Open channel

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An open channel describes a radio or television broadcaster whose program citizens shape and are responsible for. The open channels usually include a non-commercial local radio to the field of community media . There is citizen broadcasting in the three federal states of Bremen , Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia .

General

The respective open channel provides the necessary infrastructure, production technology, rooms and suitable educational offers mostly free of charge or for a low usage fee or contribution to expenses to all citizens in the local broadcasting area. The aim of the open channels system is to add a third pillar of media diversity to the broadcasting landscape of public and private broadcasting . In Germany , the state media authorities and / or local sponsoring associations carry open channels, some of which are financed from broadcasting fees. (The open channels in Hesse, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, for example, each receive around 1% of the broadcasting fees collected by ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Contribution Service ).

Since television technology has become more affordable in recent years, many voluntary citizen groups and amateur filmmakers can now produce their contributions completely independently. They then use the non-commercial open channels as an additional means of distribution and finance their editorial work independently.

history

Open channels emerged in Germany in connection with the introduction of private commercial broadcasting from 1984 and as a counter-image. The starting point of the discussion carried out by the Open Channel Expert Commission since the late 1970s is the experience with public access channels in the USA . The name "Open Channel" was taken over from a non-commercial local television station in Wil ( Switzerland ).

Open channels emerged as a grassroots movement in the 1980s as a result of the “discovery” that media literacy does not just mean being able to operate the television set . Rather, the citizens themselves should know how broadcast media work and contribute to diversity of opinion with their own programs . The quality of the programs and thus the social acceptance varies greatly depending on the broadcaster. Therefore, in many German federal states, the structure of the open channels is currently being adapted more closely to the areas of responsibility of local reporting and training. The local sponsors are often given more freedom to structure the broadcast content more strongly and to design an attractive citizens' program. In some German federal states there were efforts to abolish the open channels and to replace them with private training channels. The open channel in Saarland was discontinued in March 2002, and the open channel in Hamburg was replaced by TIDE GmbH, which is affiliated to the Hamburg Media School , with a radio ( Tide 96.0 ) and a television program (Tide TV). The federal states of Baden-Württemberg , Saxony and Bavaria also have no open channels.

In Germany there are currently 46 open channels (as of December 2015) on television. Several Open Channels broadcast both a radio and a television program; some can only be received on the radio or only on television. Many public channels also broadcast on YouTube. Depending on the media law requirements of the federal states, different support structures can be differentiated.

Abroad, for example, you have open channels in Luxembourg , Denmark , Australia , South Korea , Brazil , Fiji and Belgium .

Authorized user groups

Not all of Germany's open channels are open to all citizens; this is only the case with the open channels in Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. The open channels in North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein, Rhineland-Palatinate and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are only accessible to users residing in the respective federal state. In Hesse, access is restricted to residents of the transmission area of ​​the respective open channels. The same applies to Thuringia. Following the amendment to the State Media Act in 2005, Rhineland-Palatinate restricted access to the technology to residents of the transmission area of ​​the respective open channel. Exceptions are permitted in individual open channels. In Bremen, in addition to the residents of the federal state, residents of the surrounding Lower Saxony communities in which the program can be received can be approved as users.

In some cases, the training channels operated as Uni-TV at the universities are also viewed as open channels, whereby the user group is limited to the students and the open principle is thus abandoned.

Open channels in Germany

Berlin (television and radio)

The Offene Kanal has been broadcasting in Berlin since August 1985. Since May 2009 it has been operating under the name of Alex Offener Kanal Berlin . Alex is a participatory citizen broadcaster in the Berlin-Brandenburg region with open access, which emerged on May 27, 2009 from the Berlin Open Channel (OKB). Alex is a tri-media platform that broadcasts on both television and radio. On the Internet, Alex is a platform for both media with an extensive media library. A live stream is available for both media.

The television program is broadcast in parts of the Berlin cable network on special channel 8. Since 2003, the radio has been broadcast on the cable frequency 92.60 MHz in the afternoon and on the antenna frequency 97.2 MHz. Alex is an institution of the Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg and is financed from license fees.

Bremen (television and radio)

In the course of the amendment to the State Media Act in 2005, the open channels were supplemented with the properties of a citizen broadcasting service and renamed accordingly.

