2003 - 04 Annual Report - Sbs

70The President vs David Hicks. ‘Inside Australia’, another new prime time slot dedicated to half-hour Australiandocumentaries, began in September 2003. In addition to these two prime time slots that showcase Australiandocumentaries, a series of self-contained 50-minute dramas generated strong interest. SBSi believes these minidramas can be a bridge from short film to feature length film making.Successful programs produced in-house by SBS Local Productions included The Food Lovers’ Guide to Australia,If Only…, Fashionista and She’ll Be Right, Boss. The Movie Show was suspended for a period and re-launchedin June with a fresher, more contemporary look, after the program’s former presenters accepted an offer to join the ABC.SBS Radio produces all of its own programs between 6am and midnight, seven days a week: a total of 14,820 hoursof programming each year. Even taking into account the overnight re-broadcast of the BBC World Service, SBS Radiomakes 87% of all its output across its two signals in Sydney and Melbourne and the National Network.In addition to programming by youth teams within various language programs, SBS Radio broadcasts Alchemy – amixture of talk, news, views and music reflecting the world’s youth cultures – 26 hours a week. In association withAlchemy, SBS Radio also undertook several major youth oriented projects during the year such as the ConFusion youthdevelopment program and Square Beats concerts in Victoria, the Sonic Allsorts recordings of younger musicians, andNational Youth Week, the largest single celebration of young people on the Australian calendar.The Aboriginal program is produced in English in Sydney and Melbourne three times a week and the Wednesdaymidday program is also re-broadcast by three other networks across Australia – the National Indigenous Radio Service(NIRS), the Anangu Network of Central Australia and the Pilbara and Kimberley Aboriginal Media (PAKAM).The newest programs on the Radio schedule – Malay, Somali, Amharic and Nepalese – and most of those programsgiven extended hours – Cantonese, Mandarin, Hindi, Filipino, Arabic and Indonesian – provide vital news andinformation services for new or needy communities, especially government information, legal issues, health andcommunity development.SBS Digital Media publishes a range of original online content, all of which is produced by Australians; often youngAustralians. These include, ‘My Space is an Amazing Place’. Co-produced with the South Australian Film Corporation,the 33 My Place video stories and associated online content involved nine young people from diverse backgrounds– film and television, new media design, programming and animation, arts and journalism.Twenty animations were produced for the ‘World Tales’ project which is part of the SBS-Film Victoria New Media ProjectAccord. The traditional folk tales, chosen by SBS Radio listeners, were creatively interpreted by young animators.They will be available on the SBS website and broadcast by SBS Television. Online Music, www.sbs.com.au/whatevercontinues to be a showcase of the creative talents of young musicians, particularly from non-English-speaking orIndigenous backgrounds.1.5OBJECTIVE:Increase investment in Australian contentMEASUREMENT:Additional amount invested in Australian content