WITBN

"It is fair to say that TITV’s future lays in the hands of those policy and decision makers."

By MASAO AKI

Just before Christmas 2010, Taiwan Indigenous TV (TITV) moved to a new home – from the first floor to fourth floor. As Indigenous elders often say, after reaching the mountaintop, one must be humble to have new visions. At the dawn of 2011, not only are we continuing our works from the previous year, but we are also stepping up with some new initiatives for WITBN, including this newsletter. I hope you enjoy this newsletter, which shares insights into our network and an outlook for what might affect this community.

This year will be a major transition for TITV. But before I delve into that, I would like to first extend my best wishes to our dearest friend, Pat Turner, who resigned as the CEO of National Indigenous TV in 2010. When I first heard of her decision in December, I was shocked. I remember her warm hospitality during the WITBN executive committee meeting in September. Turner’s efforts fighting for funds, her vision of making NITV a free-to-air channel, and the passions and motivation we saw in her eyes make her departure even harder to believe.

Over the years, she has done a great deal for Indigenous media in Australia. She has also been very committed to the operation of WITBN, lending her support to help plan the future prospects of the network, even at a time when the whole station was fighting for government funding to secure its future.

To minimize changes to our news service, it is forseeable that more transformations will be made to in-house program production.

Prior to NITV’s official announcement, Turner sent a letter to us. In addition to bidding farewell, she told us that she will “remain totally committed to the future of Indigenous Television and multi-media worldwide.” As much as we want her to stay, we wish her all the best in the coming year.

Last March, we gathered in Taiwan for WITBC 2010. I extend my gratitude to all the people who made the conference substantial and thought-provoking. The digital era has impacted and challenged media around the world. It was timely for us to have made this issue a topic of discussion. With the economic slow down, and for some, annual decrease in government funding, WITBN was a great way to share news and resources. Though for the operation of TITV, the challenges remain the same.

TITV was established in 2004 base on the Indigenous Education Law. For the first three years, TITV was managed by two commercial TV stations under an annual commission. In 2006, the Statute Regarding the Disposition of Government Shareholdings in the Terrestrial Television Industry paved the way for Taiwan Public Television Service (PTS) to manage TITV under the Taiwan Broadcasting System. TITV then became a public television service. Up until now, however, TITV is still operated under an annual commission basis.

In early 2009, Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation Taiwan was established under a government statute. Since then, TITV has been dealing with a tug-of-war in its management because it is uncertain whether the Foundation or PTS has the authority to govern TITV. This year, the plan is for the Foundation to take over the authority of TITV’s personnel and operating strategies, while PTS will assist with production and hardware facility of TITV. The cultural foundation is determined to take over TITV in mid 2011.

2010 EC Meeting in Sydney, Australia (left to right) Masao Aki (TITV), Pat Turner (NITV), Nils Johan Heatta (NRK Sápmi), Patagaw Talimalaw (TITV), Jim Mather (Māori Television)

As of now, however, the two parties have not yet reached a consensus on the co-management mechanism drafted in the new contract between the Foundation and PTS. As a result, TITV is currently operating under the 2010 contract, which has been extended for three to six months until both parties agree on a new contract. Without delving into too much detail that even we cannot answer, it is fair to say that TITV’s future lies in the hands of policy and decision makers, as well as the two boards.

Operating under a short-term contract will directly impact the production of our news and programs. In response, we are transforming in-house program productions to minimize changes to our news service.

At this stage, we are still uncertain what the changes might be. Over the past few years, however, the TITV team have learned to overcome difficulties together. One thing worth mentioning is that TITV’s daily Indigenous news program stood out among its counterparts from commercial television stations. TITV’s daily news beat out three other commercial television programs and won the 2010 Excellent Journalism Award. We would like to share this honor with our friends. We promise our people, TITV will make every effort to ensure that we provide high-quality news programs and shows.

When we ponder the next step for TITV, we often look at New Zealand’s experience creating a well-developed environment for Māori media as a model and hope to create a similar environment in Taiwan. It would, however, be unfair to compare the two country’s policy towards Indigenous media. There are more than 14 diverse Indigenous cultures on this small island, and the station is still relatively young. But in my opinion, New Zealand’s experience and Māori broadcasting policies could and should serve as a reference for the government in Taiwan.

Over the past three years, WITBN has achieved many firsts within the global community of Indigenous media, including Jim Mather, CEO of Māori Television, laying the foundation of this network. As we look ahead, we are excited about the collaborations, projects and initiatives WITBN will help create. Even if change occurs, I know we have friends who will help support TITV to face and overcome the challenges.

Soon, we will meet again at BBC ALBA in Scotland to discuss new WITBN initiatives and we hope to share them with you soon. Our friends at BBC ALBA are waiting!

ENDS

Masao Aki, of the Atayal tribe, was appointed chief director of Taiwan’s national Indigenous broadcaster, Taiwan Indigenous TV in 2007. He was later elected chairman of WITBN in 2010.

In 2005, Masao joined TITV as the news manager. Before joining TITV, he served as a news presenter and producer for Taiwan Public Television Service for more than ten years. Masao is one of the first Indigenous people to become a news presenter in Taiwan’s broadcasting history. In 1994, Masao was among the first group of Indigenous people to receive extensive training in journalism and media production. In 2003, he directed“Teacher,” a documentary on Taiwan’s educational reform and completed the film in 2005.