Naked City: The last picture show (again!)
When the analogue TV signal was finally switched off late last year there were still cathode ray freaks that kept their old receivers right up until the moment their screens went blank. Some have since installed set top boxes whilst others have reluctantly switched to the flat screen digital.
The new digital network has opened up a host of free-to-air channels but now we are told one of them, the community access channel, is to be switched off and the valuable broadcast spectrum flogged off. Community TV stations like Sydney’s TVS have been broadcasting since 2004 and community television in Australia goes right back to the mid 1990s.
Throughout Australia the various community stations have been not only a valuable training ground for the industry at large but also provided exposure for a diverse range of programs not normally covered by mainstream TV. The production values are often of the low-budget variety but the enthusiasm and creative levels are high. The result is a welcome option to the loathsome pap that dominates much of free-to-air television.
Now the Communications Minister and self-acknowledged techno whiz kid Malcolm Turnbull wants to restrict all community TV to the internet. That means you either watch the station on a computer or handheld device or connect to a smart TV. Great if you are like millionaire Malcolm and own the latest 80-inch smart TV but not so good if you are using run-of-the-mill technology.
Admittedly TVS does currently stream on the internet but that’s not really the issue. Accessing community television needs to be a simple press of your remote control, so that the choice is there and immediately stacked up against all that the other free-to-air channels have to offer. It’s often during the non-peak times that the community stations offer a real alternative to the late night bosh of commercials and the ABC. When all that’s on offer is Psychic TV, the home shopping channels, and yet another repeat of Bargain Hunt, community TV is like an oasis in the electronic wilderness.
Community radio throughout Australia was also under threat earlier this year when the Government threatened to withdraw funding as part of their budget cuts. Fortunately they did not proceed but imagine the furore that would occur if they tried to restrict all community stations to the internet.
As TVS state on their website:
“There are no economic or technical reasons why community television should not be given a permanent home on free to air digital broadcast spectrum. CTV receives no government funding in order to operate its services and there is enough available broadcast spectrums to ensure a variety of media operators can exist including CTV stations. Without community television we lose genuine media diversity, a training ground for up and coming television talent, a resource for tertiary institutions to provide real world experience to students, coverage of local events and festivals and a medium for local sports organisations without access to mainstream media.”
You can show your support for Community Television Sydney by signing up to the campaign via committocommunitytv.org.au, and by liking the campaign on Facebook at facebook.com/committocommunitytv.org.au
