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We’re busy on Tv and radio this Feb with our TV series ‘is it just me?’ continuing its 10 week run on RTE 2 wednesdays 5.30. Coming up is Frank from Waterford this wednesday.

On Feb 14th our radio documentary ‘Tower Songs’ goes out on RTE Lyric FM - the show is live in the Helix next Tuesday 3rd if you want to be part of the audience book it now as tickets are very limited - so contact the Helix.

The following week Feb 21 starts the re-run of our six part series on RTE Lyric FM ‘Women and Words’ .
What else? Our BCI media research project on digital radio goes ahead full steam from Feb for six months and our new researcher Agata joins to coordinate that project which is being run by Athena Media and DIT.

Other projects in the pipeline include a new Capital D feature for RTE on an innovative Dublin public park while our four part series for Newstalk 106 Urban Beauty, Urban Blight is in its post production phase and will go to air from March 28th 7am and 29th at 9pm This is a four part, four hour series telling the story of urban development in Irish cities; Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. Click here to read about the series

We’re also working on a new three part series for Newstalk for transmission later this year called Field of Dreams - about alternative takes on sports in Ireland. We’re also busying pitching for this current round of BCI Sound and Vision TV which closes shortly - and we have to say we’re expressly disappointed the BCI has put back the next radio round until May - since the fragile indie radio section needs all the support and consistency it can get. Its also disappointing that so many broadcasters are deciding to use the Sound and Vision fund to fund internal production rather than open it to indies.

Tune in for the broadcast of our one hour documentary ‘Tower Songs’ a cycle song for Ballymun - creating music from regeneration on RTE Lyric FM on St Valentines Day at 5.30pm - The performance is in the Helix next week Feb 3rd - 8pm if you want to go along go the helix online and book.

Our recent arts series, Women and Words, a six part series on outstanding women writers for RTE Lyric FM, is to be repeated by the broadcast at a new primetime slot from feb 21st. The series will go out at 6pm on saturday Feb 21 for six weeks. The series featured Anne Enright, Jennifer Johnston, Eavan Boland, Nuala ni Dhomhnaill, Maeve Binchy and Marie Jones.

is it just me - which starts tonight on RTE 2 at 5.30 - (sorry they changed the time so sorry for the confusion with earlier releases) is being covered on Phantom FM today on The Show so hope you catch it. The shows will be online after transmission n the rte website if you miss it on TV.

Our RTE Lyric fm documentary ‘Tower Songs’ which follows the production of a song cycle for Ballymun and its journey to its performance in the Helix on feb 3rd is underway - and we ‘re aiming to record the Helix performance and edit the final documentary quickly for transmission on Lyric fm. Music teacher Ron Cooney is behind this initiative which is run by City Arts and which attempts to capture a musical bed behind the changes in this northside suburb.

Our four part cities radio series, Urban Beauty, Urban Blight is finally in post production and being edited for Newstalk 106 transmission. Its been a long road of recordings and the recession has forced a lot of re-writes as projects like the proposed u2 watchtower get ‘postponed’ but the Dublin is finally edited and we’re moving forward on the other 3 episodes. All four are one hour long and feature leading architect, planners, city managers and residents with an angle, people like Shaz Oye musician and singer from the Docklands in Dublin or broadcaster John Creedon in Cork. From galway there’s the saw doctors and in limerick Jon Kenny.

The series will begin broadcast on March 28th 7am and 29th at 9pm 2009 and will run for 4 weeks
To read about the series please click here

Is it Just me? was well and truly launched last Friday in Filmbase with a great turnout by both contributors and supporters. The series starts on jan 21st at 5.30pm on RTE2 - Home and Away time - so great slot. The rte website will shortly have a page just for it where each episode will be available after transmission so already lots of youth groups are seeking to link to the online episodes so more and more people can get to see them.

We’re having our little screening in Filmbase thiday Friday….hope you got to hear some of the young participants of the series on Today with PK this morning. cathal kavanagh from Coming Out and Aisling and Karen from the Bullying episode were in studio.

You can listen to the piece from the Today with Pat Kenny show by Clicking here

Happy New Year from Athena Media. Despite all the gloom and depression over media recession we’re planning a busy time with radio productions for Newstalk 106 - Lyric FM and in the midst for tenders for RTE’s CAPITAL D and Nationwide. 2008 was our busiest year to date (we launched in Sept 2003) and we’re planning to build on that work across 2009. Our TV series ‘is It Just me?’ launches on RTE 2 later this month (we’re planning a screening for contributors and crew this coming Friday week Jan 9th).

Happy New Year and hope its a good one for all our website readers, clients and crew.