Please Support Us to Make Swantv the Best

 Hi Swantv Viewer

 Here is Swansea we have UK news from several sources, the BBC, ITV, Sky being some. And we have the Regional news mainly broadcast from Cardiff but we have not had local, local news centering on the Swansea Bay Area broadcast direct from the centre of Swansea until now. 

There was Bay TV which was one of the 22 regional stations funded by the government and supported by the BBC but this lasted for a short time and didn't really live up to expectations. The station has been taken over by That TV. 

"That's TV" is a television company with about 10 local stations, broadcasting via Sky, Freesat and Freeview and even though regional news can still be found via these services, these channels simulacast the classic hits and television schedule of the national That's TV channel for most of the day. That's Television Ltd is owned by That's Media Ltd, which is based in the north of England and as far as we can see local news is usually in the form of zoom interviews. 

SwanTV by contrast is managed by Swansea Business people with a tv studio in the heart of the city in Orchard Street. Our videographers are fully trained and using the latest equipment to produce broadcast quality video. Programmes are produced in the studio or outside and none are zoom interviews accept in exceptional cases. SwanTV believe in working with local individuals, businesses and community groups to produce the best local material. 

We are looking for presenters, interviewers, videographers, writers and performers and we can offer experience and exposure but currently have no funds for wages. So if you want experience, whether 5 or 50 hours a month then we should be your first stop. Come and join us, we work in a relaxed and enjoyable environment.

Currently SwanTV is available online through any device with a free app available on both Google Play or Apple Store for your smartphone, but we expect to be able to broadcast through Amazon and Roku in due course.

We are now producing a weekly chat show together with interesting videos on anything local and we seek out stories and peoiple who can join us on the sofa to talk about their story. We aim to start producing other programmes over the coming months including sport, cooking, motoring and the cost-of-living.

We plan to have a weekly local news roundup and believe we will be in a position to start this before the Autumn. We will be seeking out presenters and if you think you are a future Fiona Bruce, Huw Edwards, Sian Lloyd or Nick Servini then contact us. You don't need experience, just a positive personality, we can teach you and we have tele-prompters to help you be professional.

The service we offer is free but we look to sponsors and advertisers to help cover the salary for our production team, studio and running cost which we beleive will be about £100,000 for the first year. You can also become a sponsor on our Patreon site for from as little as £3 a month, little more than the cost of a coffee today. With just 1000 sponsors then a third of our costs would be covered to bring you a continuing and improving service with programmes that you will enjoy. We will start this month to have additional material on the Patreon site to give you even better value. See us at  https://www.patreon.com/swantv. 

 

Remember, we are a not for profit organisation, unlike other media companies, owned by Swansea business people and nothing is paid to share-holders, all profits will be ploughed back into running the Station, investing in new equipment and support local community groups.

Look at the SwanTV website and you will see we are already making it happen. And thanks to your support, we will grow every month both in audience and content. So if you can help in any way please do so as advertiser, sponsor or supporter. Help us inspire the local community with our up-and-coming programmes. 

Enjoy viewing SwanTV

Mike Leahy

 

 

 

 

4theRegion Conference and Business Exhibition

 Hi SwanTV Viewer.

Last week we attended the 4theRegion annual Conference and Business Exhibition at the Swansea Arena. The attendance was high and the Conference covered a number of important local issues.

SwanTV had a stand and set up a recording studio where we interviewed Rob Stewart, Leader of Swansea Council and the Lord Mayor, Councillor Mike Day, together with a number of stand holders. There were more than 120 exhibitors making up a very lively show. This was an opportunity for visitors to stroll around and find stands of particular interest to their business. 

We took along Capt Beany who will soon be having his own zany show on SwanTV and he spent the day talking to stand holders and visitors alike, many wanting selfies with him. He is very zany and will be presenting a show full of surprises. 

SwanTV is looking for positive stories about Swansea and surrounding area, the people and events. Get involved and tell us what is happening with your business, your community events and interesting people. Become a sponsor or advertise on a show. WE need your support to grow and become your local media centre. 

 

 

 The conference covered different issues and one was an initiative to create a new creative network for Swansea was announced at this year’s Swansea Conference which was opened Swansea Regeneration Update.This covered exciting new visitor attractions, slick new office spaces and initiatives to attract new traders and were just some of the things discussed in the Swansea Regeneration Update at the Swansea Conference. Read on for some exciting announcements. Full details in the following link. https://www.4theregion.org.uk/swansea-regeneration-update-highlights-from-the-swansea-conference/                                 

There was a panel discussion that also explored the city’s cultural assets and how to make the most of them. Read on to find out more from the full report as follows: https://www.4theregion.org.uk/creativity-in-swansea-an-update-from-the-swansea-conference/

What are the challenges faced by local food producers, and how can we get more local food onto local plates? Here’s what our panellists at the Swansea Food and Drink Conference had to say. Here is the link: https://www.4theregion.org.uk/local-food-and-drink-our-report-from-the-swansea-conference/   

Here are just a selction of photos to give you a flavour of the day and to tell yoiu that next year is already booked.The Swansea Conference & Exhibition for 2024 is on Wednesday 27th March

.

