COLUMNS

G'day from the Sentinel Team

Jonathan Bock, President of public relations organisation, Grace Hill Media, believes that "Christians have abandoned mainstream arts and entertainment over the last several decades."

He reminds us of the fact that "there was a time when Christians were the undisputed masters of art and literature ... ... we of the lineage of Michelangelo, Raphael, Shakespeare, Lewis, Tolkien and Carvaggio," and laments the situation we find ourself in today, where our separation from popular culture has resulted in "mainstream culture moving on without us," with "the world of entertainment coarsening in our absence."

We have been praying for the Lord to OPEN and CREATE doors within the Australian Media / Creative Industries, for godly workers who will be strategic in transforming cultural trends.

We believe that there are great opportunities for Australian Christians to make their mark in the telling of Australian stories that strengthen our society and promote wholeness and health in every area of life.


PLEASE PRAY WITH US FOR THOSE ON THE FRONTLINES OF THIS VITAL INDUSTRY



Under His Banner


Bev Holmes-Brown

"The power of creativity is going to be released through the church so that even the world's greatest inventors, artists and visionaries stand and marvel at the church.

Christians, who know the Creator, should be the most creative people on the face of the earth. We have a well of living water in us that can never be exhausted. However, it is a river, not a lake. A river is always flowing and going somewhere. True Christianity is the most exciting, invigorating life that can be experienced, and that river is about to become an irresistable force. If we are going to work with the Lord through these times, we must break free from the shackles and fears that pressure believers into conformity. This is one of the most devastating strongholds that have exalted themselves against the true knowledge of God..."

Rick Joyner, 1999, Mega-Trends in the New Millennium, Morning Star Journal p.60, Vol.10 / No. 1

Introduction

The Media is recognised by all as a powerful and influential communication vehicle that has the ability to manipulate opinion. In fact many refer to the Media as "Consciousness Industries,"because what they sell are ways of thinking, ways of seeing, ways of talking about the world."1

It is for this reason that most governments including ours, legislates through regulations, content standards and charters that ensure the protection of culture and identity.

The Importance of Australian Content Standards :

Our government considers Australian programs to be extremely important as a force / [or power] that influences national identity.

So much so that they pay particular attention to the promotion of Australia through Television.

Australian Television programs:

• Record and preserve our history.
  
  
• Depict the Australian way of life.
  
  
• Assist the development of national culture and identity through social comment and criticism, addressing major social issues.
  .
• Provide opportunities for the employment of Australian creative talent and prevent the loss of talent to other professions / countries.

What are Australian Content Standards :

Australian Commercial Television stations are required by the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, to comply with Australian Content Standards.

Essentially this means that 55% of programs aired between 6am and Midnight must be Australian.

This may sound like a lot but in actual fact it is considerably smaller than say the USA who require their broadcast content to be 96% American or the UK who require 85% of broadcast content to be British.

The ABC is Australia’s only national, commercial-free public television broadcaster. It operates separately from these content standards as it's functions and duties are "designated by Parliament in the corporation's Charter." Some of these are to broadcast programs that contribute to a sense of national identity, that inform, entertain and reflect cultural diversity.


Why are Content Standards important :

When George Bush first announced his decision to pursue a Free Trade Agreement with Australia in 2002, Australian Content quotas were immediately put under threat. Creative Industry heads were falling over themselves to ensure that their voice, and their ability to tell "Australian stories" was protected by government decision makers.

Australian content is an extremely vulnerable area within the industry as it is far easier and cheaper to buy movies and TV shows from the overseas.

To give an example, "in Australia it costs broadcasters an average of $250,000 to produce an hour of a television series, whereas it costs around $30-50,000 to purchase an hour of an American series, .... which often comes with a bundle of other programmes as part of the deal." 2

The sheer size of the USA and UK populations enable their producers to recover the production costs for movies and television, long before they look to export them. Consequently, they can sell them to to us at a price that is far less than our own production costs.

From this alone you can understand why those employed to write, act, produce, film, and create Australian programmes would feel threatened at the prospect of losing their right to retain control of their industry. And, why Celebrities rallied together to express concerns saying, "Please don't let the Australian disappear from Australian Television."

Problems within the Media Industry :

PR consultant Grahame Morris, in an article written for the Australian entitled, "Our cosseted film industry tells a Sad Australian story," is less than excited by the recent successes of Australian actors, saying, "yes, but they are all overseas telling other people's stories ... look at the dross we are making in Australia ... it is awful." He tells us that "of the 170 films that the Australian Film Finance Corporation have invested in, less than 10% have returned a profit".

