Keynote Address: Mark Scott on Digital Discordance and the ABC

Audiences are drowning for choice in the new digital era. New technology has revolutionised production – anyone with a smartphone can become a media producer – and given consumers access to information anywhere, anytime.

But in this cluttered marketplace, it has become difficult to stand out amid the noise. The political and media environments are becoming more fractious as shrill voices clamour for attention and the ability to set agendas. The so-called legacy platforms still retain power and influence. Critics claim there is no place for a national broadcaster in this modern space.

Mark Scott, in the final 12 months of his decade-long  stint at the head of the ABC, argues strongly that the reverse is true: never has the national broadcaster been more important. To flourish in this new environment you need trust, vision, dexterity and accountability, and the ABC delivers on all counts.