SBS's multilingual dilemma : global media, "community languages" and cultural citizenship

The increasing complexity of the multilingual environment, in large part resulting from globalising media trends, is creating new challenges for multilingual media. This article explores forms of citizenship, issues of ‘community’ and transnational media use through the case study of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), Australia’s multilingual and multicultural national public broadcaster. SBS was developed as an element of Australian multicultural policy in a response to political pressures of a diverse society. It now needs to engage with contemporary forms of identity and increasingly sophisticated media use trends to maintain its relevance.