Disillusioned by industry bureacracy he says, "If Peter Jackson went to Australian film authorities seeking funding for something like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he would be advised that the title was un-Australian and should be changed to "Shire Councillor of the Rings," that Middle Earth should be amended to become Woollongong South and that a film trilogy is silly, could he squash it into a two-hour TV drama.".

Believing that the film industry is failing in it's role he calls for an industry revamp, asking questions that provide fuel for prayer :

• How can we encourage Australian storytellers to tell internationally acceptable yarns?
  
• How can we get financial institutions to support productions?
  
• How can we become the hub of film-making for Asia?
• How can we produce lasting film work for tens of thousands of people

He believes it is time for : "Australian writers and film-makers to think beyond Bondi and use their creative talents to tell stories that move us, give charactes we can barrack for, give us dialogue that makes us laugh or cry and give us something that makes word of mouth valuable when we leave the theatre. Then the Nicoles, Mels, Russells, hughs, Erics, Naomis, Geoffreys and their proteges can come home to work and we can all feel proud of the stories, rather than simply applauding them for bringing other countries' stories to life."

Opportunities for Christians in the Media :

If the Australian Content Standards are created with the purpose of ensuring that Australian voices are heard in Australian programs ... and that Australian stories are told to Australians, then it is vital that Australian Christians are involved at the very forefront of production and storytelling.

Author, Didi Herman, is very vocal on the topic of attempting to dominate culture from the inside, she says, "Get conservative Christians into the media, into the film industry and the values and politics of those institutions will change."

The American Film Fund are in agreement, "We can no longer allow so few to trample on the rights of so many. We must join together and take back our airways, take back our movie theaters and take back our country!"

I may be naive, but it seems to me that the vulnerability of this whole area of Australian content quotas and the difficulty that stations have in producing quality entertainment on a low budget is providing a door that is waiting to be opened to the body of Christ.

PLEASE PRAY THAT THE LORD WILL STRATEGIALLY POSITION THOSE WITH THE ABILITIES TO WALK THROUGH OPEN DOORS AND TRAIN MORE WHO WILL FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS


NOTE:

This is part one of a series of updates on the Media that we are planning for 2006. Hopefully we have laid a foundation that helps you to pray with understanding for this vital area of Australian life.

Media Authority Reviews Children's Television Standards :

‘The objective of the children's television standards is to ensure that children have access to a variety of quality television programs made specifically for them’, said Lyn Maddock, Acting ACMA Chair. ‘With the development of new media in recent years, and the social changes that have accompanied that, ACMA wants to ensure that children’s television needs are still being met in the most appropriate way.’

... ACMA anticipates that a wide-ranging review of this nature will attract considerable interest from the broadcasting and production industries, parents, teachers and other groups and individuals with concerns for children’s welfare. The current assessment process for C and P classified programs, the quota system and the possibility of tradable rights are all issues that are likely to attract comment.

The current public debate over children’s obesity and the role of food advertising is another issue that is certain to arise in the course of the review.

...ACMA is aware of the competing views in the community over questions about what is in the best interests of children’ said Ms Maddock, ‘and we expect to hear from all sides in relation to a number of controversial issues. While ACMA has no pre-conceived views, contentious issues of this kind will be considered in the context of relevant ‘whole of government’ public policy and public health initiatives and well-grounded, evidence-based research.’

The full review process is likely to take between 12 – 18 months to complete. (Link)


ACMA 2005, ACMA decides to review the Children's Television Standards
Online, 21st December 2005

http://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.65640:STANDARD:865346986:pc=PC_100392

30th July, 2006 : Media Prayer Day

Hundreds of churches throughout New Zealand will be taking a few minutes of their Sunday service to pray for the spread of the Jesus-message through New Zealand's mass media.

That's through television, radio, film, electronic media and print.

Closer to the time, their website will be packed with ideas and resources to download to use as part of a Sunday church service.

For More Information: info@mediaprayerday.org.nz

http://www.mediaprayerday.org.nz/about/index.html

Media Authority Targets Dangerous Programming :

The Australian Communications and Media Authority is proposing to determine new standards for subscription and open narrowcasting television services.

‘These standards aim to prevent the retransmission or broadcast from within Australia of programs that directly support terrorist organisations and terrorist activities’ said Lyn Maddock, Acting ACMA Chair. ‘The proposed standards reflect existing Commonwealth anti-terrorism laws.’

