Category Archives: Media Access

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The Future of Media Accessibility

Australia:

            Today, Australia embraces a libertarian, or otherwise known as a free-market based theory of international communication. With this style, Australians have the most basic and purest of rights to freedom of the press. Australians are able to embrace individualistic needs within this government media style.

Australia has had a rich history of embracing all forms of media outlets dating back to the early 1900s and continues to embrace the newest technologies for its citizens to use today.

As the future progresses, Australia’s biggest push will be to attain more media access for the people living in the outback regions of the country. Australia hopes to give the entire country access to all forms of media – mobile phone services, broadband Internet connection, etc.

As the media access continues to improve, Australia’s biggest struggle will be defining the borders between over sensationalizing the news and keeping to the facts. Australia is most similar to the United States in its celebration of tabloids, and the like, that it will need to make sure it does not forget the importance of distributing the important global news to its people as well.

New Zealand:

            New Zealand was a colony of Britain until the late 1970s when Britain released the country from its trade agreements. Over time and since its liberation from Britain, New Zealand has gained a greater sense of nationality and independence as a singular nation.

However, due to the previous control Britain held over New Zealand, much of New Zealand’s media had been centered around and controlled by the British influence.

While New Zealand operates in a Libertarian form of media, today, the country is still attempting to make its various media outlets, including radio, television and Internet, more highly accessible to the people of its country.

The biggest struggle New Zealand will face, in my opinion, is limiting the digital divide the country is currently struggling to overcome. In the future, New Zealand will work to increase the Internet accessibility first and foremost, raising the at home accessibility from 40% to hopefully at least 70% in the next five years alone.

Do you think both of these countries are headed in the right direction? Or should either country be focusing on other issues within the nation?

Tell us what you think!

 

Link:

http://www.australiaonnet.com/media/

http://www.pointofview.co.nz/

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Some Technological Notes to be Considered

Australia:

Currently in Australia, mobile phone services reach 99% of Australians. For those who cannot receive this service, Australia has also equipped the country with satellite phone services. This feature is seen prominently in less densely populated areas where typical mobile phone services cannot reach.

Citizens of Australia have access to the worldwide news through various media outlets, including the Internet, mobile devices, and television and radio sources.

By 2011, 79% of homes in Australia had access to broadband Internet. In Australia, the Internet is most popularly used outside of the business environment for checking email, 91% of users, research, news and general browsing, 87% of users, and paying bills, 64% of users.

Today, 18.7 million working television sets are found in the homes of Australia, averaging 2 televisions per home. The country boasts having 133 mobile lines of phone connection per everyone 100 citizens, meaning there are currently 30,200,000 mobile phones in use in Australia.

images technology2

New Zealand:

In New Zealand, 99% of homes have access to mobile phone lines. There is 111.1 mobile phones lines activated for everyone 100 citizens, meaning the country has a total of 4,922,000 mobile phone lines in use.

Contrary to the vast majority with mobile phones in New Zealand, only four out of every five homes have access to the Internet to use it at least once a week. Although New Zealand has 3.4 million Internet users nationally, the digital divide has become a great topic of discussion within the country as only 40% of homes have direct access to the Internet.

For the majority of the population, television and radio are the most prominent forms of technology used at home. People do, however, obtain a great deal of world news at work from the Internet.

In New Zealand, people are limited to watching three broadcast channels. This greatly affects their access to what media they are able to view.

Is New Zealand being too strict with the technological services its provides? Is the digital divide an actual issue in New Zealand? Or is Australia just to loose with the technological access it gives to its people?

Tell us what you think!

 

Link:

http://www.stats.govt.nz/

http://www.communications.gov.au/

http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats

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Let’s Talk About Education… A Note on Social Factors

Australia:

            Australia is a nation that can brag about many things, one of such being its educational system. With a 99% literacy rate throughout the country, Australia currently ranks 35th globally in literacy competence. Australia embraces the policy, “where students come first” in their educational system.

Today the average student in Australia is expected to remain in the educational system until age 20 – finishing elementary, secondary, and some form of tertiary schooling. Students in Australia typically choose between Vocational Education and Training (VET) or another Higher Education program.

The Australian government also largely supports the nations educational system with an annual 5.6% of its GDP going to education. Its economy has been stable for the last 20 years and continues to look prosperous. Currently, Australia has the 18th largest purchasing power globally, with an estimated $998.3 billion GDP, leaving no excuse not to be able to offer the people of its country access to global media.