In Bremen there were three open channels until April 1st, 2008:

As part of the reorganization of the citizens 'radio stations in the state of Bremen on April 1, 2008, these three stations, together with the citizens' radio station Wesermündung Nordenham, operate under the common name:

Hamburg (television and radio)

The open channel in Hamburg , based on Stresemannstrasse in Hamburg-Altona, was replaced in July 2003 by the non-commercial citizen and training channel Tide . Tide began regular broadcasting on April 1, 2004. Tide is also open to the public, but: With the Open Channel, every citizen had the right to broadcast on their own responsibility. The Hamburg State Media Act of July 2, 2003 deprived him of his rights . Rather, an editor-in-chief is responsible for the programs at Tide and thus has control over the content of the programs in principle.

The opposition SPD spoke of a "state sanction against a public broadcasting service" and also criticized the fact that both Tide and, in part, its sponsor, the Hamburg Media School , are financed from broadcasting fees.

To ensure a minimum technical standard, newcomers initially broadcast on less prominent broadcasting slots in a test program called the "Elbe-Seiten-Kanal".

Hesse

History of the open channels in Hessen

In 1990, one year after the founding and establishment of the Hessian State Agency for Private Broadcasting (LPR Hessen), the decision-making body dealt in several meetings with the question of whether and how open channels should be set up in Hessen . In spring 1991 the conditions were fixed: In the immediate vicinity of LPR Hessen, which is based in Kassel, an open channel was to be created exclusively on television as a pilot project limited to three years. Based on the experience gained and evaluated in this project, it would be possible to decide on how to proceed after the pilot phase.

With this in mind, the Kassel Open Canal began broadcasting on June 1, 1992 in the old main train station, which has meanwhile become a KulturBahnhof. A few months earlier, it had opened its doors to the population entitled to use it in Kassel and seven surrounding communities for advice, information, courses and technology rentals.

The good success of the Open Canal offers - the immense interest of the population - resulted in the LPR Hessen meeting in September 1994 ending the Kassel pilot phase and declaring the Open Canal permanent. At the same time, it decided to make funds available for further Open Channels in 1995 and following, depending on the budgetary possibilities. In the following years, open channels were set up in Giessen , Offenbach / Frankfurt am Main and Fulda .

With the name extension to "Media Project Centers Open Channel", completed in January 2006, the LPR Hessen presented to the public how the work areas in their facilities have shifted: In addition to the "Open Channel", citizens' television channels have been through a large number of media educational "Media project centers" that combine both under one roof:

Local or regional television for everyone with the task of giving as many social groups, organizations, institutions and individuals as possible the opportunity - and the necessary support - to produce and distribute their own television programs ,

the focus on project work accompanied by media education with the aim of imparting media skills to primarily children, young people and multipliers .

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In Hesse there are the following Open Channel media project centers, which have also been broadcasting nationally in the respective analogue or digital cable network since 2009:

  • Media project center Offener Kanal Fulda
  • Media project center Open Channel Giessen
  • Media project center Open Channel Kassel
  • Media project center open channel Offenbach / Frankfurt

radio

The non-commercial local radio stations that have been on the air in Hessen since 1997 differ significantly from private-commercial (e.g. Radio FFH ) and public radio programs (e.g. hr3). Non-commercial local radio stations do not necessarily have to reach a large audience and are therefore not committed to the “mainstream”. They should take up topics that are barely covered in other media and offer a public forum for as many different groups in society as possible. Non-commercial local radio stations thus contribute to the diversity of opinion in the region.

The radios are financed from membership fees, donations and subsidies from the LPR Hessen - advertising is prohibited in the programs.

The LPR Hessen maintains seven non-commercial local radio stations in Hessen ( free radios ).

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

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In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania there is an open channel in the cable network with an outdoor studio:

radio

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania there is an open channel with two outdoor studios.

NB-Radiotreff 88.0 ( Neubrandenburg ) with external studios in Greifswald with the radio 98eins station through the association “radio 98eins e. V. "and in Malchin with the wave Kummerower See supported by the association" dfb e. V. ".

