"If you find television empty and boring maybe it is because there are no programmes for people like you, made by people like you, so why not get out there and make programmes about the things that are important to you".
(Anyone can Make T.V - A Community Television Production Handbook).

While there is no absolute definition for what constitutes as Community Television there are general guidelines, which should be followed, and certain ideals, which are desirable. In "What is community Radio? A Resource guide" AMARC identify the primary considerations involved in Community Radio. These can just as easily be applied to Community Television, and indeed to all forms of media which declare themselves "Community". According to AMARC, the historical philosophy of Community radio is to use this medium to give a voice to those who are voiceless, those who are oppressed (Racial, Gender or class related) and as a general tool in the development of the community. Community Radio and, likewise Community TV, should be non-profit, and should, ideally be owned and controlled by the community. Essentially the whole idea is that community media is all about the community doing something for themselves.

Television as a medium is very effective .It is blatant, immediate, easier than reading/listening. Strong images have the capacity to shock, disturb amuse- affect the viewer. Many people have preconceptions about community television imagining all productions consisting of shaky footage recorded by inept amateurs. This is far from the truth. Indeed it is interesting to note that some major groundbreaking , even world changing events were recorded by hand held video recorders- most famously the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963.When in 1992 a bystander recorded the Rodney King beating in LA the broadcast footage shocked and horrified millions of people all over the world .This sort of television has emotional power and though strictly speaking does not qualify as community television nonetheless demonstrates the impact non- commercial television is capable of having on the viewer.. It should comply with AMARC`s recommendations about the nature of what Community TV should be. There are many examples of successful and interesting Community TV productions in this country and all over the world. In Cuba, Television Serrana focuses on education, children, and community development. The local children make video carta- (video letters) and trade them with children from other areas. Like this children from remote places like the Sierra Maestra hills can communicate with the children of Guatemala. For children television is accessible, requires less than reading and is more fun. The process of making the videos too is enjoyable.

In Ireland there isn't very much going on with regard to community television. Niamh Hanafin is a Freelance Media Advisor. She says:" Having worked in Community media in Cambodia for two and a half years I was disappointed at the lack of Community Access programming on Irish television". Niamh is currently involved in editing a series of programmes made by Open Channel. The series, entitled Place consists of five twenty six-minute productions. They cover a range of subjects- the redevelopment of Smithfield, rural depopulation of Co.Mayo, the dismantling of an army base in Cookstown. Another, filmed in Cork, investigates people's perceptions, conceptions of the elderly and their reactions towards them. The sixth programme features a millennium carving created by a drugs rehabilitation group in Dublin. The diversity of subject matter illustrates the scope of community TV. Place is due to be broadcast on TG4 in the spring .TG4, it seems are the most accessible and open-minded station in this country. According to the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland's policy statement on ownership and control their policy objectives include; …[promoting] diversity in viewpoint, outlet and source, that is, diversity in the opinions expressed, in programming delivery and content, and in the sources of information available to the public". This sounds like a welcome invitation for quality community productions yet in reality community television programmes are rare in this country.
Community access television has a lot to contend with. It is very difficult for them to compete with commercial stations and sometimes even other so called Community stations.

In Vancouver the Independent Community Television Co-operative has applied for a community television licence. They aim to make, as Andrew Lithgow a lead developer for ICTV`s business plan puts it: "Television by the people, for the people". The station wishes to bring back volunteer participation, local expression and public access. Since the Canadian Radio-television Commission decided in 1997 to no longer require cable licensees to operate community TV the dominant community channel operators like Shaw and Rodgers have "…incrementally eliminated community television facilities in Vancouver. "Shaw collects almost $5,000,000, supposedly to support community television. In actual fact little of this money is used for this purpose. Instead it is used to market Shaw goods and services.
In the Manual urgente para Radialistas Apasionados Jose Vigil speaks about what makes community media community. (I have substituted the word television for radio):"When television fosters the participation of citizens and defends their interests; when it reflects the tastes of the majority and makes good humour and hope its main purpose; when it truly informs; when it helps resolve the thousand and one problems of daily life; when all ideas are debated in its programmes and all opinions are respected; when cultural diversity is stimulated over commercial homogeneity; when women are main players in communication , not simply a pretty voice; When no type of dictatorship is tolerated; when everyone's words fly without discrimination or censorship, that is community television".

-By Kate Lawlor-