- Undercurrents (news)
Undercurrents is an alternative video news network which began with the UK distribution of
videotapes shot by volunteers. It has since expanded to include a web presence,media training for volunteers, and afilm festival ,BeyondTV .History
Undercurrents is an alternative news agency which came into being in 1994 with a VHS videocassette of news which the founders (Jamie Hartzell Paul O'Connor, Zoe Broughton,and Thomas Harding) felt were not being addressed by the mainstream media. One of the issues covered was the introduction of the
Criminal Justice Bill , whose varied measures included attempts to curtail large gatherings both of travellers and ravesand make direct action protest a criminal offense. A second video was released before the end of the year. Bands such as the Levellers included Undercurrents references on their CD sleeves. Radiohead have donated funds and Comedian Mark Thomas allowed undercurrents to produce and distribute his first DVD to raise funds.Undercurrents was amongst the first groups which coined the phrase 'video activism'- the use of camcorders for social change. A co-founder, Thomas Harding, wrote the video activist handbook published by Pluto Press. Undercurrents now distbribute films via DVD and in 2007 they launched [http://www.VisionOnTV.net visionontv] - a Peer to Peer TV channel over internet.tatus
Undercurrents subsequently became a non-profit company and a
registered charity . They have moved their office fromLondon , toOxford and are now based in the environment centre inSwansea .Court Cases
Some of their footage of
political protests has been used in court cases, including footage ofGenoa G8 summit , and a police raid on indymedia work spaces.Current Projects
In 2007 Undercurrents released EcoVillage Pioneers- a documentary exploring sustainable low impact communities around the world.'Reach for the Sky', premiered at BeyondTV festival, produced by Undercurrents, focuses on
Swansea Airport and that uncontrolled aviation expansion is unsustainable. Swansea Airport, with the connivance of Swansea Council, was given the go-ahead to operate in the centre of theGower peninsula , anArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty , the firstAONB to be designated in the country. Public pressure forced Swansea Airport to close down.Air Wales , which operated from Swansea Airport has now closed down.Many of their latest videos are hosted on the [http://clearerchannel.org/undercurrents/cat.php?prefix=video Clearer channel website]
Undercurrents are currently producing podcasts in 2008 about environmental issues such as Climate change. Video podcasts include Surfing, Bushcraft and sustainable housing.These can be viewed at [http://undercurrents.org/bushcraft channel website]
External links
* [http://www.undercurrents.org Undercurrents website]
* [http://www.undercurrents.org/reachforthesky/ 'Reach for the Sky']
* [http://www.undercurrents.org/BeyondTV] Beyond Tv annual video activist festival
* [http://www.undercurrents.org/visionon Visionontv is a P2P TV project]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4603844.stm BBC: Witnesses recall bloody G8 police raid]
* [http://www.undercurrents.org/bushcraft] Video podcast series from Undercurrents
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