Cool New Tools
Technology and new product development cycles move at lightning speed: audiences, content creators, marketing teams, and producers are always looking for the newest, coolest toys for workflows, design, and effects. Learn about innovative software, equipment, and design tools being used at CMCs, like Akakūʻs use of the project management tool Trello and how CreaTV San José uses Canva (a free app for certified non-profits) for in-house marketing and graphic design needs. See CMAC’s new community producer DSLR kits and get tips on how to train with these kinds of cameras.
Workshop Leader: Kat Tracy, Akakū, Maui, HI
Speakers: Dan O’Brien, Production Director, Akakū, Maui, HI; Constance Button, Community Media Coordinator, CreaTV San José, CA; Alex Soto, Community Media Coordinator, CMAC, Fresno, CA
Presentation Materials: Alex-Soto-Cool-New-Tools.pdf, Dan-OBrien-Trello.pdf, Constance-Button-ACM-Canva-presentation.pdf
Community Radio and Podcasting
Video didn’t kill the radio star. In fact, low-power and local community radio has had a place in the community media landscape for many years. Then along comes the explosion of growth for the trend in podcasting. This workshop will look at the differences and similarities in the platforms, and share ideas on how centers are implementing them while sharing challenges and successes. A look at funding strategies will be included.
Workshop Leader: Kat Tracy, Akakū, Maui, HI
Speakers: Shann Oliver, Executive Director, KXSF San Francisco Community Radio, San Francisco, CA; Kyle Lowe, Operations Manager, CMAC, Fresno, CA; Jeff Shaw, Production Manager, Davis Media Access / KDRT, Davis, CA
Presentation Materials: acmwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Jeff-Shaw-KDRT-Radio.pdf, acmwest.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Kyle-Lowe-CMAC-Podcast-Studio-Tour.pdf, youtu.
Successful Marketing Strategies for a Community Media Center
Marketing has become so much more than posting flyers to a local bulletin board. With limited hours in the day, we struggle to navigate the endless avenues for outreach and community building — TikToks and Reels, email and text campaigns, Discord, and Slack. The pandemic has also introduced new barriers to getting the community back into the CMC. In this panel, you’ll hear about the successes (and the hard lessons learned!) of community media centers that have transformed their approach to marketing by using new and traditional strategies.
Workshop Leader: J Robertson, Executive Director, Ho’ike, Kaua’i, HI
Speakers: Natalie Nigg, Marketing & Development Manager, CMAC, Fresno, CA; Donna Girot, Executive Director, Access Sacramento, CA; Mike Johnson, former Executive Director, CCX Media, Brooklyn Park, MN.
Presentation Materials: CMAC-Successful-Marketing-Strategies.pdf
Going Beyond Cable Funding / Diversifying Funding Sources: Opportunities and Successes
In today’s world, Community Media Centers must identify and implement a variety of revenue streams to supplement decreasing cable company revenue. This workshop will explore a variety of non-cable funding opportunities and present success stories. This is not an immediate or one-size-fits-all endeavor. We’ll explore what works and what doesn’t work and how that will vary between large and small CMCs — rural, urban or suburban. You’ll hear from CMCs with a wide range of budgets. Case studies will be presented that focus on the variety of ways in which each CMC has successfully generated non-cable revenue, and stayed true to its mission.
Workshop Leader: Sue Buske, President, The Buske Group, Sacramento, CA
Speakers: Chad Johnston, CEO, CreaTV San José, CA; Bryan Harley, Executive Director, CMAC, Fresno, CA; Deborah Vinsel, Executive Director, Thurston Community Media, Olympia, WA; Roger McKeague, President and CEO, Ōlelo Community Media, Honolulu, HI
Presentation Materials: Chad-Johnston-BeyondCableFunding.pdf, TCMedia-Earned-Revenue-Fundraising-Grants.pdf
Strategic Re-Envisioning of Community Media Centers
Today’s CMCs must operate at the convergence of changes in media and society driven by the pandemic and shifting revenue models. How can we ensure that we offer relevant, vital, and engaging services for our communities while building a financially stable future? Our panelists will discuss strategies for identifying community needs that can result in the provision of vital services, and fostering relationships with mission-aligned organizations. This workshop will examine these concepts and others and how some community media centers are shifting to a new model.
Workshop Leader and Speaker: Matt Schuster, Executive Director, Public Media Network, Kalamazoo, MI
Speakers: Shelley Wolfe, Executive Director of Media and Production, Philadelphia Public School District, Philadelphia, PA; Chad Johnston, CEO, CreaTV, San José, CA
Presentation Materials: Matt-Schuster-Strategic-Reenvisioning-of-CMCs.pdf
Building a Powerful Team for Your Community Media Center
Building and maintaining a well-functioning team is about getting and keeping talented people and crossing your fingers that they’ll work well together. Creating a team culture and its workflow is paramount. Addressing generational issues and generational change is critical to a well-functioning team. Are we re-envisioning how we work together in addition to the work that we are doing? Pay equity, employee health benefits, a flexible work environment, and more are key to creating a powerful team at your CMC.
