Multiculturalism?
No worries, we have got SBS for that..
Ideal excuse for blinkers
Levent Efe

The term SBS has two different meanings for Australians. Those who speak, hear and live in English first think of SBS Television, while those of us who are trapped between two languages rather think of SBS Radio. As those Turkish listeners habitually adjust their daily schedule for the 3pm broadcast on the radio, many of us tune to SBS TV for the soccer or nightly news bulletins by the one and only Mary Kostakidis.

In a recent interview for the weekly Turkish Report, the Australian Ambassador in Ankara, Mr Ian Forsyth confessed that SBS was the thing he missed the most during his days overseas. We may not have realized how valuable it is, but SBS is a major plank of Australian culture with its radio broadcasts in over sixty languages, unusual films from lands afar, its tolerant approach, opportunities it provides for those on the fringe, and the widest possible coverage of different sectors of the society. As almost all serious decisions in the country are currently taken in the boardrooms of multinational companies, one wonders how long the $80 million annual budget of SBS will survive. But should SBS be withdrawn from the airwaves for any reason, this country will undoubtedly lose some vibrancy.

It is not difficult to guess why we do have an institution like SBS in Australia. As the nation felt obliged to pump up the population with an ethnic mix following the Royal snub of the 50's, a palatable term was sought for this abrupt change in demographics. The term "multiculturalism", after being discovered perhaps by a diligent public servant or academic, is yet to set its roots in public consciousness after all those years. Although migrants from hundreds of ethnic origins lived together peacefully for decades, people of Australia still regard the racist fringe as an option, they are overwhelmingly reluctant to learn a language other than English, and are contemptuous towards any culture outside the Anglo-American sphere. The disturbance in the Australian subconscience created by this dilemma came to fruition in the shape of SBS over two decades ago.

At present, commercial outlets are heavily dominated by American imports, and ABC is under the monopoly of British products. Somehow Australian society is hoping to balance this subservience of "monocultural channels" with a unique "multicultural broadcaster".

The so-called "ethnic vote" should of course not be underestimated as a reason for SBS. But the multicultural broadcaster is currently serving as an ideal excuse for Australian culture to ignore anything outside the Anglo-American world. Who cares if ABC, with its relatively mega budget, does not screen a single subtitled film? Such trivialities are tendered to SBS anyway.. No worries if commercial channels enslave people to American culture and material imports from there. SBS is there anyway for bringing some flare and colour to the society.
   
One can hardly avoid making seemingly contradictory statements: perhaps, this current isolation of SBS is giving Australian culture more harm than good. Yet, the culprit is all the others, rather than SBS. The problem can only be alleviated within a few decades by ABC and the commercial networks waking up to realities of the outside world, and thereby diminishing those reasons for SBS' existence. Otherwise, Australian intellectuals, mesmerised by the cultural enrichment provided by SBS, will not be able to realise that major channels no longer have any local content other than footy and the news. SBS compensates for the widespread ignorance of other media outlets, thus their blinkers are hardly noticed.

Radio broadcasting is of course a different issue. Perhaps initiated as part of widespread ethnic condescension, the SBS Radios serve as temporary support for ethnic communities until they are able to rise on their own feet. We believe and also hope that no community group is expecting to receive SBS radio broadcasting in their own language until eternity. We may be thrilled that Turkish language is being kept alive by virtue of SBS Radio, but we naively forget that the political establishment provides this opportunity for us. Not only politicians and their bureaucrats have their hands on the taps, but also SBS Radios do naturally put time limitations on broadcasts in ethnic languages. As we feel content with receiving Turkish language programs eight hours a week, we tend to forget that our dynamic community actually needs eighty or more hours of such service.

They may well be the most loyal of SBS Radio listeners, but people of Turkish origin do obviously require their own private radio broadcasts. Just like we need diversity in print media, we have to establish vibrant commercial radios that will address all age groups. Radios that will still be interesting for the second and third generation Turkish-Australians, and that bring us the Australian agenda in our own language. Should Turkish language survive in Australia for another century, this will only be possible through private radio channels. There will perhaps be no more need for our existing electronic and print media that address primarily to first generation Turkish-Australians.

A Turkish proverb states that "One nuisance is better than a thousand cautions". After years of exposure to the state-controlled spin on political issues in Turkey, many Turkish listeners had difficulty tolerating the approach of SBS Radios. Now we can all watch the dull and insipid TRT (Turkish Radio Television) broadcasts via satellite in Australia. Thus we have an opportunity to discover that SBS Radios nurtured a quality of Turkish language no lesser than that of TRT, and SBS TV provides exceptional broadcasts to the Australian community.

Levent Efe