Building a European Network & Database for Local Broadcasters
José PEREIRA (ES) Journalist (research) -- University of Santiago de Compostela
The STEAD project is an initiative aiming to create a virtual network for the European local televisions, in order to:
ˇ Establish a network of European researchers on micro-communication, with census and relevant information on stations (sorted by countries and regions), information on on-going research, and publishing and acquisition of reports and studies on the local televisions sector. In addition, the project will stimulate e-work and sharing tasks, and develop e-work services that will be later included in the web portal.
ˇ Create a market around European local televisions, by stimulating local-international relationships for TV stations, producers and distributors. It will also promote contacts and provide the platform to establish fruitful relationships between academia, manufacturers, and local televisions. The project will conduct research on establishing commercial relationships between local TVs from different European countries through an e-commerce platform. A prototype of this platform will also be integrated in the portal. The presence of equipment manufacturers will permit the development a directory of technology providers for local TVs, with personalised offers.
ˇ Create an informative network for European local TVs, focused on critical issues such as the European legal framework, social aspects, organisational limitations, etc. It is also contemplated to stimulate valid references for European regulations, in order to help break the obstacles encountered by European local televisions.
Regarding the network itself, there will be a central server that will act as the main node, providing centralised services, whereas the regional nodes will hold region- and country-specific services. These will be provided in both English and the local language.
STEAD will be designed and developed in a way that supports and enhances multilingual and intercultural aspects, while offering a set of services that are thematically related and homogeneous, and that foster e-economy for regional development.
Through the creation of these virtual and physical networks, STEAD aims to generate dynamics and serve as a point of reference for the development of the European audio-visual sector.