SBS adverts: update on the petition you signed

Hi friends,

Both of us want to thank you very much for recently signing our petition to stop even more ads on SBS. Some 62,000 others signed too. None of us want SBS to become yet another commercial broadcaster pandering to advertisers at the expense of the Charter. It wouldn’t be the same. Soon we will present the petition. We’ll keep you posted on that.

We’d like to let you know the latest on our petition and also mention that the campaign, which has not finished yet, was made possible by the good work of GetUp! and Save Our SBS.

The news

A month ago, the Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull introduced the Communications Legislation Amendment (SBS Advertising Flexibility and Other Measures) Bill 2015 into the parliament and this Bill – that would double advertising and permit ‘product placement’ on SBS – was referred to the Senate Communications Committee who will write a report. The Committee may recommend the Bill remains as is, be amended or dropped. If it is not dropped, the Bill could be voted on in May. Around that time we’ll email you about the next phase of the campaign and be doing everything we can to stop SBS from being further commercialised.

Have you heard of Save Our SBS?

If it weren’t for Save Our SBS supporters & friends of SBS, our multicultural broadcaster would be far worse off and our petition never would have commenced.

Many people who signed the petition are members of Save Our SBS, and a number joined as a result. You may be one. But if you are not, we’d like to ask you to consider joining as campaigns like this take time and funds. Save Our SBS is the national peak body of supporters & friends of SBS. It is a grass roots not-for-profit organisation run by ordinary people like you, who, have run a number of successful campaigns over the years.

We’d like to suggest you join Save Our SBS – if you are not already a member. You can join as either an active member or simply an expression of support and friendship. Join here.

SBS – the world’s first multicultural broadcaster – is unique and special. However, with less funding than any other national broadcaster, it is constantly under threat from government and commercial interests. Save Our SBS supports the decommercialisation of SBS and diverse multicultural/multilingual programs. Save Our SBS actively lobbies for greater public funding for SBS and scrutinises it to operate in a fair and transparent manner, mindful of its Charter and speaks out when governments undermine or threaten it – hence the petition that you signed. Join Save Our SBS now.

For more information, just browse SaveOurSBS.org and read some of their articles.

Save Our SBS was instrumental in getting our petition off the ground but let’s ensure it doesn’t stop here.

Will you join Save Our SBS and help to ensure this good work continues? Look here and act now.

Best Wishes,

Margaret Pomeranz & Quentin Dempster

PS: Existing financial members of Save Our SBS do not need to click.