Dublin Community Television
Encyclopedia
Dublin Community Television is a community access TV Station on UPC Ireland
channel 802, broadcasting programmes made by, about and for Dublin communities. DCTV is Ireland
's only democratically-controlled TV channel. Its logo asserts that it encourages diversity, empowerment, and participation in its programming and activities. All content is Creative Commons
/Non-commercial according to in the spirit of non-commercial community benefit.
It launched on 16 July 2008, and is available to over 200,000 households across Dublin, Limerick
, Cork
, Galway
and Waterford
.
Programmes for DCTV are created and produced by a variety of sources:
DCTV assists members and member organisations to secure funding from the Sound and Vision "Community in a Studio" fund, which is generated from the TV licence fee and administered by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI). The Sound and Vision fund is a grant scheme designed to support the production of new television and radio programmes in the areas of Irish culture, heritage and experience and adult literacy
Many programmes are shot on HDDV, a cost-effective and non-intrusive camera that can be operated by a DV
director. In such cases, the director and sound operator constitute the entire crew.
Community in a Studio is a joint proposal between Dublin Community Television (DCTV), Province 5 Television (P5tv
), Cork Community TV
(CCTV) and training partner Community Television Association (CTA). The programme series provides 12 community groups with the opportunity to explore what community television means to them and their organisations.
Special Schemes are initiatives which fall outside the regular funding rounds and have a distinct focus on partnerships and the fostering of industry development. While content will deal with the core themes of BCI Sound & Vision, the Special Scheme takes a holistic view of the programme making process, from development to production according to the BCI.
DCTV is funded by membership fees and a variety of other sources: Dublin City Council
, other Dublin councils and the Dublin Community Forum. Many of the programmes made for DCTV are funded by the BCI's Sound and Vision fund, which is generated from the Irish TV licence fee.
Membership costs €25 a year (€15 for unwaged), giving the member a say in running the station and choosing programming and gives you access to the means to make programmes for DCTV.http://www.dctv.ie/index.html
:
Can Dubliners dance? This five-part series explores the capital’s burgeoning dance culture and aims to
discover if the city's inhabitants can really dance. Dancing Dublin challenged beginners to learn five
dance styles – salsa, tango, ballroom, hip-hop, and Irish set dancing. Their progress is tracked over five
episodes as participants struggle to learn their steps and to integrate into the thriving scenes that have
grown up around each genre.
Pedal Project - Produced by DCTV
From the street level view of ‘One Less Car’, to the Dublin city cycling officer going to Amsterdam and London to see what they’re doing in ‘Three Cycling Cities’ to the thinking that is going into making Dublin a ‘Two Wheeled City’ DCTV’s innovative new series on cycling is must viewing for anybody interested in how our city and transport systems function. It’s a chance to see what the targets about cycling and transport mean and what the current thinking is in our local authorities, in our universities and amongst the residents of Dublin.
Powerdown - Produced by the Cultivate Centre, Temple Bar:
Powerdown is a series of ten 20-minute programmes, featuring some animation, produced by the
Cultivate Centre in Temple Bar. The series will aim to inform individuals and groups in the community
that climate change and energy scarcity are the critical issues of our time and that they do affect our
lives now. The ten programmes, partly animated, will outline the issues from different perspectives, and
will arm viewers with the knowledge to understand the connection between everyday life, climate change
and energy scarcity. The programmes will be both entertaining and educational, exploring solutions and
encouraging responses at individual, community and national level. The series will subsequently by
made available to schools for use in the classroom.
A Taste of Home - Produced by DCTV:
A Taste of Home is a weekly series of six half-hour programmes that aim to break barriers and open
doors to the international cuisines and cultures that have made home in Dublin. Each week two neighbouring
households must cook for each other. The cook of each house spends the day with his/her
opposite number; goes shopping for the ingredients, meets the suppliers and learns how to cook the
neighbour’s food. That evening the entire two households sit down to dinner together. The series features
Nigerian, Vietnamese, Polish, Estonian, Romanian and Irish people crossing each other’s thresholds
and celebrating the diversity that is the average Dublin residential community. The results are
mouth-watering.
Roll Up Your Sleeves
: The DIY Counterculture - Produced by Project Arts Centre
:
The debut film from 21-year-old Dylan Haskins
and his friends is a colourful exploration of the 'Do-It-
Yourself' counterculture phenomenon, from the starting point of their own local alternative scene. The
journey of discovery involves Haskins driving a US folk punk band on a European tour and exploring the
relationship between DIY ideology and European autonomous social centres. This is contrasted with the
Seomra Spraoi social centre project in Dublin and the problems it faces. Independent music is a thread
throughout the film: interviewees include Ian MacKaye of legendary alternative bands Fugazi and Minor
Threat; Ellen Lupton, US author of 'DIY: Design it Yourself'; Ellie and Louise MacMamara of young Irish
band Heathers; and members of veteran Dutch experimental punk band The Ex.
