by Janet Smellie
Northern News Services

NNSL (DEC 16/96) - Who says "no name" products, now saturating our marketplace, can't break new ground?

A five-week old youth program on TVNC, now receiving footage from all corners of the Western Arctic, is yet to be named, despite a contest launched by the Northern Communications Society.

Producers for the No Name Teen Show have offered viewers a free stereo if they come up with a name for the half-hour current affairs show featuring Dene and Metis youth throughout the Western Arctic.

But other than a few entrants wanting to call the show "Dreamcatcher," there's been nobody offering up a name.

"I don't know why we haven't had a lot of contestants, considering the prize is a pretty good one," says the one of the program's producers, Shirley V. Cook.

The show was the brainstorm of NCS after the popular GNWT production The Tube went off the air due to cutbacks.

With the help of a grant from the federal government, the society bought 10 video cameras and shipped out to 10 communities in the Western Arctic.

After a brief training session, youth are shooting the majority of the footage that goes to air themselves.

"It's been surprisingly good. A lot better than we had anticipated," says the show's editor, Meryl Robillard.

"I didn't go into the season with a lot of optimism, it was a lot to get them off the ground, getting people in the community to donate time was tough."

After receiving little help from band councils in the communities, Robillard says they decided to contact the high schools where teachers eager to help with the new show are now supervising the 10 students doing the shoots.

Students such as Grade 10 student Russell Manuel from Fort Good Hope, who says his five weeks with a camera have convinced him a future in television is not only possible but a field he wants to pursue.

"The best thing I like is learning to use the camera, taking shots of people and asking them to tell me stories," Manuel says. "Here, the kids are all right into it, they like to use the camera and be in the shots.

Manuel, who's so far provided material on the problems alcohol and drugs create in his community, has also provided the show with weekly "streeters," as well as doing double-ender interviews with the show's host, Nadira Begg.

"I want to do a documentary out on the land. I have a trap line and it's been doing really well, so I'm hoping to work on that sometime next year."

"We try to give the show a positive look for youth because there's a lot of issues that are out there and kids themselves can talk to kids better than adults, Cook says, adding that she's hoping the kids will start doing interviews in their native languages more often.

While some communities are producing "great stuff" some communities, like Fort Smith and Hay River have been "slow getting off the ground."

"I think shyness is a big reason, but we're working with them," Cook says. "We're going to start assigning them specific projects and give them story ideas instead of just letting them chose their own stories."

To catch a glimpse of the No Name Teen Show, watch TVNC at 4:30 p.m Wednesdays.

Even better -- if you have an idea for the name of the show, by all means send it in to P.O. Box 1919, Yellowknife, NT, X1A 2P4.