CONFERENCE WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS AND NOTES
Updated 11-20-25
PLENARY SESSION TOPICS
Legislative, Legal, and Policy Issues Facing Community Media at the State and Federal Level
In the face of declining cable fees, securing state-level support for community media is more crucial than ever. Learn about legislative activities in states like New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, Minnesota, Hawaii, and California. This workshop will update the status of: (1) pending legislation in a variety of states; (2) the ongoing rulemaking processes regarding cable TV at the California Public Utilities Commission; and (3) policy and legal issues facing community media at the state level.
This session will review how local governments and PEG organizations across the country are organizing, developing, and initiating actions to address PEG issues at the state level. Learn about model legislation developed by a collaboration between the Alliance for Communication Democracy (ACD), Media Alliance, and the Alliance for Community Media (ACM).
BREAKOUT WORKSHOP TOPICS
AI and the Community Media Center: A Transformative Tool
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming community media and government meeting workflows. This session will explore how AI is being applied across broadcast and business operations, with a special focus on accessibility compliance to meet the Department of Justice’s upcoming requirements for Captioning, Audio Description, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and to prepare for new accessibility regulations taking effect as early as April 2026.
AI topics with practical examples will include:
- Captioning, Audio Description, Secondary Audio Programming (SAP), and WCAG compliance
- Meeting summaries and agenda generation
- Sports recaps and highlights
- Production, editing, and generative content
- Content metadata, tagging, and search
- Intelligent playout scheduling
- Audience engagement
- Grant writing
- Marketing
Updating Member and Producer Policies
Most community media centers (CMCs) have policies or rules regarding producer use of content created with CMC equipment and facilities. However, a new challenge is producer monetization on YouTube or other platforms. Is it a conflict of interest to use the CMC equipment and studio to create content that is monetized on YouTube or other platforms? How do you define “commercial content?” Are there different expectations based on whether the content first airs on the PEG channels or not?
This workshop will examine policies related to the use of AI tools (e.g., text-to-video, voice cloning, AI scripting) in member-produced content. These are all new challenges for CMCs. Join your colleagues to discuss this topic and learn how CMCs are addressing these challenges.
A Call to Action: An Organizing Workshop Focused on State Legislation Supporting Community Media
In 2022, the ACM West Region’s California members were active in the state capital for the first time in many years. While we were not able to advance our bill out of the Assembly, we learned a lot. In 2024, we became a party to an ongoing rulemaking at the CPUC and got our issues included in an ongoing rulemaking regarding HD for PEG as a customer service issue. Our current plans are to move forward in an organized, more experienced manner to introduce legislation that will address the funding stress our field faces.
This workshop will focus on our process and next steps. We’ll have the opportunity to learn from a community media leader from Vermont who led a successful effort to secure PEG funds at the state level, and from an experienced lobbyist who has represented nonprofit organizations in Sacramento for many years.
Strategies for Collaborating with Schools
Learn from several CMCs that have developed partnerships with schools to gather educational content that can be distributed on community channels, both cable and digital. Think about all those sports events, student newscasts, concerts, graduation ceremonies, and other special events that are created at schools but may not shared with parents and the community. This session will also address collaborations between CMCs and both K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions, ranging from shared training and equipment to grants and fee-for-service relationships.
Strategies and Tools for Proving the Value of Community Media
We all know that community media is effective in fostering civic engagement, as a crucial platform for amplifying diverse and marginalized voices, in holding local power accountable, and promoting a thriving local economy. But how do we demonstrate that value? What tools are most effective in marketing the community media center and PEG channels? What tools are most effective for getting the word out to the community, to local government, to potential donors, and to reach broader audiences and promote engagement? In this workshop, you’ll learn from community media centers that have figured out the answer to those questions and have had amazing results.
Navigating Crossroads: Mergers, Integrations, and Partnerships
If your community media center is facing financial pressures, leadership transitions, or a reduced funding landscape, tough decisions must be made. Mergers and integrations are no longer just a tool for financially distressed organizations, but a powerful strategy for advancing mission, increasing efficiency, and achieving long-term sustainability. Executing a merger or integration between two organizations involves financial, legal, political, and community aspects. In this comprehensive workshop, you will gain the insights and legal and practical tools needed to explore, evaluate, and execute strategic integration, mergers, and partnerships.
