Email: [email protected] / Twitter: @gay_alcorn Helen Davidson Darwin reporter Helen most recently worked as an online journalist for SBS world news Australia and was previously a news and interactive journalist for news.com.au, where she live blogged major news events.
Vatsikopoulos wrote of her dismay that an SBS journalism cadet, Widyan Al-Ubudy, had not got a permanent gig: "SBS sources tell me they were shocked when they heard that management did not offer the Iraqi-born reporter a job upon the completion of her cadetship, late last year.
Last week the SBS reporter Marion Ives shared an article from the Conversation that was critical of SBS on her personal Facebook page, without comment.
The efficiency study, which is currently being considered by the ABC and SBS boards, is 146 pages and contains 48 areas of analysis across the ABC and the SBS.
Insiders say SBS is letting experienced staff go and hiring younger, cheaper ones to replace them.
A coalition of media groups – including AAP, ABC, APN, ASTRA, Bauer Media, Commercial Radio Australia, Fairfax Media, FreeTV, MEAA, News Corp Australia, SBS, The Newspaper Works and West Australian News – raised concern about an offence in the second bill which also criminalises disclosures.
SBS has also been asked to find $53m in savings over the same period.
"Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull have ripped $53.7m out of the SBS budget since the election and now it seems that the only national Aboriginal television news service in the country will become the latest victim of this lie," Clare and Neumann said in a joint statement.
But the opposition communications spokesman, Jason Clare, and opposition Indigenous affairs spokesman, Shayne Neumann, blamed the mooted changes on the Coalition government's cuts to SBS funding in the budget.
NITV began as a pay TV channel in 2007 before being absorbed by SBS on free-to-air television (Channel 34) in December 2012.
Despite all this she made two guest appearances on SBS drama The Circuit, a number of years ago.
