EDITORIAL
Community TV NOW!
After the winter's activities we have a lot to report. The emphasis right now is on Community TV as the BCI is set up and things shift into gear. We have tried to focus on the meat of the stuff -in this issue Kate Lawlor asks 'what is it anyway?' and Moji Oduola interviews Sean O'Siochru of Nexus Research about progress with the Feasibility Study, now underway, for a Dublin City Community TV Channel. Congratulations is due to the Irish Indymedia Group on the work they have put into the Irish IMC, and we look forward to a lively and informative year with them. The situation of CTV stations in France is of grave concern to us all and we bring you their communiques about the witholding of licences in election year and their forthcoming actions to highlight the situation. It is important that the international networking meetings held in Brussels in December and in Marseilles in March are reported on and we would like to keep in touch with the development of proposals from TV Nova.
We also need to hear from all of you CMN members around
the 32 counties about what, if anything, is happening about CTV in your area.
CMN is not meant to be a Dublin centred organisation, but that is where the
drive around CTV is happening, mainly due to the establishment of the City Development
Board and the existence of a strong Community Forum right now. It is in all
our interest that this effort is successful as it will not only set an important
precedent, but is an opportunity to look at what is possible within the framework
of CTV. The Community Media Forum open meeting on the 9th April to discuss the
DCDB Strategic Plan and how it refers to community media is an important reference
point, and the feasibility study and the progress of working groups will be
discussed also. For details of the meeting go to www.activelink.ie/cmf where
we will also try to keep posted other references and infotrmation as things
develop. Please do try to access the plan at www.dublin.ie (in pdf format) and
bring your responses, criticisms and reccomendations to the meeting. The closing
date for feedback on the plan is the 10th April.
This is a full issue with lots of news of events and gatherings of grassroots
activists in Ireland, activities abroad, videos and e-zines, books, guidebooks
and manuals to help community organisations make, and train in, media; the campaign
for communication rights gathers speed as the World Summit on the Information
Society approaches, and environmental groups announce more inroads into media.
Congratulation to the editorial team - Moji Oduola, Kate Lawlor, and Margaret
Murphy, for getting it together.
Margaret Gillan
CMN Co-ordinator