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New Zealand:

New Zealand has come a long way since the days of Britain’s reign, and its educational system is one of those programs that have made outstanding gains. Today, there is a 99% literacy rate within the country. Most students stay in school until age 19, with the majority of students choosing to enter a tertiary level. Schooling is compulsory for children age six through 16.

In comparison to the rest of the world, New Zealand ranks 27th in global literacy competency. In a 2013 achievement exam, New Zealand students performed at the highest level in reading competency followed by mathematics and writing. All schools in New Zealand are equipped with the necessary computers, Internet and technology to learn at the highest level. New Zealand embraces the concept, “giving everyone a fair go” when it comes to education.

Economically, New Zealand has the 64th largest purchasing power in the world with an estimated GDP of $136 billion. While New Zealand is still in the transition stage from being a largely agrarian economy, it is continually becoming more industrialized allowing for greater access to media sources for its people.

Do you think Australia and New Zealand are heading down the right paths to ensuring enough education for their students to have appropriate media access?

Tell us what you think!

 

Link: https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz

http://www.educationcounts.govt.nz/

http://education.gov.au/students-first

 

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Australia Embraces Greater Media Access for All

Although Australia has only had freedom of the press since 1972, it has made its media content as accessible to the people of its nation as possible. Australia strives to give its citizens equal access to the media, and by the media, it means every single form.

In 2009, Australia looked to expand its media accessibility to all citizens of Australia, especially those labeled with disabilities of hearing, sight and mobility. Media Access Australia (MAA) released a survey to the people of Australia regarding how user friendly social media sites were for people with disabilities to use and what could make such social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube etc.) even easier for people with disabilities to use.

MAA looked to use this study to improve upon ways people with disabilities can participate in social media, learn which social media applications are easiest to use and what makes them easy to use, and to discover what types of changes to these applications would make social media more accessible for everyone.

In an age when social media is so prolific, especially among the Millennial Generation, Australia is looking to make these medias as easily useable for people of all capabilities.

After two years of reviewing results, Australia discovered the necessary changes to these various sites and has been implementing them into the system updates ever since to improve all citizens accessibility to their favorite social media pages.

These technological updates are huge for the people of Australia who may not be able to preform everyday tasks easily as someone without impairments. It keeps them involved in the constant flow of media that happens daily, without restrictions.

Are these technological improvements to Internet access substantial enough? Should Australia be making other changes to make media more accessible for the people of the country?

Tell us what you think!

 

hLink: http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/web/social-media-for-people-with-a-disability

 

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New Zealand Not Reaching All?

The process of captioning

The process of captioning

As of 2013, New Zealand was given bragging privileges by Reporters Without Borders by being the only non-European country to fall within the top ten rankings on the organization’s Freedom of the Press Index. While this is an achievement worth celebration, it does not mean New Zealand has reached perfection.

In 2011, the New Zealand Broadcast Access Council released the results of a survey regarding the use of “captioning” in television programming. The results were unsettling for the 250,000 deaf and hearing-impaired citizens of the country – only 10% of New Zealand’s broadcasts used captions.

Captioning, as defined by the Federal Communications Commission, is “allowing persons with hearing disabilities to have access to television programming by displaying the audio portion of a television program as text on the television screen.” New Zealand, however, does not have any regulation in place to require all television broadcasts to implement the practice of captioning.

In essence, this leaves 6% of New Zealand’s population without fully functioning television media access. While individuals with hearing impairments can still enjoy silent television media, they are left without potentially the most crucial part (especially regarding news media), the textual content.

New Zealand’s main television broadcaster, NZ on Air, is the only New Zealand broadcasting agency funded directly by the government. After the Broadcast Access Council revealed the results of its survey, it petitioned to NZ on Air for more captioning to provide greater media access for the people of New Zealand. Unfortunately, by the most recent statistics released in 2013, little technological changes have been made. In fact, the only broadcasting agency to make an improvement in television media access was non-government sponsored, SkyTV. By February of 2013, they used captioning on 13 of their channels and NZ on Air still had not added any captioning.

It is amazing to see that no legislation has been put in place.

While New Zealand still has the right to boast freedom of the media, is it really that accessible when 6% are immediately cut off from television access? Or is the accessibility more limited than is perceived by the rest of the world?

Tell us what you think!

 

Link: http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/research-policy/international-access-regulation/new-zealand