By Autumn Labbé-Renault
This column was originally published in the Davis Enterprise, Aug. 8, 2025
With the rescission vote to pull federal funding from PBS and NPR and the subsequent winding down of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as well as mounting threats against journalists, the past few weeks have brought many questions my way. How does this affect Davis Media Access? How will DMA move forward? Will you be able to survive?
Davis Media Access is pleased to welcome Brianna Menson to our staff as the first-ever Volunteer Coordinator for KDRT, our Low-power community radio station. Brianna joined us last month and has been busy getting up to speed for the quarter-time position.
As a student at the UC Davis School of Law with interests in entertainment law and education policy, Brianna expressed a deep appreciation for the "behind-the-scenes" of creative and informative works. She said she hopes to both contribute to, and learn from, Davis Media Access through aiding in the facilitation of KDRT operations.
This column was originally published in the Davis Enterprise.
It’s been a while since I’ve provided an update here on Yolo Local, Davis Media Access’s project to map news and information assets and needs around Yolo County.
Yolo Local is grounded in the belief that our civic health, democratic traditions and capacity to address community issues are directly related to our ability to access local, accurate, trusted information in Yolo County.
Historically, many communities feel left out and disconnected by media content, especially where it’s not relevant or useful to them. That’s why a prime goal of this assessment is to ensure that we hear from voices that are not always in the room.
So much good work has happened in just a few short months. In April, we convened the inaugural Yolo Local Working Group. Together, we’ve been conducting a countywide survey in English and Spanish, and are engaging with the greater Yolo community directly at community events.
We are grateful to the many organizations that have stepped up to help. In the last couple of weeks alone, we’ve gotten commitments to share the surveys from Yolo County Housing Authority; Mutual Housing; Communicare + Olé’s Promotora program; Yolo HHSA; Yolo County Library — both from branches and Friends groups — and Yolo Works, on behalf of our county’s agriculture workers.
We’re also deeply appreciative of the cities of Davis, Winters and Woodland for sharing the information on their platforms, and for the nonprofits, service clubs, and faith communities that have also helped us get the word out.
We’ve run ads in this paper, the Winters Express and Woodland Daily Democrat, and we’re grateful to Radio Santisimo for their interview with working group member Alejandra Cuevas.
Organizers are working to get as broad a range of responses as possible from all areas of the county. Completing the survey should take about 10 minutes, and participants are eligible to win one of four $50 gift cards to Nugget Markets.
The survey close date has been extended until July 4.
Community members can complete the English version of the survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YoloInfoNeeds or the Spanish-language version https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YoloLocalInfoNecCast
We’ve also been having a blast engaging directly at community events. Coming up, we’ll hold a series of community roundtables in different communities.
Lastly, everyone is asking what we’ll do with all this info. Part of good community engagement is returning to the community to share what we’ve learned, and we’ll do that via a report to the community and further engagement this fall.
I need to really shout out 100+ Women Who Care Yolo County. On May 15, I had an opportunity to pitch Yolo Local, and happily ours was the winning pitch. An assessment process is expensive, and their $10,000 donation makes a tremendous difference in our ability to do this work. Learn more about this group here.
— Autumn Labbé-Renault is a journalist, community engagement strategist, and executive director of Davis Media Access (DMA). She’s currently working to map information needs across Yolo County via Yolo Local. She can be reached at autumn@davismedia.org.
This column was originally published in the Davis Enterprise.
It’s been a while since I’ve provided an update here on Yolo Local, Davis Media Access’s project to map news and information assets and needs around Yolo County.
Yolo Local is grounded in the belief that our civic health, democratic traditions and capacity to address community issues are directly related to our ability to access local, accurate, trusted information in Yolo County.
Davis Media Access (DMA) is hiring for a part-time Volunteer Coordinator to help with volunteer and operations logistics at KDRT, our award-winning Low-Power community radio station.
May 9, 2025--Yolo Local has launched a countywide bilingual survey aimed at better understanding the news and information needs of community members in Yolo County.
Developed by community media nonprofit Davis Media Access (DMA), Yolo Local is delving into how the decline in locally available information and news is impacting both information providers and local residents. The survey is one of several community engagement and information-gathering strategies the project will carry out this spring via its volunteer Yolo Local Working Group.
“Yolo Local is grounded in the belief that our civic health, democratic traditions and capacity to address community issues are directly related to our ability to access local, accurate, trusted information in Yolo County,” said Autumn Labbé-Renault, DMA’s executive director.