Bunkered:
The first Irish program about the growing sport of paintballing. Launched October 2008.
Northside Focus - Produced by NEAR TV, Coolock:
Northside Focus consists of seven magazine programmes that portray Dublin’s northside from the point
of view of its inhabitants and in a way that redresses the unbalanced image of the northside presented
in the mainstream media. Whether through providing help to dementia sufferers in a daycare centre in
Raheny; a club that races Scalextric cars in a shed in Artane; teaching children how to dance in a community
centre in Clontarf; a church centre that gives time, space and resources to keep children educated
and stimulated in Darndale; or working through intercultural dialogue to help different cultures understand
each other better, Northside Focus goes a little deeper into communities to extract the local angle.
Near TV Productions was set up in 2005 to complement and further enhance the existing work done
over 12 years by the Media Co-op in Coolock, which runs NEAR 90 fm community radio.
Beyond the Classroom by DCTV
During the nearly two years that this series was in production the DCTV crew were privileged to meet many impressive, thoughtful and articulate people who spoke to us of Community Education. There is an ongoing, honest and exciting conversation taking place across the centres and offices and classrooms and kitchens that CE inhabits and the sharing and open nature of the practitioners meant that we were welcomed quite quickly into this.
This programme attempts to document this – to capture the essence of the discussion around the practice and impact of community education here, today: Dublin in 2010. But when DCTV asked some of these same practitioners what they wanted to make television for they instantly requested the production of a learning tool – and this is more than a document. All involved in making it hope that it is a relevant and useful tool for those who are seeking to develop their own practice and theory of community education.
OTHER PROGRAMMING
As well as programmes made by and for DCTV, that channel will air a diverse range of other content:
• Features and shorts (both documentary and drama) selected from independent/non-profit film festivals around the world;
• Cookery programmes;
• Programmes for the deaf;
• Programming from community TV channels in other countries;
• Adult literacy programmes;
• Activist films;
• College films;
• Community Notice-board;
• Films by young/emerging film-makers.
FUTURE PROGRAMMING
• Studio shows (Autumn 2008);
• Live programmes, incl. news (2009);
• Music programming;
• Sports, with an emphasis on minority sports (e.g. cricket, basketball).
Creative Commons
DCTV promotes the widest possible distribution and use of programmes for non-profit use. Its own productions will be produced under
a Creative Commons license that allows non-profit use, subject to recognition of source (see www.creativecomnmons.org). DCTV also
promotes sharing with other community channels.http://www.dctv.ie/DCTV_Programmes.pdf
UPC Ireland
UPC Ireland is Liberty Global Europe's telecommunications operation in Ireland. UPC Ireland is the largest digital cable television provider within the Republic of Ireland. As of September 2010 the company offers broadband internet, digital television and digital telephony to over 531,000 customers...
channel 802, broadcasting programmes made by, about and for Dublin communities. DCTV is Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
's only democratically-controlled TV channel. Its logo asserts that it encourages diversity, empowerment, and participation in its programming and activities. All content is Creative Commons
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
/Non-commercial according to in the spirit of non-commercial community benefit.
It launched on 16 July 2008, and is available to over 200,000 households across Dublin, Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
, Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
and Waterford
Waterford
Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland...
.
Programmes for DCTV are created and produced by a variety of sources:
- DCTV itself
- Not-for-profit TV production companies, such as NEAR TV Productions in CoolockCoolockCoolock is a large suburban area, centred on a village, on Dublin city's Northside in Ireland. Coolock is crossed by the Santry River, a prominent feature in the middle of the district, with a linear park and ponds...
- Other DCTV member organisations, such as Aontas (adult education), Cultivate (sustainable living), Project (arts); NALA (adult literacy)
- Individual members of DCTV
DCTV assists members and member organisations to secure funding from the Sound and Vision "Community in a Studio" fund, which is generated from the TV licence fee and administered by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI). The Sound and Vision fund is a grant scheme designed to support the production of new television and radio programmes in the areas of Irish culture, heritage and experience and adult literacy
Many programmes are shot on HDDV, a cost-effective and non-intrusive camera that can be operated by a DV
DV
DV is a format for the digital recording and playing back of digital video. The DV codec was launched in 1995 with joint efforts of leading producers of video camcorders....
director. In such cases, the director and sound operator constitute the entire crew.
