By Autumn Labbé-Renault
This column was originally published in the Davis Enterprise, Aug. 8, 2025
With the rescission vote to pull federal funding from PBS and NPR and the subsequent winding down of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as well as mounting threats against journalists, the past few weeks have brought many questions my way. How does this affect Davis Media Access? How will DMA move forward? Will you be able to survive?
While the continued directives from the federal government create great uncertainty, until or unless we meet an unmovable obstacle, we will keep moving forward. I choose to believe that what we do at the local level is more important than ever, that it has merit, and that our strategic direction is both needed and fundable.
Our funding does not come through the CPB, but it’s by no means an easy time for any media outlet. Like everyone else in the nonprofit sector, DMA also operates amid great uncertainty about grants and the sustainability of donations in a time of economic upheaval. Nothing about this moment is comfortable or assured.
I’ve been writing about media consolidation and industry trends for over 25 years — in this very newspaper, and elsewhere — tracking changes implemented at both the state and national levels. There’s never been a moment during that time where small-scale, non-commercial or local media was on the winning side of the funding equation. But what DMA has lacked in resources, we’ve made up for in deep connections and a shared commitment to the Yolo way.
It’s been a gift this past year to be focused on the community needs assessment phase for Yolo Local, DMA’s effort to map local news and information resources and gaps across the county. At every step, I’ve met new friends, forged alliances, and learned a great deal about this place I call home.
Over the past four months, I’ve worked with a team of consultants and a volunteer Working Group to conduct a robust information needs assessment throughout the county. Our efforts included a survey leveraged through many partner organizations; direct outreach at key community events, and roundtable discussions with other stakeholder groups.
Over the past two weeks, I’ve been wrapping up this effort with engagement at events ranging from a Winters event featuring office hours with elected officials and staff from county, state and federal offices; participation in the kickoff of the Yolo County Regional Resilience Collaborative; National Night Out at Yolo Housing’s event, and a series of interviews with leaders from the African American community.
There’s something that bears repeating, and it’s that DMA never set out to create a media outlet that would replace other media outlets; rather, we took a labor-intensive route to gauge resources and gaps, with an eye towards addressing underserved media needs around Yolo County. From the beginning my theory was that DMA’s existing resources–especially KDRT and Davis Community Television–could play a major role in filling those needs. I still believe this.
I’m asked with great frequency: what comes next? As we wrap assessment, we move into data analysis, report writing, and determining how what we’ve learned will help us chart a path forward. We’re targeting the end of September for the report’s release.
— Autumn Labbé-Renault is a journalist, artist and executive director of Davis Media Access. She’s currently working to map information needs across Yolo County via Yolo Local.