Regional Community TV

YOUR TOWN – needs LOCALLY RUN COMMUNITY TV!


Please don’t let Capital City Community TV expand into Regional Areas unchecked!

C31 Melbourne have recently gone to the Regional Victorian towns of Ballarat and Bendigo, trying to recruit new Community TV Producers. They also seem to want to get the government to let them expand their Melbourne based service to these Regional Areas, and on to the whole of Regional Victoria.

I am STRONGLY opposed to the concept of C31 Melbourne (or any other Capital City CTV Station) expanding to Regional Areas. Regional Areas should receive one of the following:-

1. – A local Community TV Station, run by locals from each area in every local regional market.
2. – A Statewide Regional Community TV Station, run by Regional residents, based in a central area in their state (for example, in Victoria – Bendigo)
and as a last resort (only)
3. – A special Regional Community TV feed provided by a Capital City station, programmed under the instructions of a Regionally based Programming Committee.

Capital City Community TV Stations must NEVER be allowed to expand their service to Regional Areas on direct relay, and just relay the exact same programs as seen in Capital Cities!/

Why?

Community TV is Regional Australia’s only hope of regaining local television services. Once you let a Capital City station into your areas, you will get yet another Capital City programmed relay station, just like all of the other networks have become since aggregation. Why let the city run yet another relay service? You need your own station, running programs chosen by your own community!

But Regional Communities want the shows seen in the cities!

Yes, you can still see these shows with a local station under local control! Community TV stations already share programs between themselves despite having 5 different operators in each Capital City. Each regional Community should have the right to program and run its own Community TV station. Community TV IS local TV, not large networked relays controlled from afar.

What should I do?

C31 Melbourne is trying to get Regional Residents in Ballarat and Bendigo to write letters to the Government urging them to allow then to expand unchecked into Regional Areas. Don’t do this, instead write to the Government urging them to allow more Test Transmissions for aspiring local Community TV groups in each town. Then you can work on forming new stations to serve your own community! (Suggested Form Letter coming soon)

So why are you so opposed?

I am a former Community TV volunteer with C31 Melbourne, and local Community TV Production Group, Northern Access TV. I served with these organisations as a volunteer from 1995 to 2011. I was involved as a Production Volunteer, and also for a period of time as a To Air Control Room Volunteer. For various reasons I am no longer involved with them.

As you may have gathered from this site, I am saddened by the loss of genuine Regional TV, and I would hate to see Regional Areas lose one last chance to again have a local service.

And yes, I am one day hoping to be involved in Community TV again by moving to the country and joining a new Community TV station in a regional town. Or even try and help start a new station myself!