims the Greens will make ''a large deal' ' about its future.
Of its $207 million money in 2009-10, two thirds came from the governing body. Its position in the pay TV channels World Films and Stvdio provided $6 million, while $78 million came from advertising, first permitted on a public broadcaster by the Labor central authority in 1991.
Those rules were re-interpreted to allow commercial breaks to break programs and SBS told a Senate guesstimates investigation this year dumping them would cost it $45 million a year - nearly 1 / 4 of its earnings.
Ebeid is upbeat about a funding boost, but given the government's determination to revisit surplus, he isn't confident. His minister might be ''very supportive' ' but he's ''very realistic''.
If the money does come, SBS wants to supply 4 channels inside 5 years, improved news and current affairs, more local programs and lots more online and on-demand.
And if the money doesn't come? Ebeid warns of ''a lot tougher decisions' ' on what to show and what to hop. It raises the prospect of having to choose between entire migrant groups ; already some African groups miss out.
The government has asked it to launch an indigenous TV service with the $15 million it gives Countrywide Native TV, displaying on pay TV and in remote Aboriginal communities. Ebeid wants an indigenous channel but claims the quality needs to boost and so does the money.
''I do not wish to be running 3 underfunded TV networks,' ' he asserts. ''Fifteen million might seem like a lot but it's not when you have to commission content. You can't buy native content from the BBC."
Ebeid spends much of his time lobbying for money - the government, other parties and the ethnic communities who are his network's primary audience. Their support is seen as vital to winning more cash. ''Arguably, not a lot of politicians watch SBS, but I am able to bet that lots of their components do' as reported tagza.com.
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