Background
Dublin Community Television (DCTV) is a new Irish TV broadcaster, which secured a 10-year Community Licence from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). It is also Ireland's only TV station run by a members' cooperative and Dublin's only community TV station. With offices in the Digital Hub, DCTV has plans to base small-scale production facilities around the city, making video and television production and transmission as accessible as possible. Using new, low-cost, all-digital technology, DCTV is part of a global growth in alternative, community-focused media. The organisation itself is a members' cooperative, with schedules, programme commissioning and all other decisions being taken by members of the cooperative. There is no standard advertising: instead the channel has a number of innovative revenue models supporting the very low-cost operation of the station.Community in a Studio is a joint proposal between Dublin Community Television (DCTV), Province 5 Television (P5tv
P5tv
Province 5 Television is a community access TV Station on NTL/Chorus in Navan, broadcasting programmes made by, about and for the Navan community....
), Cork Community TV
Cork Community TV
Cork Community Television is a community access TV Station on UPC Ireland channel 803, broadcasting programmes made by, about and for Cork communities....
(CCTV) and training partner Community Television Association (CTA). The programme series provides 12 community groups with the opportunity to explore what community television means to them and their organisations.
Special Schemes are initiatives which fall outside the regular funding rounds and have a distinct focus on partnerships and the fostering of industry development. While content will deal with the core themes of BCI Sound & Vision, the Special Scheme takes a holistic view of the programme making process, from development to production according to the BCI.
Co-operative Information
DCTV is a member's cooperative, with schedules, programme commissioning and all other decisions being taken by members of the cooperative. There is no standard advertising: instead the channel has a number of innovative revenue models supporting the very low-cost operation of the station.DCTV is funded by membership fees and a variety of other sources: Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council is the local authority for the city of Dublin in Ireland. It has 52 members and is the largest local authority in Ireland. Until 2001, it was known as Dublin Corporation.-Legal status:...
, other Dublin councils and the Dublin Community Forum. Many of the programmes made for DCTV are funded by the BCI's Sound and Vision fund, which is generated from the Irish TV licence fee.
Membership costs €25 a year (€15 for unwaged), giving the member a say in running the station and choosing programming and gives you access to the means to make programmes for DCTV.http://www.dctv.ie/index.html
Purpose
DCTV provides members with affordable access to transmission, training, basic production equipment and facilities for a broad range of individuals, community groups and activists broadcasting a wealth of innovative, creative, educational and entertaining programmes that focus on real people and communities in all their diversity.Launch
Dublin Community Television was switched on on July 16, 2008, launched by Minister Eamon Ryan, Department of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources.Home produced programmes
Dancing Dublin - Produced by DCTV member Bill TysonBill Tyson
Bill Tyson is a multi-award winning Irish writer and producer.-Financial Journalism :Hard hitting investigative journalism into controversial lending practices at the was the highlight of Tyson's stint as finance reporter with the Irish Independent . For this five-year campaign under unrelenting...
:
Can Dubliners dance? This five-part series explores the capital’s burgeoning dance culture and aims to
discover if the city's inhabitants can really dance. Dancing Dublin challenged beginners to learn five
dance styles – salsa, tango, ballroom, hip-hop, and Irish set dancing. Their progress is tracked over five
episodes as participants struggle to learn their steps and to integrate into the thriving scenes that have
grown up around each genre.
Pedal Project - Produced by DCTV
From the street level view of ‘One Less Car’, to the Dublin city cycling officer going to Amsterdam and London to see what they’re doing in ‘Three Cycling Cities’ to the thinking that is going into making Dublin a ‘Two Wheeled City’ DCTV’s innovative new series on cycling is must viewing for anybody interested in how our city and transport systems function. It’s a chance to see what the targets about cycling and transport mean and what the current thinking is in our local authorities, in our universities and amongst the residents of Dublin.
Powerdown - Produced by the Cultivate Centre, Temple Bar:
Powerdown is a series of ten 20-minute programmes, featuring some animation, produced by the
Cultivate Centre in Temple Bar. The series will aim to inform individuals and groups in the community
that climate change and energy scarcity are the critical issues of our time and that they do affect our
lives now. The ten programmes, partly animated, will outline the issues from different perspectives, and
will arm viewers with the knowledge to understand the connection between everyday life, climate change
and energy scarcity. The programmes will be both entertaining and educational, exploring solutions and
encouraging responses at individual, community and national level. The series will subsequently by
made available to schools for use in the classroom.
