REVIEW: A fascinating, timely account of ABC ‘soft power’

Review of International Broadcasting and Its Contested Role in Australian Statecraft: Middle Power, Smart Power, by Geoff Heriot

Abstract

International Broadcasting and Its Contested Role in Australian Statecraft; Middle Power, Smart Power, by Geoff Heriot. Melbourne, VIC: Anthem Press. 2023. 292 pages. ISBN 9781839985041

In May 2023, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong announced what she called a ‘transformational package of support’ for the Pacific, including money for infrastructure, security and criminal justice. It came amid growing competition with China in the Pacific. included in the package was a promise to ‘leverage’ Australia’s strengths, including broadcasting (and sports links), as part of an Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy, enabling more Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) members to access Australian content. Australian external broadcasting was firmly back in the spotlight.