Within a one–week span, DMA just celebrated the 9th anniversary of KDRT’s launch, and kicked off a yearlong celebration of 25 years building community through media here in Davis, CA.
A decade ago, the board and staff of what was then called Davis Community Television, along with a group of community volunteers known as the KDRT Working Group, was hip-deep in engineering specs, Federal Communications Commission jargon, and community ascertainment. I will never forget the 18 months we spent building a station and bringing it to life. We were the first public access channel in the nation to launch a Low-power FM station, a new class of radio designed to provide hyper-local broadcast radio to a specific community. There was no road map, and we were in uncharted territory. It was a nail-biting, endorphin-producing wild ride.
Adding KDRT to the ways in which Davisites could produce and receive local content forever changed Davis Community Television, so much so that in 2007, we renamed and rebranded to Davis Media Access (DMA). Today, DMA is a non-profit community media center supporting local content creation, distribution and archiving via television, radio and the Internet. (A quick read through this very newsletter will illuminate much of our work.) Free speech and access to media technology is still central to what we do, but times and technology have changed, and our community has challenged us to be a resource on many different levels.
This past decade, in particular, we’ve witnessed a sea change in technology, as well as expanded corporate control of media. As local media outlets became fewer and further, the importance of a physical community center in which to carry out the shared experience of making media became even more important. Today, DMA remains steadfastly committed to strengthening localism through media and is proud to support platforms for free, local expression.
On Oct. 1, the Davis City Council honored DMA with a proclamation celebrating 25 years of community development through media. I’d like to thank the City for its longtime support of media that builds connections, from the electoral to the personal. Additionally, while I could not possibly name every board member, producer, radio programmer, intern, donor, volunteer or staff member who has contributed to DMA’s success, I thank you all for working to provide something I believe is of deep and lasting community benefit.
Looking forward to a year filled with great local content and community-building events!
Autumn Labbe-Renault, Executive Director