ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the informal television (TV) services developed by particular cultural groups in circumstances where the formal TVsystem does not— and is not likely to— meet their self-identified needs. It deals with some of the policy interventions which have developed to secure better services for marginal audiences and, in concluding, suggests areas where further development needs to occur. The absence of additional free-to-air services or suitable pay TV programming has led to the use of video as a de facto pay TV service both in ethnic communities and in regional Australia. The hearing- and sight-impaired, and people with poor or in some cases no TV reception, often complain about what amounts to social discrimination because it limits their participation in and access to existing services. The hearing- and sight-impaired seek more extensive captioning of existing programs and ‘video description’ to inform what cannot be conveyed on the soundtrack.
