Community Television

Introduction

Community television is a form of public broadcasting in which a television station is owned, operated and/or programmed by a community group to provide programming of local interest. Community television stations are most commonly operated by non-profit groups or cooperatives. However, in some cases they may be operated by a local college or university, a cable company or a municipal government. Community Television is mostly used and developed in countries with an advanced technological development, including the so-called developed countries such as Australia, Canada,United Kingdom ,United States and India [we are looking for information on community TV in India – kindly share with Wiki administrator] In the US community TV is called public access TV and it originated as a response to disenchantment with the commercial broadcasting system, and in order to fulfill some of the social potential of cable television. Public Access was created to provide a free-speech forum, open to all on a first-come, first-served basis without discrimination or favouritism based on content. It should be noted that the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is not public access television and has no official connection with PEG. PBS is funded publicly and by private grants and contributions, as well as an element of commercial sponsorship. PEG is funded by cable television companies through subscription fees, and also by private grants and contributions. PBS does not regularly provide free use of facilities to produce programming

Evaluation and Assessment of Community TV

Evaluation and assessment of community TV takes many possible shapes and forms. As the core reality can be compared to that of community radio, a fully-fledged assessment of a community radio and its environments, as proposed below, is also strongly recommended for community TV, due to its special nature: owned and managed by a community and with objectives beyond those of airing news, but with community development and social change as an objective.

If assessing for a specific purpose, specific aspects of the focus areas presented below can be singled out for use.

• Enabling Environment
  • legal environment for community media and community ownership
  • supporting media organisations
  • networks of community media
  • availability of potential funding partners and sources

• Ownership, Management and Organisational Performance
  • internal organisation,
  • level of community ownership,
  • community involvement
  • internal democracy
  • management routines and procedures.

• Technical Facilities and Operations
• Production
• Content
• Sustainability Assessment
• Reception and Usage
• Community Impact