participatory media

The terms citizen media, citizen journalism, and participatory and democratic media refer to media content made by individuals and groups with no political, social or corporate affiliation.
find out more

streeter

watch some video

get involved

Browse our projects pages or suggest one of your own.
Contact us at Victoria Park Melbourne.

our history

Community Media Services was established in 2005 by Melbourne media activists who set up TVU in 1986, RMITV in 1987, St. Kilda Access TV (SKA) in 1988, and the MCTC (Melbourne TV Channel 31) in 1991.

about us

We are a not for profit community group supporting local participation in mass media. Now, more than ever, local voices go unheard amongst the clamour of globalized commercial media. We champion local media made in, by, and for our local community.

on set at CMS
Sophie and Neylan on the 31 degrees set

We assist people to deploy media technologies like blogs, vlogs, podcasts, digital storytelling, participatory video and community radio and television both in the interests of local communities, and from local individual experiences, needs, hopes and perspectives.

Communities seldom have a say in how they are represented in mass media. Mass media is often expected to meet stringent aesthetic standards and is usually made with a very large audience in mind. We are interested in engaging processes through which participants can shape issues according to their own sense of what is important, and control how they will be represented.

In 2007 Community Media Services was awarded a prize by IBM for services to the open source software community.