Is it going to rain in Moresby today, Karl? Lisa? Anyone?

RICHARD MARLES

I WAKE UP WITH Today. And I have since it was hosted by Steve Liebmann and Liz Hayes.

Don’t get me wrong. Sunrise is good. I have no complaint. It’s just that having let the Today crew into my house so many years ago, they are now part of the family. It is a simple question of tribal loyalty.

And so, having declared my interest, let me say that I now have a family tiff with Today which needs resolution. The Today Show is refusing to tell us the weather. And not just in relation to a smaller country town; but to a whole nation - a nation of seven million people.

One of the most loyal audiences for the Today Show is in Papua New Guinea. The show is broadcast into PNG not once, but twice: on the local TV station EMTV (which used to be owned by Channel 9) and on Imparja which airs in northern Australia.

For our PNG brothers and sisters, the Today Show helps set the scene of the Melbourne Cup, federal elections and the State of Origin. Indeed, it allows the Australian rhythm of life to pulsate in Port Moresby. For Australia, it is great public diplomacy.

But to what extent does the Today Show cater to PNG? Have you ever seen a piece on PNG?

PNG has just had the most extraordinary political year since Independence, culminating in an election which was a triumph for democracy, and the formation of the O’Neill Government. But did the Today Show once interview a PNG politician?

When Ryan Pini won a swimming gold medal at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games the streets were lined from Jackson airport back to Waigani. Did the Today Show tell that story?

And yet from Moresby to Lae, from Hagen to Goroka, the good citizens of PNG loyally begin their mornings by tuning into the Today Show.

It makes me wonder: has any program ever been so contemptuous of a section of its viewership?

So maybe the way to begin repairing this situation is for the Today Show to tell us what the weather is every morning in Port Moresby.

It shouldn’t be that hard. After all it’s pretty much the same every day: 31 degrees, steamy, with the possibility of storms.

If they told us about the weather in Port Moresby it might be possible one day to actually do the weather from Port Moresby, or even do an entire show from Port Moresby.

When I see my home town of Geelong come up on the weather map, it reminds me that we count, that Karl is speaking to me too. When the Today Show is broadcast from Geelong it is a moment of great local excitement and pride. We feel good about our identity.

The Today Show understands this which is why they do it.

But shouldn’t PNG count too? Isn’t Karl also speaking to them? Don’t they have the right to share in that local excitement?

In a country with hundreds of different language groups and ethnicities, PNG national identity is not to be taken for granted. Yet in order to embark on all the impressive and ambitious plans for nation building that the PNG government has, PNG needs all the national identity it can get. The Today Show really can help.

They can help Australia’s national interest as well.

PNG is our nearest neighbour. It is a country with a growing population that is already fifty percent bigger than New Zealand. Its economy continues to grow strongly. It is our second largest aid recipient; home to one of Australia’s largest diplomatic posts.

PNG is one of two countries that gained its independence from Australia. And it has seen some of Australia’s most iconic military engagements.

Whichever way you cut it, PNG is one of the most important bi-lateral relationships we have in the world. And its importance is growing. Yet this is a bilateral relationship which does not have the prominence that it deserves in our national discourse.

This is not an easy problem to solve and will require many different strategies at many different levels in order to succeed. But if the Today Show told us what the weather was in Port Moresby, at least its Australian viewership would know that there is a country to the north of Cape York.

At the end of the day this is mostly just an issue of plain respect. There is an audience in PNG which is watching the Today Show’s content, and then buying products from companies which are buying ads on the Today Show time slot.

The advertisers are paying good money because Papua New Guineans are watching. The least the Today Show can do is acknowledge the audience.

Hon Richard Marles MP is Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs and Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs

Comments

[Peter Kranz]

But as the show is broadcast widely in PNG on the only free-to-air channel and has many viewers, then surely it is a major influence.

This suggests it should accept it's responsibilities to its PNG viewers, and is also a major marketing opportunity for PNG interests (hint).

Today averages only around 350,000 viewers in Australia. I reckon the number in PNG is probably similar.

