Graeme Innes campaigns for audio description on the ABC

Transcript

21 October 2012

Roberta:         The ‘It’s As Easy As ABC’ campaign is advocating to keep audio description on Australian TV after the trial ends in a couple of weeks, that’s fourth of November. The trial is the first time that Australians who are blind or vision impaired have been able to enjoy television and this campaign wants to make sure it is not the last. Today we have with us Graeme Innes, Disability Discrimination Commissioner and spokesperson for ‘It’s As Easy As ABC’. Welcome Graeme.

Graeme:         Thanks Roberta, great to talk with you.

Roberta:         Now why is this campaign so important?

Graeme:         Well, 600,000 Australians who are blind or have low vision don’t get the same benefits from television that everyone else gets. What we hear is the sound and some of us can see the screen a bit, maybe in a blurry way or whatever. Some of us can’t at all. And so when you have programs where there isn’t dialogue or there isn’t a soundtrack which clearly indicates what’s happening, we don’t know what’s taking place.

So what audio description does is fills that gap and the ABC have been running a trial of 14 hours a week of audio description and it’s made a huge difference to the television experience for these 600,000 Australians.

Roberta:         And it’s a cause that’s personally significant for you too, isn’t it?

Graeme:         Well it is because I’m one of the 600,000. So for the first time I’ve been watching drama on the ABC and other programs on the ABC without sitting next to my wife and tapping her on the arm all the time and saying “What’s happening, what’s happening? What’s he doing now?”

I mean, we had a classic example of it last Sunday. I watched Jack Irish and I’ve read those books. And I don’t know if you know that series, but in the first part of the series it sort of goes back to his younger life when his wife was alive. And they’re having a discussion about whether or not to buy an antique wooden table. And then a former client of his arrives and demands his attention. His wife is out in the car park. And then the former client, because he can’t get enough, or he thinks he can’t get enough of Jack Irish’s attention, goes out in to the car park and actually shoots his wife. And this all goes on in the first five or ten minutes of the drama.

I was watching this interestingly last Sunday night by myself, because my wife wasn’t there. And I would have turned that program off after five or ten minutes, because I had no idea what was going on. But the audio description trial filled it in. And so I enjoyed the whole program. And that’s a very good example of the benefits of audio description.

Roberta:         And of course you’ve enjoyed all of it so far?

Graeme:         Oh yes, absolutely. I watched Rake a few times, I’ve caught a few episodes of As Time Goes By. And various other programs. So I’ve actually been watching a lot more television in the last few weeks, which is probably good for my work life balance, apart from anything else.

Roberta:         Exactly. Now, how can people support audio description continuing after the trial?

Graeme:         Well it’s really important that it does continue. And the trial at the moment will end on the 4^th of November unless our lobbying is successful. And there’s an easy way to support this lobbying, and I would encourage listeners to support this whether you watch audio description yourself or whether you have friends or family members who enjoy audio description. And you can go to the campaign website and order postcards, which encourage the trial to be continued. One to Mark Scott, the head of the ABC and one to Stephen Conroy, the Minister for Communications. And send those off.

Already hundreds or thousands of postcards have been sent, but we need to send a clear message that many, many Australians want this trial to continue. And the way to do that is to make sure those postcards are sent before the trial ends on the fourth of November.

Roberta:         And of course you can get the postcards too at Vision Australia or Blind Citizens Australia, which is in the city, and it’s very easy to access Blind Citizens Australia and Media Access Australia in Sydney. So I thank you very much Graeme for all of that. And we do hope that it does continue and that people will support this very, very important campaign.

Graeme:         We do, but it will only continue with people’s support. So this is not one to be sort of thinking about well that’s for someone else to do, this is a way that all of us can get active.

Roberta:         Absolutely. Thank you Graeme.

Graeme:         Thanks Roberta.

Roberta:         I’ve been speaking with Graeme Innes, Disability Discrimination Commissioner and spokesperson for It’s As Easy As ABC. So please do help keep this vital service going. Get your postcards today. Now don’t forget the AU on the end. You can also support the campaign on Twitter at @ADonTV. And if you’re a sighted person listening to this why don’t you try the audio description on the ABC?

What you do is you just put the ABC on in the hours of the description, it should be on your guide. Close your eyes and listen to one of the programs and you’ll realise just how much that people with a vision impairment or people who are blind do miss. This has been brought to you by Media Access Australia and Media Access Australia are supporters of this program.

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