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DogBitesMan » Entries tagged with "Carla Zampatti"

Man overboard!

Man overboard!

The much anticipated shake-up of Australia’s multicultural broadcaster SBS may have started, with the departure of one of former managing director Shaun Brown’s closest underlings. Less than a week after Brown officially left the corporation’s Artarmon headquarters, the head of SBS television and online content, Matt Campbell, announced he is quitting to join Shine, the TV production company founded by Elisabeth Murdoch and then purchased from her by father Rupert’s News Corp. After the acquisition was announced, … Read entire article »

Filed under: General, Media

White-anting starts early for new SBS boss

White-anting starts early for new SBS boss

SBS’s managing director-designate Michael Ebeid is still two months away from getting his feet under his new desk but already the white-anting has started. Nothing surprising in that; it’s an important job in Australia’s media and cultural landscape, so anyone taking it on is bound to come under scrutiny, especially someone as relatively unknown as Ebeid. [For more on Ebeid’s appointment, see DogBitesMan or New Matilda] And inevitably there will be some who see his qualities and qualifications … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, General, Media

Can this man reignite passion for SBS?

Can this man reignite passion for SBS?

Will SBS’s next managing director, Michael Ebeid, provide the spark to reignite a passion for Australia’s multicultural broadcaster? Many people hope so but at present hope is all they have. So little is known about the man himself. Egyptian-born, Australian-raised Michael Ebeid is such a cleanskin he’s almost translucent. Of course, many people rise to senior public jobs out of left field, but there’s usually a trail of some sort. With Ebeid there’s not much. Even a … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, General, Media

Cuts in news send strange signals from SBS

Cuts in news send strange signals from SBS

It was never going to be easy putting the good ship SBS back on course. Following hard on cuts to the multicultural broadcaster’s world famous subtitling unit, the axe is falling on the TV network’s other claim to fame: its news service. News Director Paul Cutler sent an email to all his staff asking for a show of hands of those willing to take voluntary redundancy. He said numbers would be small and blamed the need to pump more … Read entire article »

Filed under: General, Media

The many voices of one Australia – just not inside the building please!

The many voices of one Australia – just not inside the building please!

On its own, the shedding of more than 10 jobs in SBS’s relatively small Subtitling Unit could simply be a sad necessity, a realistic remedy for straitened economic times. SBS has limited funds, is not immune to economic downturns and must adapt to changing demands for subtitling foreign programs. SBS managing director Shaun Brown gave a Senate Estimates committee on Monday the reasons for what he called “surplus capacity” in Subtitling: “Firstly, technology has changed and consequently there … Read entire article »

Filed under: Featured, General, Media

Too little too late for SBS?

Too little too late for SBS?

After years of downplaying SBS’s multicultural credentials, managing director Shaun Brown now wants to be besties with the ethnic lobby. It might be too little, too late. Speaking at a recent symposium at Murdoch University entitled “Racism Revisited”, SBS managing director Shaun Brown made a case for allocating more funds for multicultural broadcasting at Australia’s second national network. Many in the audience would have been a little taken aback. Was this the same Shaun Brown who, in … Read entire article »

Filed under: Media

The bad news SBS was never going to report – about itself.

The bad news SBS was never going to report – about itself.

A confidential poll of staff at Australia’s junior public broadcaster, SBS, has painted a bleak picture of their faith in the corporation’s management. The survey measuring employee engagement found fewer than half the 614 staff polled thought SBS performed well in managing performance, promotion, innovation and communication. In some work areas, satisfaction was less than a quarter on individual issues. The workplace survey conducted in 2009 was based on methodology by the New Zealand-based pollsters JRA, following a … Read entire article »

Filed under: Media

SBS’s lost decade – an accident or vandalism?

SBS’s lost decade – an accident or vandalism?

When retiring SBS Chair Carla Zampatti steps up to receive the plaudits of employees at the broadcaster’s end-of-year party tomorrow night[1], it will mark the end of perhaps the most destructive era in the multicultural broadcaster’s 34-year history. Many fine words will be spoken, reams of media releases praising her time at the helm will be distributed — but nothing will be able to disguise the fact that, on balance, her tenure has been a flop. While the broadcaster … Read entire article »

Filed under: Media, Society