But even if it's half of the Australian figures, its a major share which should not be ignored or neglected.

[Bernard Yegiora]

Robin, Cathy Novak from SBS did well during the 2012 general elections.

[Bernard Yegiora]

Richard Reed and Richard Wilkins made the show interesting for me not for the entertainment news they reported but their personalities.

At one stage I questioned the rationale behind the Show because it was in a mega way irrelevant to PNG.

[Harry Topham]

Channels 7 & and 9 duke it out in the trenches with each trying to outdo each other to gain viewer ratings.

But alas, in the absence of any serious attention to more important issues other than celebrity gossip as raison d'etre, I notice they have recently taken that old tried and proven method of using cash giveaways as their main attention seeker.

Would be nice if some odd viewer in PNG could also occasionally,have the chance to win Lotto?

[Phil Fitzpatrick]

I'm with Johnny Blades but I would extend his comment to include 90% of all television.

With regard to Today, who cares whether their viewers know anything about PNG.

I imagine that the sort of people who watch it care very little about anything except themselves.

It is totally unnecessary that your average Australian moron knows anything about PNG.

[Robin Mead]

That's why I like SBS (including its weather) - a sense of context, connection to and inclusion in the larger world, rather than populist parochialism and often self-aborption.

And while you're about it, Richard, the shows could all take a hard look at why they so punctiliously report the Dow, the NASDAQ and Tapis - most people haven't a clue what they mean - and come up with more meaningful indicators and less waffle.

[Peter Kranz]

If Lisa dressed in Mekeo bilas, I'd watch Today.

And imagine Karl in Simbu feathers!

[Peter Kranz]

Johnny - you are right. Colin - you are sort of right. Karl has been to PNG and knows the country sort of, but I doubt he's been to any villages.

Karl - you stand free to correct me.

And he judged a beauty contest at Crowne Plaza. I was there.

Nevertheless Australia remains wildly ignorant about PNG - no thanks to Today.

[Johnny Blades]

Watching breakfast TV is bad for your health. That's a proven fact.

[Colin Huggins]

Good God, Peter! Karl Stefanovic! Dressed up as you suggest, never, he loves his friendly smile and his teeth.

The only reason he retains his job, the ladies watching his news go into 7th heaven.

I would be surprised if Karl really had a clue where PNG was.

David Attenborough may gave launched his career in PNG.
Stefanovic! Never. Sorry to disappoint the female readers.
Lovely teeth, pity about the brains.

[David Kitchnoge]

For us in PNG, the Today Show, 60 Minutes etc are great sources of knowledge and insight into your world.

If it isn't a business decision for EMTV to air the Today Show every morning, then perhaps they should consider breaking the monotony by alternating with other similar morning shows from around the region especially Asia.

[Kevin O'Regan]

I agree with Peter and, Richard, this is a bit like Foreign Ministers Bob Carr's flak and forgiveness earlier this morning.

Richard talked about the welcome home for Ryan Pini.

When the late Slim Dusty visited Mendi and performed a travelling concert in various centres about 19 something (memories gone), people lined the road from Hagen to Mendi before the advent of mobile phones and email.

As we said earlier this morning, Richard also has come in for his share of flak during the past year... but if he is now contributing and reading Attitude he also could be on the path for redemption.

Best.

[Lobes Lobes]

Do advertisers on Today really make money from PNG watchers buying their goods?

If Today stopped being broadcast in PNG would there really be a drop in revenue for these advertisers?

The answer to the above two questions would seem to be no.

Today is a commercial TV show not a diplomatic exercise.

They won't care about PNG unless it affects their ratings and/or their income.

[Peter Kranz]

Richard - They used to have the Port Moresby weather but dropped it around 2007. I actually wrote a letter to them complaining about this at the time, but never got a reply.

And Karl has been to PNG several times, and was greeted like a hero, but I believe stayed within the safe confines of the Crown Plaza.

Let's see a Today special on PNG with Karl and Lisa dressing in bilas and travelling around the Highlands.

If David Attenborough can do it (and he launched his meteoric career in PNG by the way) then they can too.