Last week, the Managing Director of SBS Television announced that another one-third of the staff of the SBS Subtitling Unit will be made redundant. On top of the marginalisation of unique multicultural content, the introduction of mid-program advertising, and the programming of the station to render it thoroughly mainstream, we are now left fighting for the survival of a distinctively Australian resource.
The Subtitling Unit was essential to what made SBS Television unique in global broadcasting. Now it will be left with 20 staff serving three channels, where once 60 staff served one single channel. For what little non-English content remains on the station, the MD has said he will buy inferior subtitles overseas, because they are cheaper.
The SBS Subtitling Unit has been acknowledged for decades to be the best in the world. If it were a football team, it would be regarded as a national treasure and promoted, marketed and funded accordingly. Instead, it will now be the victim of a rationalisation to save a few dollars, and in the process, the jobs of a team of specially skilled Australians will go offshore.
Save SBS Television. Copy this and email your MP
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