Since their inception in the early 1960s, Australian content requirements for commercial television have been subjected to considerable scrutiny through a series of formal inquiries. Over the last ten years this process has intensified. In recent years there have been a number of academic criticisms regarding the state of debate about the regulation of Australian content on commercial television and the capacity of the debate to generate genuine criticism and embrace change. This thesis examines the dynamics of debate about Australian content. It focuses on the ABT's Inquiry into Australian Content on Commercial Television (ACI) which ran from 1983 to 1989. It takes as its basic point of reference Jurgen Habermas' concept of the 'public sphere'. This concept refers to a realm of social life, separate from the state and private spheres, in which 'public opinion' can be formed. Habermas has argued that, with the refeudalisation of the public sphere, the state and private interests have increasingly collaborated to close off the public sphere. The thesis concludes that in many respects Habermas' concept of a refeudalised 'public sphere' is a useful explanatory tool for understanding the dynamics of the ACI and the limited degree of criticism generated by it. However, Habermas' model is limited in so far as it fails to accord adequate recognition to the complexities and significance of the mediation of the 'public interest' by key participants in the inquiry and the strategic role of rhetoric for these participants. Habermas concludes that with the refeudalisation of the public sphere and the disappearance of the historical conditions which supported its operation, the public sphere must now be reconstructed on a case by case basis. Attempts to achieve this, have tended to focus on the facilitation of citizen participation in public policy debate. However, as this analysis of the ACI demonstrates, the dynamics of the debate itself appear to limit I the degree to which 'public opinion' can be elevated above 'private interest'. This thesis demonstrates that the mediation of the 'public interest' assumed a central role in the rhetoric and strategy of the ACI. Each of the key players represented distinct interests and were largely unaccountable to the 'public' they claimed to serve. This thesis concludes that in order to gain a more detailed understanding of how communication works in such a context, and in order to conceive of alternative participatory forms, we need to focus on those aspects of public discourse which Habermas neglects: the rhetoric and the strategic nature of public representation. It suggests that fruitful avenues for further study may lie with Bantz's notion of communicative structures or Luhmann's systems approach to communication.

The broadcasting sector is a subject of continual debate in modern society. One of the oldest segments of the rapidly-evolving information technology and communications industry, it is still the most content rich and the most popular. Australians who watch television spend more time doing so than doing any other leisure activity – except those who fish (ABS 1998). Broadcasting is highly pervasive. Some kind of service is available and used in every Australian household. Everyone is an expert, everyone has an opinion. Since the Federal Government decided to allow the introduction of domestic subscription television in 1992, pay television has been broadly dismissed by its media rivals as being unpopular, unprofitable and unnecessary. In turn, the Australian pay television industry considers that it is over-regulated, especially compared to the free-to-air sector, and that much of this regulation severely constrains its ability to grow its subscriber base. This thesis examines whether the Australian subscription television industry has achieved the aims set for it by the legislators in 1992 – that is, whether it has ‘met its promise’. To achieve this, the thesis first identifies the ‘promises’ of an Australian subscription television industry. In assessing whether the industry has met its promise, the thesis considers various aspects of the industry, including what the industry has needed to do to make itself profitable and ensure its longevity and the environment within which the industry operates. The thesis examines the role that content plays in attracting subscribers and considers whether minimal content regulation has resulted in a paucity of local content on subscription television in Australia. The thesis draws on existing academic literature, government publications, information released by the subscription television industry itself and interviews conducted in the course of the project with the Australian subscription television sector. It also uses and builds on ratings data to examine the programs and channels that are offered by Australian pay television services. In concluding, this thesis makes an assessment of whether the Australian pay television industry has met its promise.