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DUBLIN COMMUNITY TELEVISION: CONCEPT PAPER SUMMARY
1. The Future of Television in Ireland?
We can realistically expect to launch and sustain a Community Television
Channel that will be owned and controlled by the people of Dublin by 2004.
A Steering Committee has already overseen a feasibility study for the
Channel, and is moving ahead to the next stage. Fundraising is underway
now to bring it to the point of obtaining a broadcasting licence from
the BCI- about 250,000 is sought to lead the process to 2004. Community
Television is neither a watered-down version of public service television,
nor an amateur training ground for commercial television. In all likelihood,
it is the future of television. A Strategic Objective is to "develop
and resource an independent not-for-profit Community TV Channel…"
And the Broadcasting Act 2001 not only recognises community television
for the first time, but also requires the cable operator to carry a licensed
channel for free. So community television now glows brightly on the official
radar screen
2. Who Benefits and How?
Community television can potentially bring a number of real benefits,
such as:
*People and communities collectively running their own station, with access
to training, equipment and facilities to make programmes, from full-scale
productions to live, self-operated, studio phone-in.
*Opportunities for a great variety of minority and marginalised groups
to have their voice heard and to build bridges among themselves and with
others - reflecting Dublin's diversity will be a key priority;
*Broadcasting challenging, innovative and non-mainstream views and ideas,
produced locally but also selected from non-commercial productions all
over the world;
*New ways to deliver education, especially in the home that can best suit
the needs of some marginalised groups. Learning can range from literacy
to advanced third level.
3. The Key Principles and Ingredients:
We believe that Community Television in Ireland must
situate itself within the strong and vibrant community development ethos
that has come to maturity here in the last twenty years. Its driving principles,
reinforced though legislation and government support, are: Empowerment,
Participation and Diversity. But turning good intentions into good television
will demand a few critical ingredients:
1. Community television must successfully harness
the creative energies of the community. This means developing a sense
of 'ownership' amongst the people and communities of Dublin.
2. Community Television must be directly owned and controlled by
people and their organisations. It offers participation through ownership
(e.g. shares); through management (an elected Board).
3. Secure core funding is essential, combined with a diverse mix
of others sources. Community television works best when it has a basic
secure flow of income.
4. A political willingness to innovate based on a vision of a fairer
and more participative society must create the space and provide the encouragement
through the first years. The promoters of community television must convince
national and local government, the BCI and others of its potential and
to deliver the support needed.
4. How Community Television will Work
Our proposal is to organise Dublin Community Television in two parts,
one focused around transmission and access, the other around production:
A: Dublin Community Television Channel
The Channel will comprise a membership-based not-for-profit
company owned by the people and communities of Dublin. Its activities
will comprise:
i) Organising transmission over the NTL analogue network, reaching about
315,000 homes from Maynooth to Balbriggan to Bray;
ii) Providing training to community organisations and individuals in video
and television production, working with existing training entities but
with its own staff;
iii) Renting cameras, sound and editing facilities, both in-house and
for outside use and at affordable tariffs;
iv) Providing studios, from self-operated live phone-ins to standard broadcast
size, for use by communities, including support;
v) Facilitating transmission of content from community organisations and
the people of Dublin, following transparent and non-editorialised guidelines.
The Channel will probably have a central location and
discussion is underway for a premises in the city. It will be staffed
by seven professional trainers and others, and will comprise part of a
growing network of community media centres cooperating together in Dublin.
B: A Community Television Foundation
Conceived ultimately to serve all of Ireland, the aim
of the Foundation is to enable the creation of high quality, community
programming. Linked to the Channel (and to others outside of Dublin as
they emerge) it will be guided by community interests and act as a medium
for attracting funds from diverse sources. Its activities will include:
i) Grant-aiding and directly supporting productions,
led by community interests;
ii) Enabling the production of a core Community Affairs and News output
for transmission by the Channel;
iii) Sourcing and editing of materials externally, under specific Thematic
Content Groups each comprising a set of community groups concerned with
the theme;
iv) Encouraging exchanges and various forms of cooperation within Ireland
and with others outside, on shared themes and objectives - helping to
build a world community of television;
v) Building an archive of community programming, for further use and as
a record of audio-visual heritage.