There is also a NKL-like radio station: LOHRO ( Rostock )

Lower Saxony

The open channels of Lower Saxony were transferred to the new category of citizens' broadcasting together with the non-commercial local radio stations in April 2002. They include:

North Rhine-Westphalia

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In North Rhine-Westphalia , the teaching and learning channel nrwision has covered the area of ​​public television since 2009 - funded by the State Agency for Media North Rhine-Westphalia . The nationwide training and testing channel from the Department of Journalism of the University of Dortmund developed and operated - under the direction of former ZDF presenter Michael Steinbrecher . The majority of the program - currently around 80 percent - is contributed by citizen editorial offices and committed amateur filmmakers, some of whom are still producing with the support of former open channels (see below). as well as professional media education institutions.

nrwision broadcasts nationwide and unencrypted in the digital cable network via Unitymedia, NetCologne and NetAachen as well as via live stream on the Internet. In addition, all productions can be accessed indefinitely in the media library of the teaching and learning channel. For the first time in the history of public television in North Rhine-Westphalia, a platform brings together all programs, films and contributions from program suppliers from all over North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition to broadcasting, the teaching and learning broadcaster offers personal advice and individual feedback on productions by a student program editor, who views, compiles and advertises the entire program.

After Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia was the second federal state in which an Open Channel went on air: In 1985, the Open Channel Dortmund started (initially from WDR , from 1988 as an association, from 2004 floriantv). There were the following stations in the respective cable network:

At the suggestion of the LfM NRW, the Media Commission NRW decided in 2008 to fundamentally change the funding of open channels in North Rhine-Westphalia - in favor of the pilot project training and test television in NRW . This decision was justified by the LfM on the basis of various points from the so-called "Volpers Study", which the LfM itself had commissioned. According to the authors, “the development potential of public television was assessed as very low”. Since the open channels played a relevant role, especially in the context of media education, the proposal for a nationwide teaching and learning channel was made. After a three-year pilot phase, the NRW Media Commission brought nrwision into regular operation as a successful model.

Instead of supporting the open channels primarily with basic funding, as was previously the case, since then targeted qualification measures have been promoted in the area of ​​citizen media (according to the State Media Act of North Rhine-Westphalia). Without a constant financial basis or own broadcasting license, Kanal 21 in Bielefeld, the training TV Marl , open.web.tv in Münster and the Offene Kanal Lüdenscheid still produce today . They are primarily dependent on donations and project funds and have been broadcasting their programs and contributions on nrwision since 2009 .

radio

In North Rhine-Westphalia there are no open radio channels, but citizens' radio .

Rhineland-Palatinate (television)

Rhineland-Palatinate is the "country of origin" of the open channels. Here alone there were up to 25 facilities at times. Germany's first Open Canal went on air on January 1, 1984 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein .

The Open Channels in Rhineland-Palatinate are usually carried out by three groups: The necessary production and broadcast technology is largely provided by the State Center for Media and Communication (LMK). As a rule, the municipality provides the rooms free of charge, and the respective sponsoring association guarantees on-site operation through its (voluntary) employees.

In Rhineland-Palatinate, after an amendment to the State Media Act in April 2005, the orientation of the open channels was changed to the two pillars of "local" and "education". The link with other regional partners has also been strengthened through media competence networks.

In order to clean up the cable network structures and to increase the range of citizen broadcasting in Rhineland-Palatinate while reducing costs at the same time, several smaller transmitters have been merged into larger cable islands since June 1, 2007. In the course of the digitization of the cable networks, more broadcasters were merged in 2012. In this context, digital distribution was implemented for all of the Rhineland-Palatinate television stations on the open channels. Since then, all channels have been broadcast simulcast (digital and analog at the same time).

The following citizen broadcasters can be received in the respective cable network:

Note: * = no own cable frequency - channel sharing with another citizen broadcaster

Saxony-Anhalt (television)

In Saxony-Anhalt there are the following open TV channels in the respective cable network:

Schleswig-Holstein

For reasons of acceptance, the open channels in Schleswig-Holstein are to be restructured in the near future and the areas of training and local reporting reinforced. A renaming from “Open Channel City Name ” to “ City Name TV” or “ City Name FM” is also planned for this reason and has already been implemented in Kiel , Lübeck and Heide (“West Coast FM”).

The individual branches in the various cities belong to the public-law institution called "OKSH" (Open Canal Schleswig-Holstein).

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In Schleswig-Holstein there are the following open channels in the respective cable network:

radio

The following open channels exist in Schleswig-Holstein:

Each of these stations has several smaller outdoor studios, which enable citizens in the broadcast area to broadcast programs in their home town without visiting the actual broadcasting house.

