Be careful what you ask for: ACMA’s bid for more power
In this crossposting from The Conversation, Bruce Baer Arnold from University of Canberra questions if the Australian Communications and Media Authority bid for more power is something the public should be wary of.
A media super-regulator, bigger and bolder than anything considered by the ALP? Or just an ambitious government agency engaged in street theatre as the Coalition slashes the public service? Those are questions for anyone reading the upbeat annual report from the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
The Finkelstein report into media regulation is dead. It is unlikely to be disinterred as long as Murdoch’s media group keeps cheerleading about ‘The Australian Century’ and a mining magnate doesn’t buy influence by swallowing Fairfax or APN.
Why should consumers be frightened? ACMA should have more power. If you have ever been at the wrong end of tabloid shows on TV you’ll know that they’ll stall, evade and if necessary litigate you to death. To have suspending a TV licence as the only regulatory penalty is like giving individuals the death penalty for j walking. Politicians are intimidated by popular media and it is consumers and poor individuals who get shafted.