“Right now, trust in media is at an all-time low; local news sources are disappearing, and digital platforms are stoking fragmentation and polarization,” Labbé-Renault said. “Many communities feel left out and disconnected by media content, especially where it’s not relevant or useful to them."
Organizers are working to get as broad a range of responses as possible from all areas of the county. Completing the survey should take about 10 minutes, and participants are eligible to win one of four $50 gift cards to Nugget Markets. The survey closes June 15.
Community members can complete the English version of the survey or the Spanish-language version
Labbé-Renault noted the Yolo Local Working Group is relying on its community partners to share and help amplify this survey, which will “help DMA determine how to move forward with a project that works to meet our county’s most critical unmet information needs.”
Yolo Local is conducted in partnership with Impact Architects and Davis resident and community-engaged journalist jesikah maria ross, and is being developed as a national pilot. Financial support has been provided by the City of Davis, Yolo County Supervisor Lucas Frerichs, and the office of former Supervisor Jim Provenza, as well as private donors. Donations to support the project may be made here.
We here at Davis Media Access/KDRT/Yolo Local are gearing up for a big day on May 1. We extend good wishes to everyone in our Yolo County nonprofit community as we embark upon another Big Day of Giving. You can support our work here -- thank you!
Local community media nonprofit Davis Media Access (DMA) has announced the inaugural members of its Yolo Local Working Group.
Known for its longtime civic engagement work, DMA has spent the past 18 months moving from “curiosity about how DMA could help the decline in locally available information, to concrete action towards that end,” said Autumn Labbé-Renault, DMA’s executive director and principal developer of the project.
“We believe the shrinking of local newsrooms and corresponding loss of vital news and information affects every aspect of community life. When information is scarce or inequitable, civic engagement is diminished and our communities suffer,” she said. “Davis Media Access is working to build a civic information project for Davis and beyond, and we’ve named this project Yolo Local.”
Though based in Davis, the organization has strategic partnerships across the county. The first phase of Yolo Local is a countywide community information needs assessment. Labbé-Renault said the goal is to better understand our local news and information ecosystem, both in terms of the “supply side” or information providers, as well as from the “demand side” of local residents’ information needs and preferences.
The assessment will take place over the next four months and include a bilingual survey, engagement at community events, focus groups, and listening sessions. To assist with this project, DMA has convened a Yolo Local Working Group. Members will bring their personal, professional, and community experiences to the space to inform and help build the work.
Members and their affiliations include:
Working Group members were vetted and selected by an ad hoc committee comprising DMA’s board, staff and volunteers. Labbé-Renault said the focus wasn’t on journalism experience for this phase, but on “individuals who are connectors, do-ers and committed to working collaboratively.” Labbé-Renault noted the need still for representation from Winters, rural Yolo County, and youth.
DMA's partners in this process are community-engaged journalist and Davis resident jesikah maria ross [she does not capitalize her name], and Boulder, CO-based Impact Architects, who are providing the framework and methodology for this undertaking. The project has received financial support from the City of Davis, Yolo County Supervisor Lucas Frerichs, and former Supervisor Jim Provenza, as well as private donors, and is actively pursuing other funding.
Labbé-Renault encouraged interested community members to email yololocal@davismedia.org to sign up for a forthcoming newsletter about the project.
Davis Media Access is pleased to be one of the co-sponsors of Songs in Solidarity, a benefit concert to support the people of Los Angeles devastated by the January fires.
Organized by Winters Open Mic in partnership with local organizations and businesses, the benefit concert will feature three beloved local bands: Island Crew, Putah Creek Crawdads, and the Big Poppies. Beer, wine, and other beverages will be available for purchase. Proceeds from the ticket sales and concessions will go to the California Community Foundation, to aid in their rebuilding and revitalization efforts in the affected areas. The evening provides an opportunity to gather in community while listening to uplifting tunes. Produced by Winters Open Mic at the Winters Opera House. More info and tickets available here
Winters Opera House, is located at 13 Main St., Winters, CA. Doors open 6:30, show at 7 pm. Children under 12 get in free.Jan, 31, 2025 - DAVIS, CA--Davis Media Access (DMA) has announced a new partnership with Impact Architects, a nationally recognized firm that partners with nonprofits, philanthropy, and businesses to address complex challenges on a global scale. Impact Architects will provide the framework, methodology and data analysis for Yolo Local, the community information needs assessment DMA is driving.
