The University of West London continues the legacy of BBC community programming DIY TV with its Festival of (Me)dia
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Over the weekend of 13 - 14 April, UWL’s St Mary’s Road site played host to a Festival of (Me)dia, organised by London School of Film, Media and Design (LSFMD) staff Professor Helen Hester and Dr Jo Henderson.
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The event was the centrepiece of ‘DIY TV: The History and Influence of the BBC’s Community Programme Unit (CPU)’, a year-long project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project aims to preserve and disseminate the 30-year history of the CPU – an initiative started in 1972 to expand the range of voices on the BBC by handing resources and editorial control to members of the public, allowing them to produce their own TV shows on topics of interest.
Helen Hester, Professor of Gender, Technology and Cultural Politics at LSFMD, explains:
We wanted to focus on the spirit of the CPU in enabling people to make their own content. So our event didn’t just focus on the output and working practices of the unit, but included workshops for students and local community groups as well, helping people learn how to effectively make and share their own media.”
Attending the Festival were former members of CPU staff (who took part in panel discussions and presentations) local community groups, LSFMD students and representatives of the BBC archive.
Alongside presentations, panel discussions and screenings, we conducted a series of oral history interviews with former CPU personnel. Those attending ranged from Tony Laryea, who was series editor of the first experimental series in 1973, right up to the people who were working at the unit in 2001 when it closed,”
says Dr Henderson.
Media production workshops were led by LSFMD staff and PhD students from the Gender, Technology and Work research cluster. Participants were drawn from local groups – Himawari Dance (a Japanese community dance group), Ealing Walking, Talking and Exploring Group, and Southall Black Sisters (an organisation addressing supporting Black and minoritised women in the UK). Additionally, students who work with the University’s volunteering and outreach teams took part in mobile filmmaking workshops.
The event was a great success, acting not just as a reunion for CPU staff but also a springboard for further discussions on documenting the history and legacy of the unit, Dr Henderson says.
The project brought together curators at the BBC, academics such as Professor Mandy Rose at University of West of England, who was previously editor of the BBC’s Video Nation.
The CPU really is the forerunner in user-generated content. Its formats and techniques precede reality TV programmes like Big Brother or I'm A Celebrity. The range of topics and subject matter covered mean that the work of the unit provides an important social and cultural archive of the late 20th century and the content should be available to view,”
she explains.
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