Australia was a latecomer to broadcast television in 1956, 30 years after John Logie Baird's first public demonstration of a true television broadcast signal in 1926. Broadcast TV went on to disrupt existing news, media and entertainment to form a billion-dollar industry engaging and assembling audiences and reaching into every part of Australia, from cities to remote communities. But the disruptor has become the disrupted. Streaming, social media and countless media convergences have irrevocably changed the broadcast TV industry. The future of television broadcasting in Australia is highly uncertain.
This symposium brings together industry and academic experts in television production, news, advertising, and policy to discuss the question: What would Australian culture look like without broadcast television?
Over this one-day event, we will explore this provocative question through a keynote address by Professor Jock Given (Swinburne University of Technology), and expert panels drawn from television production, news, advertising, and policy.
Panel 1 – The History of Australian TV (moderated by Dr Damien O'Meara)
- Mitch McTaggart – writer, producer, host of The Last Year of Television and The Backside of Television on Binge
- Amanda Higgs – writer, producer and executive at Matchbox Pictures, co-creator of The Secret Life of Us
- Jessica Balanzategui – Associate Professor in Media and Cinema, RMIT
Panel 2 – Is There a Future for Australian News on Broadcast TV? (moderated by Professor Alexandra Wake)
- Hugh Nailon – Nine National TV News Director
- Justin Stevens – ABC News Director
Panel 3 – Not Happy, Jan...: Australian Television and Advertising (moderated by Professor Robert Crawford)
- Ricci Meldrum – Managing Director at TBWA\Melbourne
- Simon Lawson – Managing Director at PHD Melbourne
- Jackie Dickenson – Senior Research Associate in Advertising at the University of Melbourne
Panel 4 – Australian Broadcast TV Today and Beyond (moderated by Dr Alexa Scarlata)
- Jenny Buckland – CEO of the Australian Children's Television Foundation
- Marco Angele – Media and Entertainment Lawyer at Marshalls + Dent + Wilmoth
- Djoymi Baker – Senior Lecturer in Media and Cinema at RMIT University
- Dean Dezius – General Manager at Freeview Australia
The conference will close with the launch of the new book, Australian Queer Screens: Diversity and Social Inclusion in Film and TV (Rob Cover, Whitney Monaghan, Stuart Richards, Scott McKinnon, Tinonee Pym. 2026), with Damien O'Meara in conversation with authors Professor Rob Cover and Dr Whitney Monaghan.
The symposium is organised by RMIT's Dr. Damien O'Meara, Dr. Alexa Scarlata, Dr. Josie Vine, Associate Professor John Tebbutt, and Professor Lisa Waller.
The event concludes at 5pm, with the serving of refreshments and networking opportunities to follow.
