
Bruce Shapiro's USA, why community radio matters, and an historic Pitcairn Island document returned
From Late Night Live — Full program podcast by ABC Australia
May 5, 2026 · 54 min
About this episode
The episode discusses defamation law's impact on American media, the challenges faced by community radio in Sydney, and the return of a significant document to the descendants of the Bounty mutineers.
Our regular US commentator looks at recent political attempts to use defamation law to silence American media. 2SER, a Sydney community radio station with a long history of training professional broadcasters, is under threat. And descendants of the Bounty mutineers, who lived on Pitcairn Island in the Pacific, crowdfunded to get an important document returned to them from London. Guests: Bruce Shapiro, Contributing Editor at the Nation, Executive Director of the Global Centre for Journalism and Trauma Chris Nash, founding Professor of Journalism at Monash University, Former Director of the Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ) at UTS in Sydney Jon Bisset, CEO of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia Helen Mears, Head of Curatorship & Research at Royal Museums Greenwich Dr Pauline Reynolds, Chair, Norfolk Island Museums Trust
People in this episode
Guests: Bruce Shapiro, Chris Nash, Jon Bisset, Helen Mears, Dr Pauline Reynolds
Topics covered
- defamation law
- community radio
- Pitcairn Island
- American media
- journalism
- politics
Keywords
- defamation
- community radio
- Pitcairn Island
- journalism
- politics
- media freedom
- crowdfunding
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: 2SER, Global Centre for Journalism and Trauma, Monash University, Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (ACIJ), Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, Royal Museums Greenwich
Places: Pitcairn Island, USA, Sydney, London
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