A Taste of Home - Produced by DCTV:
A Taste of Home is a weekly series of six half-hour programmes that aim to break barriers and open
doors to the international cuisines and cultures that have made home in Dublin. Each week two neighbouring
households must cook for each other. The cook of each house spends the day with his/her
opposite number; goes shopping for the ingredients, meets the suppliers and learns how to cook the
neighbour’s food. That evening the entire two households sit down to dinner together. The series features
Nigerian, Vietnamese, Polish, Estonian, Romanian and Irish people crossing each other’s thresholds
and celebrating the diversity that is the average Dublin residential community. The results are
mouth-watering.
Roll Up Your Sleeves
Roll Up Your Sleeves
Roll Up Your Sleeves is an Irish documentary about do-it-yourself counterculture directed by Dylan Haskins. It also examines the relationship between DIY culture and the need for autonomous social spaces, looking at various projects across Europe and how these compare with the situation in...
: The DIY Counterculture - Produced by Project Arts Centre
Project Arts Centre
Project Arts Centre is a multidisciplinary contemporary arts centre located in Dublin's Temple Bar that showcases cutting-edge visual art and performance....
:
The debut film from 21-year-old Dylan Haskins
Dylan Haskins
Dylan Haskins is an Irish broadcaster and social entrepreneur.Haskins first became known as a proponent of the DIY ethic in Ireland for his work on several projects initiated as a teenager, including the establishment of all ages, non-alcohol spaces in north Wicklow and Dublin.He has since become...
and his friends is a colourful exploration of the 'Do-It-
Yourself' counterculture phenomenon, from the starting point of their own local alternative scene. The
journey of discovery involves Haskins driving a US folk punk band on a European tour and exploring the
relationship between DIY ideology and European autonomous social centres. This is contrasted with the
Seomra Spraoi social centre project in Dublin and the problems it faces. Independent music is a thread
throughout the film: interviewees include Ian MacKaye of legendary alternative bands Fugazi and Minor
Threat; Ellen Lupton, US author of 'DIY: Design it Yourself'; Ellie and Louise MacMamara of young Irish
band Heathers; and members of veteran Dutch experimental punk band The Ex.
Bunkered:
The first Irish program about the growing sport of paintballing. Launched October 2008.
Northside Focus - Produced by NEAR TV, Coolock:
Northside Focus consists of seven magazine programmes that portray Dublin’s northside from the point
of view of its inhabitants and in a way that redresses the unbalanced image of the northside presented
in the mainstream media. Whether through providing help to dementia sufferers in a daycare centre in
Raheny; a club that races Scalextric cars in a shed in Artane; teaching children how to dance in a community
centre in Clontarf; a church centre that gives time, space and resources to keep children educated
and stimulated in Darndale; or working through intercultural dialogue to help different cultures understand
each other better, Northside Focus goes a little deeper into communities to extract the local angle.
Near TV Productions was set up in 2005 to complement and further enhance the existing work done
over 12 years by the Media Co-op in Coolock, which runs NEAR 90 fm community radio.
Beyond the Classroom by DCTV
During the nearly two years that this series was in production the DCTV crew were privileged to meet many impressive, thoughtful and articulate people who spoke to us of Community Education. There is an ongoing, honest and exciting conversation taking place across the centres and offices and classrooms and kitchens that CE inhabits and the sharing and open nature of the practitioners meant that we were welcomed quite quickly into this.
This programme attempts to document this – to capture the essence of the discussion around the practice and impact of community education here, today: Dublin in 2010. But when DCTV asked some of these same practitioners what they wanted to make television for they instantly requested the production of a learning tool – and this is more than a document. All involved in making it hope that it is a relevant and useful tool for those who are seeking to develop their own practice and theory of community education.
OTHER PROGRAMMING
As well as programmes made by and for DCTV, that channel will air a diverse range of other content:
• Features and shorts (both documentary and drama) selected from independent/non-profit film festivals around the world;
• Cookery programmes;
• Programmes for the deaf;
• Programming from community TV channels in other countries;
• Adult literacy programmes;
• Activist films;
• College films;
• Community Notice-board;
• Films by young/emerging film-makers.
FUTURE PROGRAMMING
• Studio shows (Autumn 2008);
• Live programmes, incl. news (2009);
• Music programming;
• Sports, with an emphasis on minority sports (e.g. cricket, basketball).
Creative Commons
DCTV promotes the widest possible distribution and use of programmes for non-profit use. Its own productions will be produced under
a Creative Commons license that allows non-profit use, subject to recognition of source (see www.creativecomnmons.org). DCTV also
promotes sharing with other community channels.http://www.dctv.ie/DCTV_Programmes.pdf