PROGRAMMES

Acting WITBN Programme Exchange Co-ordinator, Pól Ó Gallchóir (left), pictured at the inaugural WITBN Council meeting with Māori Television chief executive Jim Mather

Programme Exchange Scheme

A Programme Exchange Scheme has been launched by WITBN in 2009.

The scheme has been developed by TG4 in Ireland and sees the ‘free’ exchange between WITBN Council members of four programmes per year.

This represents an innovative and cost effective means to secure new and attractive programming content in exchange for programme material already commissioned for broadcast on our channels.

A two-year transmission window will commence in September 2009 and close at the end of August 2011. The first year of the scheme will act as a ‘pilot’ for the full scheme.

The chief executive of TG4, Pól Ó Gallchóir, is acting WITBN Programme Exchange Co-ordinator.

The programmes to be exchanged between WITBN Council members include:

TG4 (Ireland) - ‘Fáiscthe as an Talamh’ (Wrested from the Land), ‘Adhlacóirí’ (The Undertakers), ‘Ag Bogadh go Inis Meáin’ (Moving to Inis Meáin);

TITV (Taiwan) - ‘The Melody Unforgotten’, ‘Ina’s Kitchen’, ‘A Gift’ and ‘The Best Young Indigenous’;

BBC Alba (Scotland) - ‘Gaol is Lonndrain’, ‘An Am Bata Nam Aonar’, ‘Trusadh - Hiort’ and ‘Trusadh - Ruithe le Raonaid’;

NRK Sámi Radio (Norway) - ‘The Eira Family’;

Māori Television (New Zealand) - ‘Children Of The Revolution’, ‘Land of My Ancestors’, ‘Justice Durie’ and ‘Broken Journey: The Life And Art Of JC Sturm’.

Māori Television General Manager News and Current Affairs, Te Anga Nathan (far left), pictured with his broadcasting counterparts at APTN in Canada.

Current Affairs

WITBN has developed a news sharing initiative which has paved the way for the launch of an international indigenous current affairs series, ‘Indigenous Insight’, in 2009.

The weekly, 30-minute programme – being produced by Māori Television – provides an international indigenous perspective by showcasing the best news stories from WITBN Council members.

Indigenous broadcasters who are contributing content include APTN (Canada), BBC Alba (Scotland), NRK Sámi Radio (Norway), S4C (Wales), TG4 (Ireland), TITV / PTS (Taiwan) and Māori Television (New Zealand).

Māori Television General Manager News and Current Affairs, Te Anga Nathan, has completed a comprehensive report on the new concept which includes specifics about the development and compilation of the series.

Presented by Māori Television current affairs presenter Julian Wilcox, a pilot of 12 programmes is being recorded between July and September this year.