2003 - 04 Annual Report - Sbs

69In 2003-04, bulletins were added in Arabic, Vietnamese and Tagalog. According to Australian Bureau of Statisticsdata, these languages are the fifth (Arabic), sixth (Vietnamese) and 10th (Tagalog) most commonly spoken languagesin Australian homes. This ‘most commonly spoken languages’ measurement is the principal criterion used by SBSin determining the inclusion of available news bulletins in its WorldWatch line up. This approach is neutral as to thepolitics of the countries from which broadcasts are taken.Following demonstrations by sections of Australia’s Vietnamese community who opposed the broadcasting of anynews service from Vietnam’s state broadcaster, the Vietnamese program, Thoi Su, was withdrawn from theWorldWatch schedule. SBS expressed regret that it had inadvertently failed to honour a previous undertaking toconduct appropriate consultations with representatives of the Vietnamese community before introducing the programinto the WorldWatch schedule. SBS’s policy was amended. In future, a decision on whether to introduce a newprogram on WorldWatch is to be based not only on the size of the language community in Australia but also on “acareful assessment of all available programming sources in that language to determine which, if any, is best suited toserving the community’s particular needs”.Surveys commissioned by SBS and conducted by McNair Ingenuity Research which gauged the viewing and listeninghabits of nine language communities in Australia showed that, in aggregate, 94% of respondents both found value inSBS Television and regarded it as important in today’s culturally diverse society.SBS Online received regular qualitative feedback from its audiences through its live web chats, forums, guest books or‘have your say’ pages. Eighty per cent of all SBS websites maintained highly active opinion pages.In April 2004, SBS hosted a forum with the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia and the AustralianPartnership of Ethnic and Religious Organisations to discuss their concerns about perceived changes in SBS Televisionprogramming. The organisations said they were pleased with the forum and optimistic about their future relationship withSBS. SBS received representatives of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council and the State of Palestine GeneralPalestinian Delegation to hear first-hand their concerns about alleged bias in news, current affairs and documentaryprogramming concerning the Middle East, and about the capacity of SBS to review complaints objectively.The SBS Community Advisory Committee met four times during the year to provide community perspectives anddetailed feedback on a range of SBS programs and operations. Informal contact with Committee members wasmaintained throughout the year. SBS was represented at various industry forums and on strategic bodies, such as DigitalBroadcasting Australia, where opportunities to increase audience engagement were identified.1.4OBJECTIVE:Create and deliver an increased range of distinctive Australian contentMEASUREMENT:Increased local content in specifically targeted genres; distinctiveness measured against public broadcasting benchmarksIn 2003-04, SBS Independent (SBSi) commissioned 110 hours of Australian drama and documentary (up 17.5 hours fromthe previous year) and provided 60.5 hours of first run Australian programming for broadcast (up 16 hours).An important new prime time strand in the schedule, ‘Storyline Australia’, featuring some of the best Australiandocumentaries commissioned through SBSi, commenced in March 2004 with the feature length documentary