The past year has greatly underscored the importance of fact-based information in a functioning democracy. At a moment when big media corporations are failing to do their job of providing such information, the need for trusted community-based media has never been clearer.
While based in Davis, as the only community media nonprofit in Yolo County, Davis Media Access (DMA) works countywide. We’re known as a trusted, engaged partner that works to expand civic participation and fill local information gaps. Every day, we’re at work helping organizations and individuals to amplify their work, and we carry that out through six different projects:
• City of Davis Media Services Under an agreement with the City, DMA staff records and streams council and commission meetings, providing critical access to important civic information.
• Davis Community Television (DCTV) is DMA’s origin story. Launched as a single public access channel in 1988, DCTV is still a place where technology is used to amplify community voices. We just finished helping political candidates in contested races countywide to record “Meet the Candidates” statements. We work with a wide variety of nonprofits on everything from event coverage to podcast production, and we tirelessly promote community resources and needs.
• Educational Access TV: In partnership with the City of Davis and the Davis Joint Unified School District, we record, air, stream, and archive the district’s school board meetings. We also offer entry-level production work for high-school students, and record approximately 50 school-based productions per year, including performing arts and graduation ceremonies.
• KDRT: Operating for almost 22 years as a low-power community radio station at 95.7 FM locally and kdrt.org worldwide, KDRT, Where the Grassroots Grow, is an important community hub and volunteer-fueled project. KDRT aims to inspire, enrich, and entertain listeners through an eclectic mix of music, cultural, educational, and public-affairs programs and services. The station builds community by promoting dialogue, encouraging artistic expression, and acting as a forum for people who typically lack media access.
• Woodland Community College: DMA has a long-running partnership with Yuba College's Woodland campus, where we staff its eLearning Studio two days per week. The studio helps faculty, administrators, students and community members access television and podcast studios that are used for everything from distance learning to historical preservation.
• Yolo Local: In 2025, DMA conducted an intensive countywide news and information needs assessment that identified key gaps and needs. One of those was the nearly wholesale lack of Spanish-language media in a county where almost 40 percent of the population identifies as Hispanic/Latino/a.
• The success of this assessment led to another ground-breaking partnership this spring with KVIE-–our region’s Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) outlet. Last September, KVIE launched Abridged, a daily local newsletter for the Sacramento area. Now they are teaming up with Yolo Local on a weekly newsletter for Yolo County. Bringing the learnings from Yolo Local’s community-engaged needs assessment together with Abridged’s editorial framework, this partnership will serve residents with listening sessions, events, and a free weekly newsletter dedicated to Yolo County.