A Right to Media? Lorie M. Graham - Columbia Law School

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490 COLUMBIA HUMAN RIGHTS LAW REVIEW [41:429 their communities.” 236 The result of the BRACS project is that there are now over a hundred community radio and television broadcasting facilities known as Remote Indigenous Broadcasting Services (RIBS). 237 In addition, there are “25 licensed aboriginal community radio stations across the continent.” 238 While many stations receive substantial government funding, approximately two-thirds of aboriginal station funding comes from advertising sales. 239 Australia has also worked to strengthen media access to its national television network, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), which became a nationalized, state-owned corporation in 1932. 240 ABC has an Indigenous Program Unit (IPU), which was established in 1987 and concentrates on creating indigenous programming and improving the representation of Aboriginal peoples in the media. 241 IPU has produced several long running programs and funds media production within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. 242 An interesting component of the IPU is the Bonner Committee, which was launched on July 11, 2003 and is designed to serve as a central point of conversation and dissemination of information on Aboriginal and Torres Strait 236. Powerhouse Museum, Broadcasting for Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme, http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/hsc/bracs (last visited Feb. 5, 2010). 237. Kalinga Seneviratne, Media-Australia: Aboriginal Radio Holds Its Own, Inter Press Serv., Apr. 5, 2008, http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=41872 (noting that “there are now 105 unique small community radio and television broadcasting facilities known as Remote Indigenous Broadcasting Services in farflung communities.”). 238. Id. 239. Id. 240. Austl. Broad. Corp., All About the Australian Broadcasting System 111 (2003), available at http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs/documents/ABC _Brochure_2003.pdf. ABC is entirely funded by the Australian government and has an annual budget of approximately $822 million dollars, which it uses to fund radio, television and online programming. Austl. Broad. Corp., ABC Budget 2006—2007 111 (2007), available at http://www.abc.net.au/corp/pubs /documents/budget2006-07.pdf. 241. See Austl. Broad. Corp., About: Indigenous Program Unit, http://www.abc.net.au/indigenous/about/indigenous_program_unit.htm (last visited Feb. 5, 2010) (“The Indigenous Programs Unit (IPU) was established by the ABC in 1987, with the objective of becoming a centre of excellence for production of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander television in Australia.”). 242. Id.
2010] A RIGHT TO MEDIA? 491 Islander issues. 243 The centralized nature of this high profile committee is key to connecting the various indigenous communities across Australia, and promoting networking and resource sharing. Another important factor tied to the IPU is the recent establishment of the Cultural Protocol, a set of guiding principles meant to assist non-indigenous journalists in their coverage of Aboriginal communities. 244 The comprehensive guide not only explains the culturally appropriate ways in which journalists should investigate and report on indigenous peoples or issues related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, but it also discusses the relevance of this respectfulness both to good reporting and social harmony. 245 Respect is an extremely important factor in promoting and ensuring a right to media for indigenous peoples. It is also the primary focus of Article 15 of the UNDRIP, which seeks to promote respect and tolerance among indigenous peoples and other segments of society through media sources. In terms of the recognition and promotion of indigenous peoples’ self-determining rights to develop and access media, there is the newly developed National Indigenous Television (NITV). In 2005, after decades of advocacy and activism on the part of Aboriginal communities and media professionals, the Australian government agreed to support the development of National Indigenous Television (NITV) with $48.5 million in guaranteed funding until 2010. 246 NITV’s goal is to produce programming from an indigenous perspective. When NITV commenced transmission in July 2007, the service was receivable by an estimated audience of around 220,000 people, including viewers in Australia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea. 247 243. Austl. Broad. Corp., About: Bonner Committee, http://www.abc.net.au/indigenous/about/bonner_committee.htm (last visited Feb. 5, 2010). 244. Austl. Broad. Corp., Education: Cultural Protocol, http://www.abc.net.au/indigenous/education/cultural_protocol.htm (last visited Feb. 5, 2010) (highlighting an awareness that protocols for indigenous communities have been ignored by many media outlets and the Cultural Protocol is meant to help the media to understand the importance of abiding by “Indigenous Protocols.”). 245. Id. 246. Nat’l Indigenous Television, History, http://nitv.org.au/index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=12 (last visited Feb. 5, 2010). 247. See Nat’l Indigenous Television, About Us, http://nitv.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7&Itemid=46 (last visited Feb. 5, 2010) (“The estimated audience of NITV will be
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