The media in Northern Ireland closely linked to that in the rest of the United Kingdom, it also overlaps with print, television and radio in the Republic of Ireland.
Broadcasting in Northern Ireland is a reserved matter and as such it is the responsibility of the United Kingdom's Department of Culture, Media and Sport and Office of Communications (Ofcom). Media development and production is supported by various organisations including the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland Screen.
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Northern Ireland Screen is the national screen agency purposed with promoting the development of a sustainable film, animation and television production industry in the province.
Several media groups, such as Independent News & Media have "digital" departments selling their own online advertising, while Green Beans Media represents a number of smaller independent publishers with Northern Ireland audiences.
The main newspapers published in Northern Ireland are The Irish News, which leans nationalist, and the Unionist-leaning Belfast Newsletter. The Belfast Telegraph is the main evening newspaper in Northern Ireland.
Magazines include Fortnight a monthly political and cultural magazine. The Ulster Tatler is a lifestyle and society magazine, alongside sister-publications - Ulster Homes and Ulster Bride.
Regional newspapers are also published by Alpha Newspaper Group, Belfast Media Group, Johnston Publishing, North West of Ireland Printing and Publishing Company and others.
The first radio station to broadcast in Northern Ireland was 2BE Belfast owned by the then British Broadcasting Company. Today the BBC run the national BBC Radio Ulster and the Derry-based BBC Radio Foyle.
Independent radio includes Downtown Radio and Cool FM owned by Bauer Radio. The Alpha Newspaper Group operates six radio stations throughout Northern Ireland. UTV Radio own the Greater Belfast station U105.
There are also numerous part-time and community based stations throughout Northern Ireland.
The BBC began broadcasting television programmes in Northern Ireland in 1953. This was the first regular television broadcast station in Ireland. In 1959 Ulster Television (now known as UTV) began broadcasting as part of the ITV Network.
Today BBC Northern Ireland operate two television channels with local content, BBC One and BBC Two. The UTV Group still operate the same "ITV Ulster" licence. Channel 4 has broadcast to Northern Ireland since 1982 but (apart from advertisements) does not broadcast Northern Ireland-specific programming. As part of the Belfast Agreement the Republic of Ireland's Irish language television station TG4 has begun transmitting from a limited number of locations in Northern Ireland.
To date the Ofcom has licence two local television channels. The first, C9TV (Channel 9 Television), started in 1999 and broadcasts to Derry and the surrounding districts of Limavady, Coleraine and Strabane. In Belfast NvTv (Northern Visions Television) started in 2004.
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