Background : ACMA decided to commence the process for imposing standards following an investigation by the Australian Broadcasting Authority into the broadcast of Al Manar programming by TARBS in 2004. Al Manar is a channel based in Lebanon and was being delivered by TARBS, a subscription narrowcasting television service based in Australia.

The investigation revealed that the program material on Al Manar was attempting to solicit funds for terrorist organisations, and promote the activities of terrorist organisations, by calling for donations and publishing their website addresses (Link)


ACMA 2005, ACMA proposes anti-terrorism standards for narrowcast television services
Online, 17th December 2005

http://www.acma.gov.au/ACMAINTER.65640:STANDARD:865346986:pc=PC_100392

Plugged In Magazine and Plugged In Online are produced by Focus on the Family. They are designed to help equip parents, youth leaders, ministers and teens with the essential tools that will enable them to understand, navigate and impact the culture in which they live.

Annual Subscriptions to Plugged In Magazine are NOW available through Link-Zone ... 12 issues for $26.00 .... contact us at : Sentinels@Link-Zone.net

From the FOTF Website : Plugged In magazine excels in bringing to your doorstep penetrating editorials and cutting-edge analysis of entertainment and cultural trends, along with first-run music and television reviews.

Plugged In Online provides you with movie reviews as soon as films arrive in theaters. That's impossible to do with a monthly print magazine. This Web site also serves as an easy-to-access archive of the music and TV reviews that appear in the magazine. http://www.pluggedinonline.com/index.cfm

MOVIEGUIDE®: is a Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment and is produced by the Christian Film & Television Commission, who are dedicated to redeeming the values of the mass media according to biblical principles.

They work to influence media executives to adopt higher standards imbued with Christian and traditional family values, and to inform and equip christians around the world to make wise media choices based on a biblical worldview.

To commend those who do right.. (1 Peter 2:14); and, to expose ..the fruitless deeds of darkness.. (Ephesians 5:11).

Website Link : http://www.movieguide.org

The ABA were set up in 1992 as a requirement of the Broadcasting Services Act.

They operated under a range of powers, functions and policy objectives with a particular focus on the need for program diversity ... limits on concentration of ownership and foreign control of the mass media, reporting news fairly as well as respecting community standards.

It was also considered important for Australian media to ensure that they fostered an Australian Cultural identity. Commercial Television stations are required to comply with content quotas and standards, for example, 55% of programs shown between 6am and 12am must be Australian.

"The Australian Content Standard requires all commercial free-to-air television licensees to broadcast an annual minimum transmission quota of 55 per cent Australian programming between 6 am and midnight. In addition there are specific minimum annual sub-quotas for Australian (adult) drama, documentary and children’s programs." (ABA Website)

ABC TV is Australia’s only national, commercial-free public television broadcaster. ABC's functions and duties are designated by Parliament in the corporation's Charter. Some of these are :

... broadcasting programs that contribute to a sense of national identity and inform and entertain, and reflect the cultural diversity of, the Australian community;

... encourage awareness of Australia and an international understanding of Australian attitudes on world affairs;

... to encourage and promote the musical, dramatic and other performing arts in Australia.

The ABC Act guarantees its editorial independence, although the ABC is accountable to Parliament. By law and convention, neither the Government nor Parliament seeks to intervene in editorial and program decisions.

The only programming requirements imposed on the ABC is general ones: the ABC must provide programs 'of an educational nature'; it must broadcast regular sessions of news and information relating to current events within and outside Australia; and it must broadcast Parliamentary proceedings. (ABC Website Link)

Every film (including videos and DVDs) and computer game, whether produced locally or overseas, has to be classified before it can be made legally available to the public.

The Classification Board classifies films, computer games and publications ... There are six classification categories for films. G, PG and M are advisory categories. Advisory categories are not restricted to anyone. These classifications are recommendations only.

MA 15+, R 18+ and X 18+ are legally restricted categories – in other words, there are laws regarding who can watch material classified MA 15+ and over.

It is also possible for a film to be classified ‘RC’ (Refused Classification) – in other words, banned. The Classification Board is required to apply the law and classification guidelines in order to make its decisions. This occasionally results in material being refused a classification, which means that it cannot legally be shown, sold or hired in Australia.

...The Board does not classify TV programs or films for TV
(OFLC Website Link)