Thuringia

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In Thuringia there are the following open channels in the respective cable network:

  • Eichsfeld Open Canal ( Leinefelde )
  • Open Canal Gera ( Gera )
  • SRB Open Channel Saalfeld-Rudolstadt ( Saalfeld ): TV only limited

Radio

The following citizen media are available in Thuringia:

Hands-free, paper-free gePOVe to the difference between OK and NKL. Either delete it completely or redesign it on the basis of reputable documents according to encyclopedic principles. This needs to be revised. Details should be given on the talk page. Please help to improve it , and then remove this flag.

In Thuringia there are other forms of citizen media in addition to the open channels, including non-commercial local radio stations (NKL). According to the state media law, NKL exist where an open channel radio is present. This is the case in Erfurt and Weimar, where Radio FREI and Radio Lotte share the frequency with the open channel Radio Funkwerk. There are differences, but also similarities, between the Open Channel and NKL. In future developments, it is more likely that an NKL will approach the open channel more than the other way around. While some basic elements in the Open Channels are in need of overhaul, the NKL is subject to a program mandate. Thus, an open channel has and offers considerably more possibilities for development and degrees of freedom than an NKL. This corresponds much better to the requirements of today's media society. This can also be seen in a comparable way with some private, but also public broadcasters. These involve the consumer and recipient more and more actively in the program. He is almost in the role of a user, which in turn corresponds to the basic idea of ​​open channels.

Open channels in Austria

The initial spark for open channels in Austria came from a symposium held as part of the “Steirischer Herbst” cultural festival under the title “Audience Makes Program” with Robert Jungk in 1975.

Future developments in the medium of television were discussed. Two directions emerged: an artist group (Peter Noever, Valie Export, Peter Weibel, Richard Kriesche et al.) Who wanted to see open channels as an art platform, and a group who wanted to make the medium of television available to citizen groups as a communication platform (Gruppe Grund 100 - with Dominique Belloir-Verbizh, Rainer Verbizh and Ernst Kopper, the Grazer Peter Hueber, Irmtraud and Herbert Prepeluh and Till Römer - Berlin).

If they initially wanted to pursue a common concept - creation of free media centers in all state capitals - this endeavor was not funded by the federal government, and individual pilot projects were finally submitted for funding. At the beginning of 1976, the Federal Ministry for Education and the Arts (Minister Fred Sinowatz) and the Province of Burgenland provided funding for the “Local TV Burgenland” project for a period of six months. A video studio was set up in the Mattersburger Kulturzentrum, which was open to everyone (supervisor team Dominique Belloir-Verbizh, Rainer Verbizh, Leo Kellermann, Gerhard Weiss, Irmtraud Prepeluh and Herbert Prepeluh).

After completing the pilot project in Burgenland, part of the work team moved to Graz. The eight-month project "Local Television Styria" with continued funding from the federal government and additional support from the Styrian regional government, the city of Graz and the municipality of Radkersburg could begin. At the same time, the non-profit association “Videoinitiative Graz” was founded by Peter Hueber and Herbert Prepeluh, and a video studio accessible to all was opened as part of the project. Schools, artist groups, citizens' groups, marginalized groups, but also individuals, this studio was available practically around the clock. Contributions were presented in public places and in guest houses and ensured lively public discussions and further video productions.

The Graz Video Initiative continued the open media studio in Graz from 1977 to 1981; Furthermore, additional participatory media projects with public support and changing project teams were carried out, such as the project “Arbeitermachen Fernsehen” 1979 in Mürzzuschlag and Knittelfeld (Peter Hueber, Herbert Prepeluh, Hans Kronberger, Sepp Auer and Günther Dick) or the documentation for the First Austrian Writers' Congress in 1981 in Vienna (by Walter Grond).

Peter Hueber was invited to several conferences in Germany in 1982 and 1983 to report on the experiences of his group at “Werkstätten Offener Kanal” at the invitation of the Federal Agency for Civic Education in Bonn (Christian Longolius). The work of the Video Initiative Graz was assessed as a model project for the German open channels.

At the end of the 1970s, it was assumed that open channels would be implemented more quickly in Austria than in Germany. Compare the work that Garleff Zacharias-Langhans produced on behalf of the Federal Agency for Civic Education in Bonn: Citizen Medium Video: A Report on Alternative Media Work (Berlin: Volker Spiess, 1977). However, further implementation was delayed in Austria.

