The recent media reforms were not just about ownership. The quiet revolution was the changes to the captioning provisions of the Broadcasting Services Act. Whilst the amendments tightened up some previous loopholes, they also opened up a range of new areas of potential dispute. There is no quick fix and one thing is clear: if you are disabled, access to the expanding possibilities of digital television is less assured than a firm date for analogue switch-off.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)2005a, ‘Investigation Report no. 1507: News and Election Updates Broadcast by STW on 21, 25 and 26 February 2005’.
2.
Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)2005b, ‘Investigation Report no. 1520: Closed Captioning of Local News Broadcasts on NEN’.
3.
Sydney Morning Herald2006, ‘Digital Education Campaign Switched On’, Sydney Morning Herald, 23 November.
4.
TaylorH.KeeffeJ.VuH.T.V.WangJ.J.RochtchinaE.PezzulloM. LynneMitchellP.2005, ‘Vision Loss in Australia’, Medical Journal of Australia, vol. 182, no. 11, pp. 565–68.
