RMITV is a

not-for-profit A not-for-profit or non-for-profit organization (NFPO) is a Legal Entity, legal entity that does not distribute surplus funds to its members and is formed to fulfill specific objectives. While not-for-profit organizations and Nonprofit organ ...

, community access television production facility based at

RMIT University The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (abbreviated as RMIT University) is a public research university located in the city of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia., section 4(b) Established in 1887 by Francis Ormond, it is the seventh-o ...

City Campus in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is a full member of the Melbourne Community Television Consortium, a not-for-profit consortium that operates the community access channel C31 which broadcasts throughout Melbourne and

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

About

RMITV is a student run media production house based within

, with the majority of its funding granted by RMIT University Student Union (RUSU). RMITV is dedicated to providing hands on television experience to students. RMITV also produces content to be broadcast, most commonly on C31 Melbourne and have helped many students find their way to careers in the television industry. Although based at RMIT University in Melbourne, they also work to provide opportunities to members of the local community wanting to get involved in television production.

Logo

Designed by RMITV member Nic Mason in the early 2000s, the "R" and "M" in RMITV's logo are based on the series of classification marks from the OFLC used to designate "Restricted" and "Mature" broadcast content and the "I" and "TV" are based on the 'General' (G) and 'Parental Guidance' (PG) classification marks but making use of different letters and antennas on the TV to signify television

History

RMITV is one of the oldest community television organisations in Australia, having been involved in lobbying the government for community access to the television spectrum. It transmitted its first test broadcast in 1987. Early on RMITV struggled with licences for television spectrum. After originally lobbying for a public licence, similar to those seen in the American public television sector, RMITV was knocked back as public licences are not available in Australia. They were then granted a licence to broadcast to private audiences in a 10 km radius of the RMIT City Campus. The license was granted on the 09/08/1987. A week after a Channel 10 news report by Mal Walden about RMITV's upcoming open day 1987 broadcast the licence was cancelled. The first licence was a General Licence Class D (Section 24). The Licence number was 211744/2. The callsign was VH3BVK. RMITV was also responsible for broadcasting ETV, a closed-circuit television system operated at the RMIT Campus in previous years. The government encouraged Melbourne's many aspirant community television broadcasters to form an umbrella organisation to apply for a broadcasting license, and so RMITV became a founding member of the Melbourne Community Television Consortium; the license holder for Melbourne's Channel 31. RMITV has a long history of successful producers and practitioners moving into professional employment within the Australian television industry. Most notable alumni include: Waleed Aly ( The Project),

Rove McManus John Henry Michael 'Rove' McManus (born 21 January 1974) is an Australian comedian, television and radio presenter, producer and media personality who has received three Gold Logie awards. He was the host of the eponymous variety show '' Rove ...

(

Roving Enterprises Roving Enterprises Pty Ltd is an Australian television production company, owned by television presenter, producer and comedian Rove McManus and his business partner Craig Campbell and managed by General Manager Kevin Whyte. The company is respon ...

), Hamish and Andy (Fox FM), Shona Devlin (JTV –

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

), Tommy Little (''

This Week Live ''This Week Live'' is an Australian comedy chat show screening weekly on Network Ten from 24 July 2013. It is hosted by comedians Dave Thornton, Tommy Little, Tom Gleeson and Meshel Laurie. The show features discussions of topical subjects, ...

''),

Dave Thornton Dave Thornton (born 13 December 1979) is an Australian stand-up comedian, actor, television and radio presenter. He has performed stand-up comedy throughout Australia, in Edinburgh, Singapore and New York. He has also appeared on Australian tele ...

(''

''), Peter Helliar and many more. RMITV has also had many crew members go on to work at the ABC,

Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

, Videoworks and Staging Connections. RMITV's Productions are not only limited to C31, many of RMITV's productions air on community stations all around Australia. For example, '' Live on Bowen'' (2012–2015) which were broadcast on C31, Face Television - Sky Channel 083 (New Zealand), WTV (Perth) and 31 Digital (South East Queensland), ''

The Inquiry The Inquiry was a study group established in September 1917 by Woodrow Wilson to prepare materials for the peace negotiations following World War I. The group, composed of around 150 academics, was directed by the presidential adviser Edward Ho ...

'' (2009-2010), '' In Pit Lane'' (1998–present) and 31 Questions (2012–2014). Throughout its time RMITV has produced some of the most well known programs on Australian community television, including: ''

The Loft Live ''The Loft Live'' was a weekly live variety hour television program produced by RMITV that broadcast on C31 Melbourne. The cast included Rove McManus (1997–1999), Scott Brennan, Peter Helliar, Adam Richard, Myf Warhurst, Ged Wood, Bert Kenne ...

'', ''

Under Melbourne Tonight ''Under Melbourne Tonight'' is a weekly live variety hour television program produced by RMITV that broadcast on C31 Melbourne in 1993. Reaching a weekly viewership of 55,000 people each week, the show was reviewed in ''The Age''s Green Guide ...

'', '' Chartbusting 80's'', '' Raucous'', '' Dawns Crack'', '' PLUCK'', '' Studio A'', '' The Leak'' and countless outside broadcasts. Mid-2015 spawned a webseries collaboration between RMITV and ''

Catalyst Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

'', RMIT's Student Magazine, entitled "Politics at the Belleville". Based on the podcast "Politics on the Couch" the program was hosted by the same talent and was released every Friday afternoon.

Internal structure

RMITV is an RMIT

Student Union A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organizatio ...

department, with close ties to the not-for-profit incorporated organisation, Student Community Television Inc.. For most operational purposes, both RMITV and Student Community Television Inc. share a common Board of Directors, and management team. The group employs five part-time staff members to look after the organisation and membership- a General Manager, Marketing Manager, Content Manager, Technical Manager and Training Manager. A large number of others look after the management of the organisation in volunteer roles. Additionally, Student Community Television Inc. is a paid full member of the MCTC which provides them with free airtime on C31 Melbourne and representation on the MCTC assembly.

References

External links