News from Davis Media Access - January 2016

Contents:

Open House a Big Success
DMA Board Updates
General Orientation January 13: Getting Involved, Becoming a User
Updates from DCTV – Public Access Television
Updates from KDRT – Low-Power Community Radio
Updates from DJUSD TV
Car Donations
Thank You to Our Underwriters!

New Year, New Opportunities

I’m writing on New Year’s Day 2016, and I’m excited to kick off what is sure to be an exciting and challenging year. I’m also beginning to give shape to “A Look Back at 2015,” our annual report video for the year.

In the big picture, changes in technology, continued Big Media mergers and telecom-friendly legislation make the business of being a non-commercial community-media center ever challenging. Yet those same changes render the need for local content, and hands-on digital learning opportunities, ever more critical. DMA is ready for the challenge, and poised to unroll some exciting new services this year.

Open House a Big Success

Thanks to Team Davis & all who attended DMA’s Holiday Annual Open House. The Team Davis Youth sang live on KDRT and were the highlight of our evening. The place was absolutely packed, friendships were renewed and forged, and many new folks came to check out the media center. You can see Eunah Cho’s wonderful photos from the evening here.

DMA Board Updates

DMA is governed by an active and committed group of volunteers. Kate Snow served on the board for the past four years, and as its chair for much of that time. Her second term ended in December and we bid her a fond farewell, as a board member. Her work with the school district, and connections to social justice and immigration work informed DMA’s work in those areas as well. We are grateful for her time and energy shared. Thank you, Kate!

General Orientation January 13: Getting Involved, Becoming a User

Curious about KDRT, DCTV or even DJUSD Channel 17, and want to learn how Davis Media Access can help you?

Any potential volunteers please come to one of these, held monthly. They last about an hour and include the history of Davis Media Access, a tour of the facilities, and information on how to get involved.

Updates from DCTV – Public Access Television

DMA Shorts: Current DMA volunteers and producers are welcome to attend "DMA Shorts" on January 27 at 7pm. DMA Shorts will be a screening of DMA Producers (& friends) short-form completed work, current drafts, or other projects intended to provoke discussion. Look for a registration link on our DMA volunteer email list to guarantee a seat.

PSA Day: DMA knows how difficult it can be to get the word out about your programs and services—and on a budget, no less! Short, pithy, visual, inexpensive, and available online? We can help, via our annual PSA Day. This special production opportunity will help you make a 58-second public service announcement highlighting your organization and how it serves the community. This year’s event takes place Feb. 10 & 11. Please see here for details and registration.

Updates from KDRT – Low-Power Community Radio

KDRT had a great year. KDRT programmers and volunteers provided major support for the Davis Music Festival, organized benefit concerts at Sudwerk and the Davis Odd Fellows, and hosted Professor Jesse Drew and about 30 students from the Technocultural Studies Program at UC Davis every Tuesday morning during fall quarter for another round of Technocult Radio.

Updates from DJUSD TV

DMA Production Manager Jeff Shaw works with local high- school interns each quarter to produce a variety of programming. Recent interns have included Julia and Livia Morris; Aaron Kaplan; Meg Robinson; Emily Merten; Dylan Taylor; Willian Bezzera, and Kevin Windt. Each receives hands-on production training in digital media, and gains experience in the field recording a variety of school-based productions. Our interns were busy last month recording a variety of band and symphonic productions at the middle and high schools.

Car Donations

One particularly effective and easy way to support DMA is through the donation of a care or boat. The Center for Car Donations processes donations of used vehicles (running or not) with proceeds benefiting KDRT. If you'd like more information, please visit here, and be sure to designate KDRT as the beneficiary.

Thank You to Our Underwriters!

We acknowledge business contributions to KDRT with brief on-air messages called underwriting. Underwriting is to community radio what advertising is to commercial radio. The difference, however, is clear: Commercial stations may air as much as 18 minutes of advertising time per hour. KDRT airs less than one minute of underwriting per hour, which means our underwriters aren't lost in a sea of commercial hype. Find out more here.