Community Television

Community broadcasting: its requisite role in modern media

Introduction

The Australian community broadcasting sector is host to numerous broadcasting stations within the areas of television and radio. Run mostly by volunteers, these stations are non-profit organisations that were founded on and function on principles of open access, localism and diversity (section 15 BSA), and have grown and strengthened over the past decade despite facing uncertain futures of funding and licensing (CBAA 61.1, p 8). Although being recognised as a vital role in Australia's media and recently receiving permanency of licence, the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) still expresses concern for the future of community broadcasting, particularly for television due to the eventual Ð'- and expensive Ð'- need to transition its broadcasting to digital (CBAA, 61.1, p. 8). Fortunately for community radio, after lobbying hard for the past twenty years to have the same entitlements to digital capacity as commercial and government stations, the CBAA have been allowed 10.1 million from the Federal Government to assist community radio's transition into the digital era (CBAA website). The uncertainty for community television still looms, however, and coupled with their ongoing exclusion from pay-TV platforms the sector's existence is threatened. This paper, then, will aim to justify the existence of both the radio and television sectors of community broadcasting and argue for its continued existence. With particular reference to the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA website), this paper will highlight how community broadcasting offers Australians what commercial and government-funded stations cannot: open-access, an effective and accessible media-industry training ground, as well as locally-relevant and diverse content.

Open-access

One of the guiding principles in the Broadcasting Services Act is one of "democracy, access and equity, especially to people and issues under-represented in other media" (BSA website). Put simply, it is often referred to as a principle of Ð''open-access'. Under this principle, any member of the community is given the chance to apply for particular programs to be aired, including even their own productions (Gov CTV website). Educational institutions, ethnic and special interest groups and independent film makers make particular use of this, because community broadcasting provides an opportunity for air time. Even if many of these groups and organisations have the ability and finances to produce their own programs, without community television stations' policy of Ð''open access', their aspirations of air time would be hard to fulfill within the spheres of commercial and government-funded stations. The history of community broadcasting accounts of this, when during the 1970s Australia's official arts funding organisation the Australia Council, began to work with various community groups to produce their own television programs (Gov CTV website). Producing the programs for them was never the largest challenge; getting them aired on commercial or national television was (Gov CTV website). The programs made were often Ð''too different' than those already being shown on the stations and were rejected (Gov CTV website). Community broadcasting was then slowly established from the early 1970s, with community radio being established first in 1972 with Radio Adelaide as the first community station; and in the late 1980s Imparja Television was established after many petitions to the Parliament for open access community television Ð''to provide an outlet for the cultural and educational material produced by community' (CBAA, submission no. 61.1, p. 5). A few years later it was a group of students from RMIT University who set up the first community television station, RMITV that would receive a test transmission permit. In 1992 the Government allowed the vacant sixth television channel, UHF 31, to be used to trial community television around Australia, Brisbane's community station being established in 1994 as Briz31. Since October 2006 Briz31 has been under its new on-air name Ð''Channel 31-Your Local Television' so as to reflect its ever-expanding audience more appropriately. Producing a wide rand of local community television shows, this Brisbane-based station is just one example of many that show the value that community television offers Australians. Although the station itself admit that their "quality of programming doesn't quite compare with the free-to-air commercial and government funded television broadcastersÐ'... the programming is localÐ'... innovativeÐ'... and use[s] hordes of amazing volunteers" (www.31.com.au). The amount of volunteers involved in community broadcasting is phenomenal, and a recent survey conducted by the CBAA found that Australia's four metropolitan stations alone had more than 260 member groups, 3200 volunteers and 50 paid staff (CBAA, 61.1, p. 8). Community broadcasting's volunteer system works toward reaching another one of its goals, to "widen the community's involvement in broadcasting" (BSA website).

Industry experience and training

Indeed, the four stations surveyed by the CBAA were shown to have provided more than 500 members of the public with training in broadcast, presentation, production and management skills during 2005 (CBAA, 61.1, p. 8) and undeniably widened the community's involvement in broadcasting. Community broadcasting volunteers and participators join the station crew and learn valuable media industry skills as well as general, transferable skills such as administration and fundraising. Without community television, individuals from the community, and particularly media students who are pursuing careers in the television industry would miss out on the opportunity to learn about the field prior to employment. Open Spectrum Australia sees community broadcasting as an "engine house of the broadcasting industriesÐ'... a major training ground for radio and television in Australia, teaching and nurturing new talent and production crew" (Open Spectrum Australia, 56, p3). In an Community Broadcasting Online article about the production of Ð''Dawn's Crack', a popular youth program aired on community television, the interviewed producer commented, "I don't see why we can't aim for the starsÐ'... the people working on this show [will be] in less than five years, be getting paid" (CBOnline website). CBAA, too, sees community broadcasting as an important training ground for careers in the media industry.