Community Television (Australia)

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Australia's Community Television is a form of Citizen media much like Public Access Television in the United States and the Community Channel in Canada. In principle, community television is another model of facilitating media production and involvement by private citizens.

[edit] Australia's Model

Community television in Australia comprises community television stations located in Adelaide, Brisbane, Lismore, Melbourne and Victoria, Mount Gambier, Perth and Sydney. In Brisbane, Melbourne and Victoria and Perth and Sydney, the stations are already broadcasting with new ongoing licences. In Adelaide, Lismore and Mount Gambier a trial licensee is broadcasting.

Australian Community television (CTV) is primarily local and diverse. The national government-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Special Broadcasting Service provide national programs with a broad charter and a charter for multiculturalism respectively. The commercial networks 7, 9 and Ten are privately owned and profit-making. Allied commercial networks exist in rural, regional and remote areas.

Community television programs are most often made by community television producers about their own communities and special and diverse interests. In other cases, independent producers make their own television programs.

Community television is represented by the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA), the national peak body for community television and community radio. They cooperate with the National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters Council (NEMBC), the National Youth Media Network (NYMN) and the Australian Indigenous Communications Association (AICA).

Australian CTV is funded by a mixture of sponsorship, subscriptions and donations, membership fees, grants, merchandise sales and sale of air time to program providers. It receives no regular national government funding. Many programs are paid for by the producers themselves.

The audience reach is over 3 million Australians, based on surveys, research and ratings (2001-2004) [1].

The National Community Television Awards--the Antennas--were established by Australian CTV stations in 2004 and have been announced in each of the subsequent years.

[1] Melbourne Community Television Consortium and Community Broadcasting Association of Australia Information Kit: Community Television in Australia 2004

A special emphasis of Australian CTV is the provision of programs in an increasing range of community languages and about community cultures. Over twenty languages groups, many from newly migrant and refugee communities, are broadcast regular by the CTV stations.

Australian Community Television producers are often also producers of other community media. Examples are: Syn Inc youth media Melbourne Arts Community Television Inc artzmedia.net arts media Melbourne