Election Night at Davis Media Access

Davis Media Access (DMA) produced a live, election-night program on Nov. 3, 2020, highlighting local races and local ballot measures. The show aired live, and streamed on KDRT and YouTube. Providing free, non-partisan local election coverage to local candidates has been part of  our mission for more than 30 years.

Earlier in the season, DMA produced “Meet the Candidates,” a series of short interviews highlighting candidates for races from school board through Congress, as well as local ballot measures—in all, 26 interviews. The media center has also aired forums from the League of Women Voters Davis Area and the Yolo Committee for Diverse and Inclusive Elections. All content is available at https://davismedia.org/election.

Co-hosts are for the evening were DMA's Executive Director Autumn Labbe-Renault, with Davis City Councilmember Dan Carson from 8-9; Davis City Councilmember and former mayor Brett Lee from 9-10, and Davis Mayor Gloria Partida from 10-11. 

DMA and KDRT Celebrate Free Speech Week and Community Media Day

Free Speech Week has been celebrated in the U.S. since 2005. To kick off this special week, we're joining with non-commercial media centers across the country for Community Media Day on October 20th, and will debut a short video highlighting our wide array of grassroots activities and local projects. Throughout the week, we will continue to post special videos and photos on our social media pages - Davis Media FB and KDRT FB .

Meet the Candidates Statements Ready to View - DMA Election Programming 2020

Davis Media Access (DMA) has completed videoing 26 candidate and campaign statements for local elections. To view  link here. DMA is the only nonprofit community media and technology center serving Yolo County, and providing free local election coverage to candidates from school board through Congress has been part of our mission for more than 30 years. Diane Dedoshka, DMA’s Studio Manager and election producer, noted how different this year is from all other years. “During COVID, we don’t have access to our TV studio, teleprompter, etc. We’ve had to figure out how to do what we do, remotely.” DMA will produce 25 “Meet the Candidate” statements, as well as pro/con statements for local ballot Measure B. Normally, candidates face the camera directly and read their prepared statement from a teleprompter, or speak extemporaneously. Owing to the remote production platform DMA is using at this time, Dedoshka said she’ll direct while DMA’s Executive Director, Autumn Labbe-Renault, conducts 5-minute interviews with each candidate. Recording took place in late September and early October, with programs airing on DCTV Channel 15 on Comcast Davis; at menu 99 on AT&T’s U-verse, and online at https://davismedia.org/election starting in early October. A block of election statements will run each morning and evening through Nov. 2. Additional programming will include Zoom forums organized and recorded by groups such as the League of Women Voters Davis Area, and the Yolo Committee for Diverse and Inclusive Elections. DMA is also planning a live, election night program for the Nov. 3 election. The show will air from 8-11 pm and highlight many local candidates.

DMA During COVID-19

Since closing the facility on March 13, we’ve navigated a broad range of operational/technical/programmatic and administrative challenges during quarantine. We’ve helped some of our radio and TV volunteers as they’ve navigated producing from home--and commiserated with those who couldn’t.  And we’ve adapted on other levels, working to fill budget gaps that are a byproduct of this time, while striving to respond to community requests for help with events that are now virtual. In short, though the building has been closed, the organization has not!

Through it all, we’ve kept abreast of the ever-changing laws and public health orders. In particular, we are following the guidelines for reopening developed by the John Hopkins Center for Public Health and Yolo County Public Health. Our policy and timeline has been developed by staff, and was vetted and approved by the DMA board at its June meeting.

Life in the Time of COVID-19: The Community Diary Project

Davis Media Access (DMA) invites you to help document the history we’re making during the COVID-19 pandemic by participating in a collaborative, virtual storytelling project here in Yolo County.  Upload videos to https://davismedia.org/diary. Read on to learn more about the project.

Historians are as informed by first-person recollection and ephemera as they are by world events. Think about those who kept diaries during the flu of 1918, or the spread of smallpox through the Americas. What we experience as individuals adds to a greater understanding of the crisis we’re weathering as a whole. In this spirit, DMA is launching Life in the Time of COVID-19: Yolo County Community Diary as a collaborative storytelling project during this time of societal shift.

Upload Diary Submission here

Welcome to the Community Diary Project!

To look at some examples visit our YouTube playlist.

Ready now to start?

1.Using your phone camera create a short diary entry.

2.  Go to Dropbox to upload and follow the instructions it provides asking for name and email and select your video.

You will see when the upload is complete and will be sent a confirmation email.

That's  it and THANK YOU for participating.

DMA During COVID-19

It has been no small challenge these past two months to learn how to manage Davis Media Access and all its projects remotely. But in an effort to protect our community of volunteers, public visitors, and staff, and consistent with current public health guidelines, the media center remains closed. Like everyone else, we're practicing social distancing, and learning to work within our "new normal."

While I'm offering the COVID-19 Community Report on KDRT weekly, DMA's staff is working with KDRT volunteers to start getting other KDRT programmers back on the air, remotely. And it's happening. Check the schedule at kdrt.org to see what's ramping up. Similarly. there are new projects and collaborations percolating behind the scenes at DCTV and DJUSD.tv as well/

DMA's staff is working from home to manage operations. The best way to reach us during this time is email to info@davismedia.org.