autumn's blog

On the heels of Jeff Hudson’s excellent article about KDRT 95.7 FM’s upcoming 10th anniversary this fall, it seems fitting to place KDRT squarely at the center of this year’s fund raising campaign.

Our annual donations already support KDRT, a non-commercial, community-based radio station. Although KDRT is a largely volunteer-run project within the media center, it does have hard costs: the lights to keep on, licensing fees to pay, equipment to upkeep, and its share of insurance, staffing, etc.

It’s been 25 years since community leaders worked to launch what was originally Davis Community Television as a public-access cable channel. What started as a promise of equal access to media tools for all has grown into a full-service community media center.

Much has changed in 25 years. The political climate doesn’t favor non-commercial, community-based media, and many centers similar to DMA have closed across the country. DMA has worked diligently to be of service and make a difference locally, garnering widespread community support. Leveraging a small staff with a large complement of interns and other volunteers, it’s DMA who heeds the call to cover a candidates’ forum, a school orchestral performance or basketball game, or a community event.