Get in the Game with Sports Productions
Live sports have never been more popular, with an ever-expanding array of viewing platforms. But does this surge in viewership translate to more diverse methods for producing live sports content? Absolutely.
Join us as we explore the spectrum of live sports production techniques, from single-camera streaming solutions and portable flypacks to remote production workflows and fully-equipped live production trucks. Gain exclusive insights from three industry experts as they compare and contrast the dynamics of student-run productions, volunteer-driven public access broadcasts, professional staff productions, and government-sponsored live coverage.
Tips for Starting Podcasting at Your Media Center
Are you looking to start a Podcasting program at your community media center? Do you have a dedicated studio and want to implement new educational programming? Have you developed a training curriculum for podcasting? Leaders representing small, mid-sized, and large operations will share their paths to creating comprehensive offerings that meet the needs of their communities.
Going Beyond Cable Funding: Revenue Options, Opportunities, and Success Stories
In the past 4-5 years, cable-related funds available to support PEG access/community media centers have shrunk by more than 50% in many cities. This makes it essential that PEG access/community media centers identify and implement a variety of funding sources that go beyond cable company support. There is no one-size-fits-all. What works and what doesn’t work will vary between large and small CMCs, as well as rural, urban, and suburban communities. The time needed to build up adequate funding doesn’t happen overnight. This workshop will explore various non-cable funding sources that have proven effective in filling the cable-related funding gap and, in the process, provide a more long-term survival strategy.
Building a Foundation for Successful Grant Writing
This workshop will provide you with the fundamentals to help position your organization to secure grant funding support for projects important to your community.
Developing CMC Revenue Streams Using Digital Platforms
Learn from CMCs that are using YouTube and other platforms to generate income. Learn about the different forms of income that can be generated from both active and passive content. Find out how to monetize your content, including sports and more, with streaming paywalls and video ads. Hear from CMCs that have successfully launched such efforts. Once a video is published, it can continue to generate revenue through ads, affiliate links, and other monetization methods long after the initial creation effort is complete. Get tips on managing the process.
Breaking the Mold: New Models in Local Journalism
Four Sacramento-area news outlets are redefining how journalism gets done—and funded.
- Abridged, a public media digital news startup, is applying lessons from past failures and emerging successes in the field.
- CalMatters, a nonprofit founded in 2015, has built a sustainable statewide model while forging strong local newsroom partnerships.
- The Sacramento Observer, serving the African American community since 1962, has undergone a significant transformation to thrive in today’s media landscape.
- Davis Media Access is mapping the information needs of Yolo County residents to reshape its services and impact.
Panelists will share the editorial and funding strategies that have worked — and the hard lessons learned along the way.
Producing Government Meetings: Lessons Learned
This workshop will explore the production of government meetings and how to achieve high-quality, visually appealing meeting recordings. This discussion will be beneficial, whether you have a large or small budget, and whether you are new to government meetings or broadcast 10 meetings a week.
Topics to be explored include best practices for control room and field shoots, general production tips for covering government meetings, maintaining comprehensive CG and staff lists, and providing standardized training and operational manuals for staff.
The importance of partnerships will be covered: coordinating with agencies on control room and chambers A/V equipment; working with clerks (understanding agendas and basic meeting protocol); and working with elected officials.
You’ll walk away from this session with tips and ideas to streamline your meeting coverage, so you won’t need to recreate the wheel!
Coping Strategies for Stressed-Out Community Media Leaders and Staff
Shrinking budgets, failure to achieve at Board meetings, staff shortages, major playback equipment malfunctions, unforeseen staff resignations, and “my child has a doctor’s emergency NOW!” You can feel stress both as an individual and, collectively, with the people you work and interact with, and at home. This workshop will set you on the path to addressing these workplace stressors.
A.M.A.T: Ask Me Anything Technical
This workshop is just what it sounds like! A team of experts and engineers is here to answer any and all of your technical questions.