WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 1994
THE FIRST IS AS A PUBLIC BROADCAST SERVICE, KNOWN COMMONLY INTERNATIONALLY SIMPLY AS PBS. OF COURSE OUR OWN RTHK ALREADY PRODUCES 10 HOURS OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS TELEVISION EACH WEEK, SO YOU COULD SAY WE ARE ALREADY PROVIDED WITH A PBS FACILITY. RTHK MAKES PROGRAMMES ON CURRENT AFFAIRS, DRAMA, INFORMATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICES, VARIETY AND QUIZ SHOWS, CHILDREN AND YOUTH, AND EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION. THEIR FOCUS 18 LARGELY ON PROMOTING CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY AND SOCIAL AWARENESS. RTHK, HOWEVER, DOES NOT HAVE ITS OWN DEDICATED BROADCAST CHANNEL AND HAS TO RELY ON ITS PROGRAMMES BEING CARRIED BY OUR LOCAL BROADCAST LICENSEES SO IT COULD INDEED BE ARGUED THAT THERE IS ROOM FOR AN UPGRADING AND EXPANSION OF THE SERVICE.
MANY
PUBLIC BROADCASTING IS WELL ESTABLISHED OVERSEAS. COUNTRIES HAVE THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT-FUNDED DEDICATED PUBLIC BROADCAST CORPORATIONS PRODUCING THEIR OWN CHANNELS. FAMOUS EXAMPLES ARE THE BBC IN THE UK AND THE ABC IN AUSTRALIA. SUCH STATIONS ARE RENOWNED FOR THE QUALITY AND DEPTH OF THEIR PROGRAMMING.
FOR
IN THE USA STRONG PUBLIC SENTIMENT HAS MADE IT OBLIGATORY THE GOVERNMENT TO SET ASIDE FREQUENCIES FOR NON-COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING, BUT VERY FEW PBS CHANNELS ARE GOVERNMENT-RUN. MOST ARE PROVIDED BY CABLE STATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS ORGANISED WITHIN THE CABLE INDUSTRY. THEIR FUNDING IS FROM A MULTIPLICITY OF SOURCES INCLUDING PUBLIC DONATIONS AND INSTITUTIONAL SPONSORSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT FUNDS ONLY CONSTITUTING A SMALL PROPORTION. AS A RESULT PBS IN THE US IS SEEN AS LARGELY INDEPENDENT OF THE GOVERNMENT. ONE PARTICULAR CHANNEL, CABLE SATELLITE PUBLIC AFFAIRS NETWORK, KNOWN MORE COMMONLY AS C/SPAN, PROVIDES A VERY INTERESTING MODEL FOR WHAT CAN BE DONE ON A PBS SERVICE. ITS TWO TELEVISION CHANNELS PROVIDE FULL COVERAGE WITHOUT EDITORIAL COMMENT OF THE PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE U.S. SENATE, AS WELL AS AIRING OTHER PUBLIC AFFAIRS PROGRAMMES PRODUCED BY C/SPAN TEAMS. ANOTHER GOOD EXAMPLE OF PBS BROADCASTING FROM THE U.S. IS THE CHILDRENS TELEVISION WORKSHOP WHICH PRODUCES QUALITY CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMES LIKE SESAME STREET.
IT IS CLEAR FROM OVERSEAS EXPERIENCE THAT PUBLIC BROADCASTING GENERALLY IS ASSOCIATED WITH QUALITY PROGRAMMING, SERIOUS AND IN-DEPTH TREATMENT OF CURRENT AFFAIRS AND NEWS REPORTING, TOGETHER WITH A HEAVY EMPHASIS ON CULTURE AND THE ARTS, AREAS THAT ARE OFTEN UNDER- REPRESENTED FROM COMMERCIAL STATIONS. THIS THEREFORE IS SOMETHING THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED FOR HONG KONG ALTHOUGH WE WOULD NEED TO BEAR IN MIND THAT BOTH IN THE PROGRAMMES IT ALREADY PROVIDES AND IN CHANNELS THAT IT HAS PLANNED FOR THE FUTURE, WHARF CABLE HAS DONE A VERY COMMENDABLE JOB IN PROVIDING GOOD COVERAGE OF LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS AND REACHING OUT TO MINORITIES AND TO GROUPS WHICH ARE NOT SO WELL-SERVED BY TRADITIONAL TV PROGRAMMING. WE MUST BE CAREFUL ΤΟ RESPECT THE SPECIAL NATURE OF PBS AND NOT ΤΟ DUPLICATE WHAT IS ADEQUATELY PROVIDED BY THE COMMERCIAL LICENSEES.
THE SECOND MAIN WAY WAS THAT THE GOVERNMENT CHANNELS PROVIDED BY WHARF CABLE COULD BE USED, OF COURSE, IS FOR PUBLIC ACCESS CHANNELS (PACS). MANY MEMBERS HAVE SPOKEN OUT STRONGLY IN FAVOUR INTRODUCTION OF SUCH A CHANNEL IN HONG KONG. IT WOULD BE THEREFORE ΤΟ NOTE, FIRST OF ALL, HOW PACS HAVE BEEN OVERSEAS.
OF THE AS WELL ORGANISED
/THE CONCEPT
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