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TVCR
Television Community Rec
North West River
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About Us
TVCR, Television Community Rec. was formed on November 10, 1994, to oversee operations of the local cable community channel six, serving the 1600 residents of North West River and Sheshatshiu, Labrador. As part of the local cable company’s commitment to CRTC's regulations, each community being served can be provided with basic equipment to operate a community channel, providing that a willing volunteer group locally operate the service. Of course our committee jumped at the chance but found that existing facilities, being very small, would not fulfil the vision of where we plan to take this new and exciting media of television to an isolated Labrador.
In order for TVCR to expand, we acquired an abandoned building, relocated it to N.W. River, acquired bank loans to renovate and purchase a meagre assortment of production equipment. In June of 1996, TVCR received a grant from the Year of the Arts/Newfoundland & Labrador Arts Council to produce a mini-series of seven one-half hour entertainment specials, called The Strever Express, featuring local actors & musicians. A year & a half later, we finally finished, putting in about six hours of volunteer time into each show.
TVCR, although falling under the municipality of North West River, receives absolutely no funding. In order for TVCR to be self supporting, the volunteers began hosting Tuesday Night TV Bingo, on March 21, 1995 and have faithfully continued it. Unfortunately, revenue generations in a small community, leaves only enough funds to rent air time on local cable, pay the utilities and keep up with the bank payments. To become an Out of the blue committee running bingo’s, we were obligated to become the North West River Recreation Commission which provided the opportunity to obtain a bingo license. The commission at the time had no active members so the Town Council appointed us by acclamation and hence the name Television Community Rec.
In September, 1994 a group of Labrador residents residing in Ottawa commissioned a St. John's, Newfoundland company to produce the Labrador Communication Infrastructure Report. This report studied communications in Labrador and recommended a Labrador Regional News Network be struck, and in turn, will help decrease the isolation of communities in Labrador. Since then, local groups and politicians have begun searching for funding to set in place such an organization. As of yet we have not had much luck. When the day arrives, TVCR will be one of several community television stations to be included in the pilot project, complete with paid staff and with access to a satellite uplink system.
We are slowly building our resources, equipment and facilities in order to be fully prepared to accept the challenges forthcoming. Some accomplishments of our volunteer-based organization to date are:
Establishment of a community television organization
Purchased, moved, and completely renovated an existing building
Installed water & sewers, lighting & electric heat
Purchased basic audio/video equipment for on air
Provide community information/messages on a daily basis
Created permanent Labrador Setting in studio sets for video backdrops
Run weekly TV bingo’s on Channel 6 to cover operational costs
Tape local events & community happenings for airing
Tape and air political broadcasts
Conduct live, community interest phone-in shows with interesting people.
Provide employment for summer students
Preparation of video tapes to be sent to Television Northern Canada
And production of the Strever Express entertainment specials for air.
Summary:
TVCR is a volunteer community run television organization, whose mandate is to provide quality entertainment to the people of Northern Canada, Newfoundland & Labrador.
We are an artistic run group who are providing local & regional musicians, actors, craftspeople & residents with an avenue to display their expertise through the use of video.
We own our own studio in North West River but our equipment needs are far below standard. We are currently seeking funding to upgrade our resources.
We are in full support of Labrador artists and are striving to give them as much exposure as possible on video.
In turn we are looking for financial support for our projects from any and all funding associations. It is our belief that Labrador artists are not achieving their full potential within their own province. Financial suppression and lack of exposure are two hurdles that talented Labrador artists have to contend with. Our organization is hoping to change all of this through local independent production of shows dealing with the uniqueness of the Labrador culture. With or without financial support, Labrador will continue to contribute to the cultural video industry.
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Last update on: May 30, 1999