Community TV Lecture

Last night, I had a lecture on Community Media, more specifically it was targeted at community television as the speaker was Peter Lane, Chair of Channel 31.

Lane highlighted a few interesting issues and gave us some information on the future of community television.

He believes that regardless of the technology content is still very important and that you also need to think about your form of distribution (sounding eerily like findings of last year's 'Content is King' day held by 2006 MI students).

I thought it was interesting that he spoke of the importance of plurality of voices - how this concept means that somewhere in hearing/reading a number of views that we can find our 'truth' (what we believe to be true anyway).

History of Community TV

In 1972-1975, The Whitlam government (the first Labor government for many years) brought about a number of changes including:

• Medicare (free healthcare for Australians


• Free University Education (bring back that one.)


• Video Access Centres (important as this was the first time that everyday people could access materials to create their own content)


• Legislation for community radio

Lane also spoke about the early days of RMITV, how people were allowed to do test broadcasts on spectrum, but not allowed to have proper programming. Rebellious RMITV actually did the latter, they were attempted to be shut down, and apparently one of the members locked themselves in with the transmitter! HeHeHe.

Anyway, to cut a long story short it seems it has always difficult for community media - having to fight for the right to exist alongside commercial and public broadcasters. In 1987 Channel 31 conducted its first test, and from 1988-1992 it kept no testing.

When a new 6th television license was up for grabs in 1992, Channel 31 got the rights to the station, however, only after meeting with Free TV Australia (body who represent the commercial channels) and seeing that this was a better option for commercial interests, they were supported.

In 1994 the station was granted a temporary narrow cast license and it was not until 2004 that Channel 31 received a permanent license.

Current Situation

Channel 31 have 40 member groups (25 of these full time) including RMITV and other community groups. The station is run from management point of view as a bottom-up company (community owned and run).

Future

Channel 31 at this stage and other community television providers in Australia have not been offered a digital license. At the moment, commercial and public broadcasters are simulcasting (meaning they are broadcasting in both an analogue and digital signal across the country). This means certain difficulties for the continuation of the station in the future.

The current government has offered a number of questionable 'solutions' to the issue:

• Use one of the multi-channels from a commercial or public broadcaster


• Datacasting - bid for one of these stations (most likely bidder at the moment is apparently Macquarie bank and the amount that the stations will go for would probably rule the station out as a bidder)


• In the future, switching off their analogue signal and giving them a digital license - a proposal not a promise and would lose their current audience that can't access digital currently

So, future looking pretty dim...

Links:

Our Media Forum
Channel 31