ABC boss Mark Scott to speak on future of media
THE boss of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation is set to examine where the media may be headed after the fall of the great media empires.ABC Managing Director Mark Scott will present "The Fall of Rome: Media after Empire" as the A.N. Smith Memorial Lecture in Journalism this month.
Like its economy, Australia's media market was built on a balance of public and private enterprise.
In commercial television, the age of media moguls is passing. Private equity now dominates. In newspapers, the Murdoch media empire has responded to the crisis of advertising by proposing to transform the online world in the same way that cable transformed television - by making consumers pay.
What happens to quality journalism when its reach and audience are limited in this way? What will Australians expect of the ABC in the next decade?
As Managing Director to Australia's national broadcaster, Mr Scott has presided over a significant transformation of the ABC, extending its leadership in news and introducing independent auditing. Its international engagement has expanded through new partnerships with agencies like AusAid, and growing audiences for Radio Australia and Australia Network. The ABC has inaugurated Australia's first internet television service, iView and won its highest audience share on record in radio and television.
Before joining the ABC, Mr Scott spent almost 12 years in senior editorial and executive positions with Fairfax Media, including as Editorial Director of the Fairfax newspaper and magazine division, and Editor-in-Chief of metropolitan, regional and community newspapers.
The A N Smith Lecture in Journalism commemorates Arthur Norman Smith, a leading political journalist. Over its 70-year-history this prestigious lecture has attracted a series of distinguished speakers. Previous speakers include Rupert Murdoch, Bob Hawke, Michelle Grattan, Peter Beattie, Jon Faine, Maxine McKew and Michael Gawenda.
The Fall of Rome: Media after Empire - The A.N. Smith Memorial Lecture in Journalism.
Wednesday 14 October at 6.30pm
Basement Theatre, The Spot, The new Economics and Commerce Building, 198 Berkeley St, Carlton. Admission is free. Bookings are required. To book please register at www.unimelb.edu.au/public_lectures/
Enquiries: cfargher@unimelb.edu.au, +61 3 8344 6004
Parking: www.pb.unimelb.edu.au/parking/