my community channel

Media Trust has appointed Peter Weil as Director of Production and Digital Media, to lead a new joint operation, bringing together its production arm, Media Trust Productions, and Community Channel under one head.

Caroline Diehl, Media Trust CEO, said: "The two teams are increasingly working together, producing award-winning charity content for distribution on a wide range of platforms, including Community Channel, Sky channels, Five, ITV Local, Joost, and many others. This is a very exciting move, and Peter has just the right skills, experience and passions to grow the reach and impact of this important area of our work."
 
Peter Weil said "I'm thrilled to join Caroline and her colleagues at Media Trust. Their work is unique and demonstrates the true potential of the media to support the community. The team has shown real verve and flair in pioneering a new style of television and film-making. I greatly look forward to working with a terrific group of professionals as together we take our business to the next level."
 
Weil most recently worked at Discovery Networks where he was the General Manager of Animal Planet International. Prior to that he worked on Granada TV's pioneering social action series, "Reports Action", set up the BBC's first Youth Programmes department in Northern Ireland, launched BBC One's "Open Air" and ran the BBC's Topical Features Department which included the Community Programmes Unit ("Open Space", "Video Diaries"), "That's Life!", "Children In Need" and the charity programme, "Lifeline".   Weil also devised and edited Channel 4's "People's Parliament". 

Nick Ware has decided to leave the channel after two years as Controller, where he commissioned most of the Channel’s most successful content including RHS Britain in Bloom and Saving A Stranger, and this year took it to the short-list for Digital Channel of the Year.

Caroline Diehl said: “Thanks to Nick’s dedication and commitment, the Channel's audience reach and response has been growing steadily, giving a public-facing digital platform to thousands of charities and community organisations across the UK.”

Adam Perry, Community Channel’s Head of Programmes and Campaigns, will take responsibility for the day-to-day running of the Channel.

Jane Stephenson who has been running Media Trust Productions for the past four years, will work alongside Peter in her role as Creative Director.

ENDS

For further press information please contact Penny Crook at Media Trust on 0207 874 7651 or 07866 690 542 pennyc@communitychannel.org,  or Rachel Lailey on 0207 874 7098, rachell@communitychannel.org

Notes to Editors
 
About Media Trust:
Media Trust works in partnership with the media industry to build effective communications for the charity and voluntary sectors. It does this through media training seminars and workshops, film and TV production (Media Trust Productions), broadcasting (Community Channel), news distribution (Community Newswire), Media Matching and campaigns. Media Trust corporate members are BBC, BSkyB, Channel 4, Daily Mail and General Trust, Discovery Networks Europe, Disney Channel UK, Emap plc, Guardian Media Group, ITV, MTV Networks UK & Ireland, News International, Newsquest Media Group, OMD, Time Warner and WPP Group.  Visit: www.mediatrust.org

About Community Channel:
Community Channel is dedicated to engaging audiences with the charitable and voluntary sector, showcasing stories and issues that inspire action and encourage involvement.  Broadcasting original shows, the best of terrestrial TV and showcasing the work of new directors and community programme makers, Community Channel is the place for real-life stories from communities around the world.   The channel is broadcast 24 hours a day on Sky 539, Virgin TV 233 and from 6am to 9am on Freeview 87.  The channel is a free-to-air TV station available to 16.5 million digital households in the UK and to 41 million potential viewers. Around 1.2 million people tune in every month (source: BARB) and we receive more than 10,000 responses a week from viewers to our calls to action.

About Media Trust Productions:
Media Trust Productions produces award-winning films for charities and the wider not-for-profit sector. Uniquely positioned between the charity sector and the media industry, Media Trust Productions has made hundreds of innovative and creative films for a large range of clients from charities, both small and large, to local authorities and major broadcasters. As well as producing thought-provoking factual films, Media Trust Productions also produces communication tools such as interactive CD Roms, DVD’s and media-rich web content for fundraising, education and promotional purposes.