Media literacy not new, but school inclusion is

Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 873 in October, which integrates media literacy into the core subjects that all students learn throughout K-12 in California’s public schools. California joins New Jersey, Illinois, and Delaware in teaching media literacy in grade school, in particular.

The bill was authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), and supported by the Los Angeles County Office of Education, Common Sense Media, the California News Publishers Association, and Media Literacy Now, among others.

If you’re not familiar with the term, media literacy is a discipline that develops critical thinking skills around media to determine its credibility and accuracy. It’s something we have woven into our workshops, internships and policies at Davis Media Access (DMA) for decades, and I’m really pleased to see the legislation pass because I believe it to be one of the most important tools we have to counter disinformation.

2023 Philanthropy Awards celebrate volunteerism - DMA honors Sara Marie

The Yolo Community Foundation (YCF) honored 32 recipients of its 2023 Yolo Philanthropy Awards, celebrated Nov. 6 at the Davis Veterans Memorial Center. Local nonprofits were invited to honor one volunteer each year for their exceptional contributions to a nonprofit.

Davis Picks It Up "In the Studio"

DMA Intern Kristin Trent interviews Cathie Bullis, co-founder of Davis Picks It Up (DPIU), a local non-profit that eliminates litter locally to prevent impacts on land and ocean ecosystems. Bullis discusses the litter-to-ocean pipeline, crime solving on the job, found treasures, and her favorite things about DPIU.

For more information email davispicksitup@gmail.com. Youc an watch the episode here

 

Our mural - 15 years at the intersection of art, media and community

The circumstances that led to the creation of our mural in October 2008 are quite remarkable. A friend of one of our DMA staff members knew a mural artist who was traveling to raise awareness about government repression and community organizing in Oaxaca, a southern state in Mexico. In Davis for just a short time, artist Jesús Kobe offered to paint a mural depicting community, media and their place here in Davis.

Youth-led Fridays for Future joined Global Climate Strike Sept. 15

On August 25, 2023 the Davis Chapter of "Fridays for Future" completed its 200th Climate Strike March, which begins each Friday at noon at the Veterans Memorial Center and concludes at Central Park at the corner of Fifth and B Street. This youth-led group also joined in the GLOBAL Climate Strike Sept.

KDRT & youth both come of age at DMA

On Sept. 24, KDRT 95.7FM — the radio station based here at community media center Davis Media Access — turned 19.

DMA was the first public-access community media center in the nation to launch a Low-Power FM (LPFM) station. Since then, many have followed, and just recently the Federal Communications Commission opened a rare window for applications to open frequencies on this non-commercial educational radio spectrum.

DMA’s Jeff Shaw was recently a featured speaker at a regional meeting for potential applicants put on by the Alliance for Community Media.  Since KDRT was started during the first licensing period, Jeff is often called upon to offer a long-term perspective on many topics involving the facets of operating an all-volunteer community LPFM radio station.

From its inception, KDRT has been more than a low-power community station, more than a project of DMA, and more than a place to just play music or talk. It’s been a volunteer-fueled community, one that connects to our larger community both by running live broadcasts from community events, and each and every week in front of the mics and the sound board in the KDRT studio.

Gratitude to Our Supporters 2023-24

Each year, Davis Media Access (DMA) appeals to our community for support for our programs and services. Direct support helps us provide local election coverage, support youth media training and mentoring, and provides operating support for KDRT.

For the period beginning July 1, 2023 and ending June 30, 2024, we are grateful to the following supporters:

$1,000 and above

Julie A. Young

$250-$999

Clyde Bowman

Sharon Hale & Dawn Student

Timothy Kuhn Via a Car Donation

Brandon Milton

Don & Julie Saylor

Katie Tenerelli

Brian & Karen Vikstrom

Davis Senior High School 2023 commencement available via another website this year

Please note there was an error on the Davis Senior High School website which instructed those interested in purchasing a DVD of the 2023 DHS graduation to contact Davis Media Access.  Another organization videoed the 2023 DHS commencement and it's available to view online on their website.

Our Ask for Big Day of Giving Support

The collective sorrow and fear in our community is very real, and it comes at a moment when Yolo County #nonprofits are reaching out in a big way to raise needed funds on the Big Day of Giving, Thursday May 4 this year. Today we are asking for support for Davis Media Access as well. 

We love the effort to lift up all Yolo County nonprofits via http://bigdayofgiving.org/yolocounty because it’s deeply aligned with Davis Media Access’s work to #amplify community voices, often at critical times and in unique ways. During the pandemic, we focused those efforts on assisting other community-based organizations to solve technical problems and retain visibility.

This post is our ask for support. Despite all our successes in serving the community while surviving the pandemic, we are confronted with a very significant challenge at this moment in time. A few weeks ago, DMA’s used Toyota van was badly vandalized. This is an essential tool we use to haul equipment, interns, and other volunteers around town as we amplify the voices of community events, causes, and organizations. In fact, we recently wrapped support for the  the City’s Cesar Chavez event; the and recording the Wennberg Festival at the Mondavi and the annual DHS Drama Tribute to Tony Fields. Between now and mid June we’re on tap to cover or provide services at four different high school graduations; Davis Pride Festival; Davis Music Festival; and the e-Learning Lab at Woodland Community College.

Working with DMA’s  board, we have decided to set a big stretch goal of $20,000 for the forthcoming Big Day of Giving. We still need to raise the $10k that is critical to our programs and services AND we’re hoping to raise $10k towards the purchase of a replacement van. We’ve raised close to $5,000 as of today, but have a long way to go.

Big Day of Giving is a moment that can help DMA greatly increase our chances of success, and that will in turn allow us to continue serving our communities in intentional, supportive and meaningful ways. In advance, thank you for your support of #yolocounty #nonprofits on May 4.