ARTICLES
Using Television to Create Community - Introduction [Serial "Adventures in Local and Media" (1)
Why is NHK Hokkaido's Small Local Programming Said to "Wind Up the Old Media"?
When TV stations relinquish their leadership in program production,
a new era begins, when a group of friends "use TV to build the community" -- a new era begins.
I am Ryo Osumi, director of NHK. I am currently involved in the production of the programs "Local Friends Staying in Japan" and "Local Friends News". These are programs in which people who have deep connections in the community are called "Local Friends" and are asked to share information about the community. The program is broadcast mainly as a Thursday and Friday segment of the 6:00 pm news program "Hot News Hokkaido.
The program is characterized by its focus on "niche stories that you would not notice unless you live there," which is something that conventional TV programs do not cover. In the past, through the Local Friends series, we have broadcasted the following.
A housewife living in Nakashibetsu Town, Ms. Sato, decided to open a restaurant because the gyoza she made was so delicious and well received. However, she was not good at making flyers, so her son helped her, and the story goes on to say that her son became a designer.
On the third floor of a long-established café in Hakodate, the owner has a collection of old books. When he posted the covers of his maniacal books on SNS, inquiries came in from an American museum and an Islamic researcher. The owner, however, cannot speak English, so he relies on Google Translate to get by.
In the town of Kimobetsu, there is a small building (garage) that one might easily pass by, but it is actually a restaurant that serves international cuisine. The chef is capricious and does not have a menu. A neighboring farmer, amused, begins to grow habaneros to use in his cooking.
You will never find a story like this, even if you tried. You would have to live there for a long time and keep your antennae up to find out about it. It is Local Friends that tells us about the local life that other media have not yet reported, and that is rich in flavor.On the third floor of a long-established café in Hakodate, the owner has a collection of old books. When he posted the covers of his maniacal books on SNS, inquiries came in from an American museum and an Islamic researcher. The owner, however, cannot speak English, so he relies on Google Translate to get by.
In the town of Kimobetsu, there is a small building (garage) that one might easily pass by, but it is actually a restaurant that serves international cuisine. The chef is capricious and does not have a menu. A neighboring farmer, amused, begins to grow habaneros to use in his cooking.
We are proud of our deep co-creation relationships.
The content of the program is unique, but the way it is created is even more unusual.
(1) NHK did not plan the program in the first place, but rather brought it in.
(2) Local Friends is open to the public. The adoption rate is almost 100%.
(3) A diverse range of people participate in the program, including monks, hunters, housewives, and employees of large corporations.
(4) Local people and initiatives introduced in the program are thought up by Local Friends.
(5) Local Friends and NHK discuss and decide the program's management policy.
(6) There is a special program in which the director stays with Local Friends for a month (Local Friends Residency Program).
(7) The relationship between Local Friends and NHK Hokkaido will continue forever (Local Friends News).
Can you feel the unprecedentedly deep relationship between TV stations and local people? From now on, through a series of articles, we would like to share "hints for co-creation" that Local Friends and NHK Hokkaido have found.
By the way, this may seem sudden, but there is something I have been thinking as I work day in and day out.
Now, the word on TV is not reaching us.
Even famous programs on national TV sometimes receive no response at all.
Until two years ago, I was producing news programs and documentaries at the NHK Broadcasting Center in Shibuya. One time, I asked people to send me information and messages about a topic I was covering for a news program.
The next morning, when I came to work, I found that I had received only "4" messages. I realized that even national broadcasting, which reaches millions of households, does not always reach people just because the message is delivered. Not only this, but I think that information from mass media, in which the sender's face is not clearly visible, is not trusted and tends to be ignored.
In contrast, "Local Friends" receives dozens of messages each time.
On April 1, 2021, when Local Friends in Wakkanai introduced the town's snowboarders, we received 110 messages.
Not too tall. Suteki. (Yuki)
I was born and raised in Hokkaido, but North Hokkaido is an unknown area, so it's very interesting. (Momo mom)
I thought it was a town with nothing, but there are passionate people who are trying hard to make their hometown exciting, and there are delicious foods... I want to go there! (akko)
I appreciate being able to know local information. I can't go out now because of Corona, so I think it's a good source of information. (Foo-chan)
This is a very nice project! I know a lot of great places and I want to tell you about them! (HORONOBEI)
** **
Messages received for the program are posted on NHK's website
h ttps:// www.nhk.or.jp/hokkaido/localfriends/
These are all heartwarming words for me, as I am beginning to get used to the fact that TV information is through and through.I was born and raised in Hokkaido, but North Hokkaido is an unknown area, so it's very interesting. (Momo mom)
I thought it was a town with nothing, but there are passionate people who are trying hard to make their hometown exciting, and there are delicious foods... I want to go there! (akko)
I appreciate being able to know local information. I can't go out now because of Corona, so I think it's a good source of information. (Foo-chan)
This is a very nice project! I know a lot of great places and I want to tell you about them! (HORONOBEI)
** **
Messages received for the program are posted on NHK's website
h ttps:// www.nhk.or.jp/hokkaido/localfriends/
It is a local broadcast in Hokkaido, just a few minutes long in the evening news program.
Why is it that we have received such a strong response? I believe it is because the program was created not for the convenience of the media, but based on the real feelings and words of the people living in the region.
It is not that the words of the TV stations did not reach them. That is what I feel now.
A small adventure that started in Hokkaido
I have talked passionately about the contents of the program and how it was created, .......
But what is really interesting about Local Friends is not the broadcasting.
Local Friends, full of individuality, are "using the program to build the community. It is refreshing to see their rapid progress.
For example, there was a town that was not very well known, where the residents themselves said, "We are a town that gets passed by. But the truth is that it is an interesting town. But the truth is, it's an interesting town," said one of the local friends who produced "Local Friends in Japan" for a month with this belief.
Now, four months after the broadcast, a group formed in the town as a result of the program is working on a new local project. In addition, magazines and commercial TV stations have begun to introduce the town as "an interesting town right now. The tide has clearly turned.
I was frankly impressed by the fact that there is still so much TV can do!
That is my frank impression. In a situation where the media is old media at best, and sometimes even called "wacko" at worst, a new role for television is beginning to emerge.
Recently, I have been receiving frequent inquiries from NHK headquarters and other areas asking me to teach them how to do Local Friends. Hokkaido newspapers and radio stations have also picked up the story many times. Perhaps the relationship between the community and the media will change as a result of the windfall Local Friends has created.
How did the unusual programs come to be produced and what have they struggled with? We hope this behind-the-scenes look will be helpful to the community and the media. We are always looking for Local Friends as well, so if you are interested, please take a look at NHK Hokkaido's Local Friends Residency website.
Our adventure begins one winter evening.
At a tavern in Sapporo, a mysterious man presented us with a proposal for Local Friends.
Who is he? To be continued in the next issue.
The series "Adventures in Local and Media" will be updated six times.
Author's Profile
Ryo Osumi, Director, NHK Sapporo Base Broadcasting Station
Born in Mishima City, Shizuoka Prefecture in 1984, Ryo Osumi joined NHK as a director in 2008. From 2019, he will be organizing "Local Friends", "Shiraberka", and "Moya Cafe (Obihiro station)" in Hokkaido. In Local Friends, he is involved in the production of East Hokkaido, Hakodate, Date, Nakashibetsu, Shiretoko, Kiyosato, Soya, Kimobetsu, and Teshikaga. He may have a baby face, but he is a father of two. He has been skiing for 2 years.