Workshop Leader and Speaker: Debra Rogers, Executive Director, Falmouth Community Television, Falmouth, MA
Speakers: Deborah Vinsel, Executive Director, Thurston Community Media, Olympia, WA; Karen George, Executive Director, Quad Cities Community TV, Anoka, MN
Presentation Materials: Karen-George-Slide-Deck.pdf
Tips and Solutions for Hybrid Public Meetings
Hybrid meetings can offer greater opportunities for community participation and transparency, but there are many obstacles. This working session will discuss audio/video challenges, data protection, and accessibility, and explore solutions for hybrid meetings.
Workshop Leader and Speaker: Tony Ruggieri, Santa Barbara City TV Production Supervisor, Santa Barbara, CA
Speakers: Rory O’Farrell, General Manager, Tahoe Truckee Media, Truckee, CA; Brian Rose, Triton Technology, San Diego, CA.
Presentation Materials: Tips-and-Solutions-for-Hybrid-Meetings.pdf, Triton-Hybrid-Meetings.pdf
Building, Strengthening, and Maintaining an Effective Board of Directors
Over the past few years, several successful 30-plus-year-old access corporations have faced disruptive and destructive scenarios because of board issues that arose. Sometimes boards are ineffective because board members only attend meetings occasionally at best. In other cases, the board goes beyond its role of setting policy, promoting the organization, and assisting with building and maintaining financial stability and steps into day-to-day management. This workshop will address key factors in building and maintaining an effective board.
Workshop Leader and Speaker: Keri Stokstad, Palo Alto, CA
Speakers: Geoff Green, CEO, Santa Barbara City College Foundation, Santa Barbara, CA; Mike Johnson, former ED, CCX Media, Minneapolis, MN.
Presentation Materials: Building-a-Better-Board.pdf, Board-Checklist.pdf, Legal-Duties-of-a-Nonprofit-Board.pdf
Update on Legal, Legislative, and Policy Issues at the Federal and State Levels
Hear the latest update on what’s happening at the federal and state levels that will impact community media centers. Learn about legislative activities in states like California, New York, Maine, and Massachusetts that may dramatically impact PEG access and community media. What about the FCC and the need to appoint a fifth commissioner, and other actions impacting community media like the status of the Protecting Community Television Act in Congress? Those in the know will be addressing these and other timely topics.
Workshop Leader and Speaker: Mike Wassenaar, President and CEO, Alliance for Community Media, Washington, DC
Speakers: Gail Karish, Partner, Best Best & Krieger, Los Angeles, CA; Jeff Bayne, Partner, Spiegel & McDiarmid, Washington, DC; Naveed Paydar, Senior Regulatory Analyst, California Public Utilities Commission.
Presentation Materials: Karish-ACM-West-2023.pdf
Building Equity and Inclusion into Every Aspect of a Community Media Center
DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) is the growing and ever-changing field of helping organizations to enhance their abilities to serve community members who belong to traditionally marginalized groups, both as constituents and as workers. How do you create feelings of safety, ensuring equitable space for all? This workshop will provide reasons why DEI should be a top priority for community media centers and steps you can take to implement best practices at your center.
Workshop Leader: Francesca Enzler, Community Media Specialist, CreaTV San José, CA
Speakers: Donna Girot, Executive Director, Access Sacramento, CA; James Joyce, Journalist, Civil Rights Activist, and founder of Coffee with a Black Guy, Santa Barbara, CA.
Presentation Materials: none yet
Attracting and Engaging Youth in Community Media
How can we ensure that we are responding to the media-making needs of youth creators at a time when the media technology landscape is rapidly changing? In this workshop, we will investigate the ways that community media centers are evolving to meet the needs of their youngest producers and build relevant programming to attract them and keep them engaged.
Workshop Leader and Speaker: Emily Parent, Palo Alto, CA
Speakers: Pedro Arenas, San José, CA; Javan Jiles, Community Engagement Specialist, BAVC, San Francisco, CA
Presentation Materials: None yet
Making Public Meetings, PEG Access Programming, and Channels More Accessible
This workshop will explore the wide range of accessibility issues that arise around community media programming and community media facilities. Among the topics to be discussed will be multiple languages, closed captioning, secondary audio programming, open captioning, and facility accessibility issues for studios and CMCs.
Workshop Leader and Speaker: Ross Rowe, Director of Programming, Elk Grove, IL
Speakers: Jack Chin, Manager, SFGov TV, San Francisco, CA; Carlos Cerecedo, Court-Certified Interpreter, Santa Barbara, CA; Scott Brosious, Communications Supervisor, City of Riverside, CA
Presentation Materials: none yet
A.I. = Access Intensified
It’s 2023 and the world needs ACCESS more than ever. Learn how your work in PEG Access both informs and extends the reach of world-shifting A.I. technologies. We will address the connection between access to creative tools and distribution, access to civic information and full participation in local democracy, and assistive technologies used to provide accessibility.
With new A.I. tools and opportunities for PEG, we have a different lens for appreciating the work we’ve done for decades and its global impact. In this presentation, we will examine A.I. tools and how we can use them to be more efficient and effective at reaching the currently served and the currently unserved.
Workshop Leader and Speaker: Daniell Krawczyk, Municipal Captioning, Raleigh, NC
Presentation Materials: none yet