                  

 

                                                                                  

                            All photos kindly supplied by 4theRegion, with thanks.                  

 

 

 

 

Rant of the Week!

 Hi Swantv Viewers

It's nearly a month since I last wrote. I've been in hospital for a couple of weeks and now need a few days to recover. I had a pacemaker fitted about 7 weeks ago and all went well. Then it was discovered to be infected through the surface cut where it had been inserted. Most unusual I understand. So back to hospital to have it removed and then 10 days of strong intravenous antibiotics 4 times a day fror 10 days before a new one was inplanted. No I'm home and hoping this one is successful.

Meanwhile Gary Lineker was in conflict with the BBC over his comment "This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s". He was temporary  removed from his Match of the Day job because of political comment! We do have freedom of speech in this country and he is entitled to voice his views. It is not right, however, to compare anything in modern day Britain to the Nazi regime of the thirties and this is the grounds on which he should have been removed. He is paid a huge amount by the BBC. Is he worth that? I'm reading many comments on social media asking this very same question!! What do you think?? Or would he be better employed just promoting crisps.

The outrage that this episode has generated is extraordinary. I makes me wonder what the important issues of the day are: the NHS in crisis, cost of living, food banks and deprivation, sleazy members of parliament, being manipulated over Brexit and the fallout, the Covid issues of profit for memeber of parliament pals, police  and immigration, the control and what can be done to filter out those not genuine.

In addition I feel that we are afraid to speak our mind and of using the wrong word. Until recently we talked about men and women or being a person, now its being a human being, which I find strange. Does it really matter if we call women actors actresses for example? Is there something so terribly wrong being specific? Women, quite rightly want equal rights, equal pay, equal positions of authority, so being called an actress helps. 

That is my rant of the day. What do you think?

Keep watching our programes

 

 

Mike Leahy

 Hi Swantv Viewer

 Spent the previous week resting after second pacemaker operation. It has been a difficult few weeks and held up film production at SwanTV. But we are now back in the harness and ready to get started again.

Busy 7 days! last week I went to the Cardiff Millenium Centre to see the Peaky Blinder stage production. This was contemporary dance opening in the trenches of Flanders, a personal story unfolds in post-war industrial Birmingham as the Shelby family navigate the decisions that determine their fate and Tommy is intoxicated by a mysterious newcomer, Grace. Written and adapted for the stage by Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight, with choreography and direction from Rambert’s Artistic Director Benoit Swan Pouffer, this captivating show matches dazzling, athletic dance and stunning dramatisation from the full Rambert company with a live band, specially commissioned music by Roman GianArthur and iconic Peaky tracks. 

With incredible dance routines from the large cast of dancers, a selection of music, some from the original TV series and some new together with the voiceover of poet  Benjamin Zephaniah: “You young men of the tunnelling brigade, you are all dead … condemned to a life without a soul.” And we’re off into the heavy chains and falling sparks of the industrial landscape of the Black Country, dominated by a grotesque factory foreman and women whose sharp elbows and quick marching steps demonstrate how invaluable they’ve been to the country while the men are gone. and the opening scene was off to a flying start, not in speed or grace but as tunnellers emerging dazed and defeated.

The wonderful dancers, supple bodies contrasting as they dance then in such precise unison that you had to look again. Costumes and sets ranging from depression to shimmering beads and a chase by dogs in brown leather, the dancers movements stretching our imaginations.

All in all this was a spectacular dancing show but I felt the storyline moved away from my expectations. Was Steven Knight's script badly interpreted by the choreographer? I lost the plot after a while and just enjoyed the spectacular of amazing dancers, beautiful costuming and fast changing sets. The live band on stage added a dynamic dimension that I really enjoyed. I would highly recommend this show.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Then I saw the Glen Miller & Big Band Show at the Grand Theatre in Swansea with Kevin Cunningham and his  Moonlight Serenade Orchestra. This was a time to reminisce. And the right place to think about past times, this magnificent theatre  was opened on the 26th July 1897, by Opera Diva Madame Adelina Patti. It was designed by the architect William Hope of Newcastle and built by D. Jenkins, erected on the site of the former Drill Hall, Singleton Street. With just over 1000 seats in the main auditorium it is a theatre with a wonderful history and one wonders just how many famous actors have appeared there over the years and whether any have returned as ghosts feeling this was their home from home.

The theatre was fairly packed with not just those of us who remember this music but a younge raudience too. music from the  30's, 40's and a few from the 50's. Moonlight Serenade, Little Brown Jug, Pennsylvania 6-5000 and String of Pearls are just a few of the numbers that shot band leader Glenn Miller to world stardom. Pieces from other band leaders including Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington and Count Basie not to mention songs made famous by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin were featured in this 2 hour show which took us down Memory Lane and started our feet tapping.

If you have not seen any performance at the Grand Theatre then I would highly recommend a visit. There is such a wide variety of shows covering every type of live show imaginable. Being at a live performance is as inspiring and emotional as attending any sports match.

And if you, like me appreciate music from byegone days then Kevin Cunningham assured us he will be returning to the Grand Theatre next year. 

Lets keep Theatre alive. 

Keep watching SwanTV too

 

Mike Leahy  SwanTV