Media Activism and Democracy in Australia Mark Balnaves and Anne Aly (presented by Mark Balnaves at the CPRF) “In contrast to the situation faced by the BBC in the United Kingdom, the Australian Government does not see that the national broadcasters have a role at the 'bleeding edge' of digital, as a primary driver of change” (Williams, 2004). When Federal Liberal Party member Daryl Williams was communications minister in 2004 he announced in a key-note address that it is not the role of Australia’s public broadcaster to drive innovation. Ironically at the same time in the UK it was a public and policy expectation that BBC be a driver in innovation and activist in electronic democracy (Kevill 2003). Media activism sounds like something you would not want your kids to be involved in - the phrase hints at questioning authority and rocking the boat. But as Mueller and Page (2004) point out in their major report on media activism in North America, public broadcaster and community media activism are at the heart of ensuring there are informed citizens. Abusive control of information is possible in a modern democracy and a modern dictatorship. Community media, radical media and marginalized media are all attempts to provide communicative spaces for democratic dialogue and diversification of sources of opinion. In this paper the authors will outline the results of a study on how the West Australian Islamic community is responding to Australian media and how it uses its media, national and international, as a means for democratic dialogue. There is a perception that Islamic media are primarily ideologically driven by religious fundamentalism, but the actual activity in Australian Islamic community media is far closer to the principles of public service broadcasting. Internet and Media Activism Sian Kevill in February 2003 announced the BBC’s plans for digital democracy. “Internet-based political activism is happening. But so far, it is a world very much dominated by a small number of internet-smart activists; see, for example, www.stopesso.com . The BBC wants to help a wider audience find their voice by tackling obstacles to greater participation” (http://www.opendemocracy.net). Daryl Williams’s comments on the ABC and SBS in 2004 reflected the Federal Australian Government’s interest in the role of the ABC and SBS as “cultural institutions” that cover audiences that commercial providers do not – providing information, education and entertainment. The idea that Australian public broadcasters should be at the forefront of democratic dialogue is missing in Federal Government ideas about the ABC and SBS. But early founders of public broadcasters quickly recognized the difference between sending out information, education and entertainment and genuinely engaging in democratic dialogue. Lord Reith, a founding head of the BBC, argued that broaching controversial subjects was central to BBC’s role and implied in the Royal Charter. Moreover, the BBC should *not* broach controversial subjects in a “halting, inconclusive and even platitudinous manner” (Briggs, 1965, 128-129). Reith, though, had additional important