Much, though by no means all, of the Channel's output
will derive from Foundation supported activity; but the Foundation also
has a broader role to play in supporting and encouraging community television.
It will work through a minimal professional staff.
5. How we pay.
Television is paid for sometimes through advertising, sometimes through
subscription to specialised channels; and all of us pay a Television License
Fee. The issue is not really who pays: It is rather the impact of the
form of payment on the content of television, and on who can access which
television services. The priorities for Community Television are clear:
It must be able independently to pursue the interests of communities,
and not others; and it must be fully inclusive especially of and accessible
to marginalised and minority groups. For producing content, we believe
the Irish Community Television Foundation must attract a broad mix of
funding, to secure independence and ensure that high-spending viewers
are not favoured over others. Part of this, but only part, should comprise
core funding that is routinely reviewed and renewed. Other parts will
flow to specific types of programmes (e.g. educational, local authority);
some will come from community-friendly sponsorship; some from membership
fees and donations; and from successful applications to Foundations, Grant
and statutory bodies. The sale of programmes may even eventually generate
an income, though international programme exchange is a more likely for
of interaction.
6. International experience:
Access television has achieved secure, ongoing, core funding in many countries
such as Sweden, where there are thirty channels: Germany with almost ninety:
the Netherlands; Denmark, New Zealand and Australia. Sources of such funding
vary. Core funding options include the following:
· In Germany since 1986, funding is provided through one percent
of the overall television licence fee:
· In Denmark, non- commercial community television, which is broadcast
terrestrially, is funded through a combination of fees from commercial
television and licence fee.
· In the US, most funding is gained through up to 5 % of the turnover
locally of the cable operator.
Affiliate membership from local businesses and institutions are common,
and conventional fund raising also often amounts to a significant proportion
of income.
7.The Next Steps:
The Steering Committee has drawn up a three-year plan,
comprising a Foundation Phase, the Launch Phase (to early
2004) and a Consolidation Phase. The priorities, spread over the
first two phases up to the Launch Dublin Community Television in early
2004 are:
1) Broaden and deepen the process of consultation and debate in all areas
of Dublin life, offering practical means for the people and communities
of Dublin to become involved and negotiating cooperation with other stakeholders.
Provide ongoing support to the Thematic Content Groups, currently planning
to source or produce content for broadcast on the Channel.
2) Legally constitute the institutional vehicles for the Channel and the
Foundation, with provisional membership, and financial accountability.
Operationalise the membership and management structures of Channel and
Foundation by which people can begin to participate.
3) Negotiate the terms of a License with the BCI, including the requirements
of a community license competition, by mid 2003. Formalise agreement with
NTL regarding access to an analogue channel.
4) Secure core, start-up and supplementary funding. Secure the premises
for the Community Channel by early 2003, Purchase and install the necessary
equipment. Recruit staff, and initiate the provision of services.
8. Who is Involved:
The Interim Steering Committee comprises the following:
Community Media Network, NEAR FM, Northside Community
Media Coop, AXIS Centre, Dublin City Development Board, Inner City Renewal
Group, Rathdown District Ass., Dublin City Council, Irish Deaf Society,
Lourdes Youth and Community Services, Dublin Adult Literacy Centre, Amnesty
Ireland, Pavee Point, Sustainable Ireland, Gingerbread, Merchants Quay
Project, Community Response, Dublin City University, REHAB/NTDI
Numerous others in the public, community and private
sectors have expressed their support and endorsement of the idea.
*"Building Community Through Television
- A Plan for Dublin Community Television" is available in
pdf version at www.dublin.ie for hard
copy contact DCTV Secretariat, c/o CMN, 34 North Frederick Street, Dublin
1; Tel: 878 3344
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Tracking
Magazine
Winter '02/03
EDITORIAL
A
Day For Community TV
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A
Useful Resource
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DCTV
Dublin
Community TV
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Access Stations
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No Articles for this Section
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New and Recent Videos
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Communication
Rights
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WSIS;
UNESCO; Civil Society Plenary Group
Communications
issues reports
News
Bites
Northern visions
update News
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World Development
Centre
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Resources available
on line
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Genoa Theatre piece
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