Davis Media Access (DMA) will stage a live "Thank-a-Thon"  Wed., May 1 from 6-8 p.m. The program will air live on DCTV Channel 15 on the Comcast system in Davis and also on KDRT 95.7 FM. 

The live show will feature a wide range of community producers and volunteers from both DCTV and KDRT, as well as representatives from community partners, non-profits, and elected officials. DMA Board Chair Ron Clement and Vice Chair Paul Sheeran--DCTV and KDRT programmers, respectively--serve as co-hosts for the live show.

“Canada’s Tar Sands are perhaps the most visually compelling example of all that is wrong with our addiction to fossil fuels and why we must change or face dire consequences for all life on Earth,”Garth Lenz states in his award-winning slideshow talk, The True Cost of Oil: Images of Beauty and Devastation. 

Over the holiday break, DMA's staff and volunteers began the large task of relocating our large media library--a collection of nearly 10,000 titles dating back to the early 1980s--from its physical space upstairs. The videos span many different formats and with assistance from interns, we are slowly digitizing them. In the meantime, they will be boxed and stored to free up space upstairs for other uses. A shout-out and thanks to DMA staffer Alex Silva-Sadder for managing the process,  and to volunteers Thomas xxx, Bryce Parker, Frank Dogg, Richard Sequest, and Cliff Gamble. 

The days are ticking away, but if you're still making decisions about your year-end charitable giving, please consider making a gift to Davis Media Access. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit and your donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

As the year closes, I'm sifting through some favorite memories from 2012. At the start of the year, we relaunched the new television studio and began training community programmers again. By spring, we were ramping up for a busy election season on the local front, and attending and tabling at many community events. Summer found us ushering dozens of kids through Kid Vid and Animaniacs camps, teaching them valuable technical skills, as well how to have fun with them.

By Autumn Labbé-Renault

This column was originally published Nov. 29, 2012 in The Davis Enterprise.

Davis Media Access (DMA) does a lot of good work in our community. We’re proud of that, and looking forward to sharing what we’re about by throwing open the studios for a Holiday Open House.

This column was originally published in The Davis Enterprise Oct. 25, 2012

Years ago, our organization ran a single public access channel and used it to help individuals and organizations who didn’t have access to media. Our emphasis was on maintaining a free speech platform, with access for all. It was good work, and I look back and can’t help but think things were simpler then.

Davis citizens are a mobile bunch, and this means we sometimes have to say good-bye. We offer a fond farewell to DJ AA and Vincent with “Empire Radio,” who have moved on to the Bay Area. Ted and Josh of “The Recollection” are on hiatus at present but rumor has it they plan to return in January. Congratulations to Ted, who welcomed his first son this summer.

Davis Parent University

Davis Media Access (DMA) has recorded many of the Parent University presentations over the past few years, and thanks to the efforts of Programming Manager Alex Silva-Sadder, we are now proud to host all their information and videos in one easy-to-access place: http://dctv.davismedia.org/dpu-home

Young filmmakers Eli Weiss, Dylan Starsinic and Dave Meddin are up for a regional award for a PSA they produced on cell phone cramming.

By Autumn Labbe-Renault, Executive Director

Published originally in The Davis Enterprise, Sept. 30, 2012

Seems just yesterday it was June and I was writing about election coverage. Though the importance of Nov. 6 is known nationally, I’m focused closer to home.

As the non-profit community media center serving Davis and Yolo County, Davis Media Access (DMA) has produced local election coverage since the mid 1980s, and considers voter education and community coverage core to our mission of creating community through media. This election season, The Davis Vanguard & Davis Media Access (DMA) will co-host a school board candidate forum, to be held in the Harper Junior High Multipurpose room on Monday, Oct. 1, 2012. 

When Patrick Shearer and his wife Danielle moved to Davis earlier this year, he found himself with time on his hands and a need to explore his new town. Native to Australia, Shearer had established himself as a veterinarian in his homeland. He’d built up an impressive resume, working for private practices Down Under and completing an internship here in the States.

Information about a video project happening at DMA this Thursday, July 12: 

In mid-June, the community was rattled by a noose left hanging on the Davis High School football field.  In response to hate acts like this and others that have occurred in the Davis community in the past, the city’s Human Relations Commission is working in partnership with Davis Media Access, the community media center serving Davis and surrounding areas, to create a video collage focused on tolerance.  The piece, entitled “Speak Out for Tolerance,” will reflect on experiences and viewpoints held by Davis community members.

The Commission is inviting interested community members to participate in initial filming on Thursday, July 12, at Davis Media Access (1623 5^th Street between Redwood Barn Nursery and the City’s Corp Yard).  Filming will take place between 7pm and 9pm, and will

News from Davis Media Access

Contents

• Valuing an idea, lest it disappear
• From the Mailbag
• Cool Davis 2012 - Workshop on Community Choice Energy
• Shout outs & love
• Car/boat donations benefit KDRT

Valuing an idea, lest it disappear

"KDRT doesn't happen without community support. It can't. It's that simple."

 I'm mentoring a public relations intern this summer. Dan Dedoshka is a University of Oregon student who has committed his time to learning whatever I can teach him about writing press releases, branding, social media engagement, and more. While thumbing through one of his textbooks on PR yesterday, I commented that most of what he's being taught in school is likely geared at promoting products, versus ideas, and that sometimes in the non-profit world, what we're "selling" is just that--an idea, a philosophy, a credo, if you will.