In my program "Community Hour," I touch on various topics, but we are most often talking about immigration and adaptation to a new life in Canada. I am an immigrant, and I understand well how difficult it is to start life in a new country from scratch. I invite people to the studio to talk about their immigration journey, so based on their experience, they give valuable advice to newcomers.I've been working at a U-Multicultural Community Television for four months. I've noticed how much it means to the community during this time. Today I want to highlight the leading and most important advantages of Community Television:
- Informs. LJI Journalists can disseminate information fully, fast, authentically, and emotionally, so our communities are always up to date with the latest happenings within their community.
- Unifies. Many newcomers need help getting used to a multicultural society. Communicating and maintaining a solid connection with their diaspora makes people feel calm and supported. Audiences recognize themselves when they watch interviews of compatriots. The audience feels the interviewee's emotions because they have gone through the same difficulties and understand these feelings well. The audience accepts the interviewee as a friend and sympathizes with him. Also, people from the same diaspora can get to know each other better when they meet.
- Educates. Community Television allows people to improve and learn new information. It enables a person to analyze information independently and draw conclusions, develop thinking and theoretical foundations. Also, it is essential to look at the key people and their impact on the community because it pushes people to significant actions that will lead to positive changes. Looking at people who significantly contribute to the community's support and development gives good examples that encourage viewers to do good for their community. It also educates the larger community of the diversity of people in their community and the problems and challenges they face.
- Entertains. Often in our programs, we talk with my guests about newcomers' difficulties. But they are also happy to tell and show about positive changes and incredible experiences and share their joy by inspiring the audience not to give up in the face of difficulties. Especially when there is a vast amount of sad news in the news feed of social networks every day, it is enjoyable for the audience to listen to good things, fill up with energy and relax after a hard day's work.
I strongly believe that Community Television affects the public good, disseminates information and shapes the public perception of key people, issues and things.
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About LJI
LJI Impact is the section of commediaportal.ca where the journalists and their organizations participating in CACTUS' Local Journalism Initiative can share their greatest successes.
Through the written stories, photos and videos you see in the LJI Impact section, you'll be able to read first hand accounts about how the presence of a community journalist is making a difference in communities across Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative and the Community Media Portal.
The Community Media Portal is a gateway to the audio-visual media created by community media centres across Canada. These include traditional community TV and radio stations, as well as online and new media production centres.
Community media are not-for-profit production hubs owned and operated by the communities they serve, established both to provide local content and reflection for their communities, as well as media training and access for ordinary citizens to the latest tools of media production, whether traditional TV and radio, social and online media, virtual reality, augmented reality or video games.
The Community Media Portal has been funded by the Local Journalism Initiative (the LJI) of the Department of Canadian Heritage, and administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) in association with the Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec (the Fédération). Under the LJI, over 100 journalists have been placed in underserved communities and asked to produce civic content that underpins Canadian democratic life.
