Laurie Patton

Who is Laurie Patton?

Laurie Patton is an Australian media, IT and events industry executive.

In 2010 Patton was a member of an Expert Panel for a review of the Australian Government's investment in the Indigenous broadcasting and media sector. In 2011 he was appointed a Special Advisor by the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy to assist with the implementation of the Review's recommendations – including brokering arrangements that saw SBS take over the management of the National Indigenous Television channel and provide NITV with national free-to-air coverage on one of its previously unused digital channels.

From 2004 to 2010 Patton was the inaugural chief executive of free-to-air community television station TVS. Patton joined TVS shortly after the company was awarded its broadcast licence, bringing together a small team of industry professionals and volunteers to create an automated digital broadcast operations centre and launch the channel in February 2006. In February 2009 TVS became the first Australian television channel to simultaneously stream continuously live on the Web and in March 2010 became the first community channel to simulcast in digital and analogue.