In 1984 the Video Initiative Graz started another attempt with an open channel. On behalf of the Federal Ministry of Science and Research, an “Open Studio: Preliminary Test Open Channel” was tested in Salzburg. The Graz video initiative was subsequently unable to continue its pioneering work with open channels due to a lack of financial support.

In 1997 citizens started their TV residential park in Vienna-Alt Erlaa on their own initiative , which has been in operation ever since.

Since 1998 , television and radio programs have been produced in the form of an open channel as part of the Linz Media Workshop, an institution of the adult education center , the Chamber of Labor and the City of Linz . The radio broadcasts are broadcast on Radio Oberösterreich and FRO , the television program Insight is broadcast daily in the Liwest cable network on the special channel o8 S and is changed every two weeks.

In January 2000, the Austrian Open Channels working group was founded by a group of media scientists to carry out information and research work and to establish open television channels in Austria on a permanent basis.

In June 2003 the Open Channels Austria working group organized a panel discussion “On the importance of open TV channels for Austria” in the Urania (Vienna) . Media spokesmen from the four parliamentary parties and media experts took part in the event. The event gave important impulses for the realization of an open television channel in Vienna.

The panel discussion in November 2003 led to the founding of the Vienna Open Canal Platform, which is supposed to act as an association of production groups and interest groups. Around 60 groups prepared editorial offices for an Open Channel Vienna.

In the Upper Austrian community of Engerwitzdorf, a community broadcaster was started under the name Buntes Fernsehen Engerwitzdorf in the summer of 2004 in the form of an open channel. The initiator is Telekom Austria .

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In Vienna , a community station called Okto went on air on November 28, 2005. In Linz, on June 22, 2010, Dorf-TV via DVB-T was launched in the central area of ​​Upper Austria as a non-commercial regional broadcaster, and in February 2012 in Salzburg, FS1 was launched .

Open channels in Luxembourg

In Luxembourg there is a nationwide private television broadcaster .dok , which has been on the air in the country's cable networks since 2003 and provides airtime, production material and personnel to anyone who wishes for a fee.

literature

  • Gabriele Hooffacker (Ed.): Citizen Media, New Media, Media Alternatives: 10 Years of Alternative Media Prize. Hooffacker, Munich 2009. ISBN 978-3-9805604-5-0 . ( Online on the Journalist Academy website)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Usage regulation at nrwision , para. 2
  2. ^ OC statutes Schleswig-Holstein, § 2 para. 1
  3. ^ Statutes of the state center for media and communication for open channels in Rhineland-Palatinate (OK statutes) of June 27, 2005, § 5 para. 2
  4. ↑ Statutes of the State Broadcasting Center Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (LRZ) for the design, implementation and financing of the open channels in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania ", § 3 Paragraph 1
  5. ↑ Statutes of the Hessian State Agency for Private Broadcasting (LPR Hessen) on the use of open channels (OK statutes), § 4 Paragraph 1
  6. ↑ see Thuringian State Media Act, Section 36, Paragraph 1
  7. ↑ Articles of Association of the Bremen State Media Authority, Section 2 Paragraph 1
  8. ^ SPD regional organization Hamburg, Media in Hamburg: Position paper on the location of the media industry from March 5, 2005, p. 7.
  9. ^ LPR Hessen: transmitters and frequencies. Retrieved April 14, 2019 .
  10. ↑ lpr-hessen.de ( Memento of the original from May 8, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lpr-hessen.de
  11. ↑ h1 articles TOP 10 ( Memento of the original from March 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / webtv.htp.net
  12. ^ LBM, State Association of Citizens Media eV Lower Saxony
  13. ↑ North German Cooperation (NOKO Citizens Media)
  14. ^ Statutes of the State Media Authority of North Rhine-Westphalia (LfM) on the design and organization of the teaching and learning channel (statutes for citizens' television) from July 15, 2011 with effect from February 11, 2015 ( GV. NRW. 2015 p. 211 )
  15. ↑ i284.photobucket.com
  16. ↑ Concept Landesweiter AEK NRW  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.lfm-nrw.de  
  17. ^ Citizens' television in North Rhine-Westphalia by Helmut Volpers and Petra Werner
  18. ↑ On to regular operation. ( Memento of the original from July 20, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. nrwision.de, September 16, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.nrwision.de
  19. ↑ Landesmediengesetz NRW  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.lfm-nrw.de  
  20. ↑ "On the importance of open television channels for Austria" ( Memento of the original from August 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.offener-kanal.net