Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sofia Tussis on March 30, 2011 at 17:22

Hello Bo,

The concept of extremely local journalism and of other media forms is something I have been familiar with for a while, but as I have to conceive of it, it cannot be divorced from the extremely global.

Maas-Media, the online platform which I built with some students here in Masstricht, Netherlands, puts local stories in a globalized world into the spotlight. The whole project developed from the necessity we felt to narrate local events and personal stories and to relate them to concerns shared across continents. What really fuelled it though was enabling this narration through participatory events where media output was produced from physical encounters and then uploaded on the web. Not only it creates interest but it also promotes participant empowerment - something we're quite keen on here.
The significance of the project lies in bridging the virtual and the physical as well as the 'extremely local' and the global.

I would be interested in knowing more about your project. What is the content you mostly produce? Whose stories do you broadcast and who do you target?

Have a look at our project here www.maas-media.org and feel free to share your thoughts on it.

Permalink Reply by Bo Wanngård on March 30, 2011 at 21:45

Hi there Sofia,

Nice to be hearing from U.

As I was starting to plan for my retirement, I found a completely empty tv channel in my cable. This was well before broad band and Internet was just something for advanced technicians. 

I had come to be involved in two or three start ups' of tv channels in Sweden but not really stayed till the end. I'm a public service fan so I had hard to cope with commercial angles on almost every topic. 

So, sitting in my sofa, watching the empty and very local tv channel I made up my mind: This is where I can set up the programming I want. 

So I did. 

Concept is simple. Tell the local stories. Never cross the community border. Unless it's necessary. Never put people in studios. Shoot interviews with politicians in shopping centres… On events - shoot lots of scenes showing the audience.

 

What I found:

Democracy is cracking down from below. In lack of journalists, politicians and civil servants tend to get corrupt. Perhaps not getting payed off, but scratching each others back - opening doors etc etc. And no one will no. This is what happens in Sweden and I'm sure it's the same all over the place where there are no journalists. 

 

I was financed (after a while) by the community. They were happy getting a local tv-station that people liked and refered to. One day there came a new, young politician to our community. I got that wonderful feeling… There is something rotten in the state of Denmark… And, there was. Which I published. Naturally. And suddenly the politicians found it less interesting supporting a free tv-channel. 

 

Thats' the story.

I keep following my conviction: There is a great need for local media. And a huge interest. Great need and huge interest. That's a good combination, don't you think? So my next step is to try to expand and cover five or six communities. 

 

I have been looking at Maas Media. I'll come back to U with some thoughts. Now, back to the editing studio. I'm producing some 20 interviews with local women and men with might and power. The interviews are exactly five minutes. Not moor nor less. Two cams. No editing afterwords. 

 

U can watch my youtube channel via  www.youtube.com/tvsollentuna  

 

Best regards

 

Bo W

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• 2_camera unit for interviews.jpg, 176 KB

Permalink Reply by Andrii Miroshnychenko on April 28, 2011 at 22:03

We do have this "small" TV at small cities in Russia/Ukraine that broadcast local news and TV programs for the population of 100-300 thousand people (I wonder how many of them actually watch it). Or how small community should be? Those I'm referring seemed to narrow-minded and soviet-like to me.