The following is an edited version of my email to the Citizen Journalism listserv from July 14.

It was great to see many of you at the Alliance for Community Media Conference in Pittsburgh last week. I know I still have a lot to process following last Wednesday’s full day Citizen Journalism Pre-Conference and the 5 Citizen Journalism and Social Media Track sessions.

I want to say a special thank you to Jackie Hai and Bill Densmore for their work helping to organize the pre-conference and for participating in the main conference sessions. And a big thank you to everyone else who participated as a speaker or “audience” member.

I’d like to direct your attention to Bill Densmore’s excellent wiki page from the Citizen Journalism Pre-Conference. It addresses a number of important issues & key themes that were raised during the day and throughout the conference that highlight the challenges & opportunities for community media/citizen journalism initiatives.

Let’s use this listserv to continue the conversation. Here are some of the outstanding questions, I know many of you have more to add:

• What challenges do you have setting up, operating, or sustaining your citizen journalism project?
• How can your project help inform other noncommercial or commercial hyperlocal journalism initiatives?
• What resources do you have to share with other community media centers?
• What resources do you need to help you manage your citizen journalism project?

One thing is clear: PEG Access/Community Media Centers have a tremendous role to play in helping to establish a strong future for hyperlocal citizen journalism projects to serve our communities’ information AND communication needs in the digital age.

Bill and I are writing up a post with our thoughts on this topic following the conference. We look forward to sharing it with you later in the week for your feedback and further discussion.

I look forward to seeing you again at next year’s ACM conference and looking back at our accomplishments over the coming year!

Onwards,
Colin

(Photo above of Ryan Hopkins, The Public Square Project by Colin Rhinesmith available on Flickr under a Creative Commons license)

This year’s Alliance for Community Media Conference, July 7-10 in Pittsburgh will feature a very special full-day Citizen Journalism pre-conference on Wednesday, July 7.

The pre-conference is intended for community media center staff, public media makers, public policymakers, grantmakers, journalists, academics, activists, and anyone else concerned about the information needs of communities in a democracy.

I am honored to announce that I am organizing the Citizen Journalism and Social Media Track for the conference with support from friends and colleagues.

Here’s the July 7 Citizen Journalism Pre-Conference description from the Early Bird Brochure (PDF):

As the decline of newspapers is felt throughout the country, could media centers be the new model for local news? Could Citizen Journalism be an opportunity for community media centers like PEGs to earn income, create trained citizen reporters, build partnerships, and serve up local content?

These and other topics will be discussed during this one day pre-conference designed for community media staff, volunteers, journalists, academics, concerned citizens, and others interested in launching, sustaining, or participating in a hyper-local citizen journalism project. Experts in the field from across the country will present their citizen journalism experiments and share emerging best practices during the session. The ultimate goal of this one-day session is to provide practical solutions to critical questions that will help individuals and organizations develop and sustain successful citizen journalism projects. This pre-conference session will set the stage for the Citizen Journalism Track at the conference.

To register for the conference, visit the ACM’s conference web page. If you are interested in participating as a speaker, contact me.

This is the second in a series of occasional posts on the future of public media in the broadband age, inspired by the The Knight Commission’s report, “Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age” and the FCC’s Future of Media Inquiry.

In my last post, I described why Public Broadcasters and PEG Access TV (Community Media) Makers should find ways to collaborate in the digital age. In this post, I will detail what each group might gain from this possibly unsettling (for some) and exciting (to others) collaboration.

Public Media 2.0: New Partnerships

The Center for Social Media’s 2009 report, Public Media 2.0: Dynamic, Engaged Publics explains that Building Public Media 2.0 requires:

A trusted national network to coordinate communication and media practices; funding for content creation, curation, and archiving; partnerships among outlets, makers, and allies; and the standards and measurements that providers of public media uphold, whether they are or are not direct participants in the national platform.

Partnerships between Public Broadcasters and Community Media Makers can help create a public media system that’s larger than the sum of its parts. For example, many community media centers might provide Pubcasters with the facilities and training resources to create dynamic & engaged public media creators. As the report explains,

Community media makers—such as low-power FM and cable access stations, independent TV and radio stations, and youth media outlets—are often already primed to train and support those interested in making their own media.

Community Media & Technology Centers, including PEG Access TV stations, are trusted community institutions in many communities across the U.S. As such, they are uniquely positioned to provide residents with media production and digital literacy training and should receive public support to do so; an idea that builds on the FCC’s proposal in the National Broadband Plan to create a Digital Literacy Corps.

Many PEG access TV and other Community Media Centers are fortunate to have the resources to serve their community’s information and communication needs. But with the shift from local to statewide franchising laws in recent years, many access centers have been left without adequate funding and support. That’s why PEG channel supporters need to tell Congress to Preserve Community Access.

Public Broadcasting & PEG Access TV: The Benefits of Collaboration

• Community Media Centers provide local residents with access to media equipment, facilities, training and channels
• Public Broadcasters enjoy a larger audience for community/public media created content and programming

Pubcasters should look to Community Media Centers to provide residents with media and journalism training in local communities. Community Media Centers should look to Public Broadcasters to expand their center’s distribution of content and programming beyond Cable Access Television.

There are countless possibilities for Collaboration and New Partnerships to happen between Pubcasters and Community Media makers. These include opportunities to engage youth, seniors, non-English speakers, people with disabilities and other disenfranchised groups through digital media and storytelling.

Public Media 2.0: The Future of Local News?

Public Media partnerships between Public Broadcasters and PEG Access TV makers, mentioned above, might help to reinvigorate the sad state of the news media today. These collaborations might lead to new models for Conversation, Curation, Creation and Collaboration. Models that many PEG Access TV centers are now exploring by launching their own citizen journalism projects.

This proposal is extremely timely given the CPB’s recent announcement to launch their new local journalism initiative. As Pat Aufderheide at the Center for Social Media mentions about the project,

. . . The job is to build networks of participation and collaboration in making local news and making it meaningful . . . These are networks that largely do not exist yet in a service that has been organized under a mass-media, one-to-many model. They will have to be built across lines of class, ethnicity, and culture. Once connected, they will also be networks full of people who don’t have any real practice in responsive, respectful, informed engagement on gnarly topics. Public broadcasting is in new territory here. But it’s great territory to be in.

This is new territory for Pubcasters, but not for Community Media Makers. PEG Access TV centers have worked with communities to provide ways for citizens to engage in civic life through media for over thirty years.

These are topics we plan to explore at this year’s Alliance for Community Media conference. If you work in Public Broadcasting, Journalism, Education, Public Policy, or any other area of civic life and are interested in exploring opportunities for Collaboration and New Partnerships with Community Media Makers around the future of local news, please contact me to participate in the conference.

(Image above from the Center for Social Media’s 2009 report, Public Media 2.0: Dynamic, Engaged Publics)

From Tony Shawcross, Executive Director at Open Media Foundation:

“Please help distribute widely!

The Open Media Foundation invites Public Access partners to join us in applying for a Second-Round BTOP Sustainable Broadband Adoption proposal. With the deadline for the second and final round of BTOP grants approaching on March 15th, OMF was disappointed to learn just last week that, despite getting past the Due-Diligence phase of the first round, our proposal was not selected for funding. While the late rejection has left us with a short window of opportunity to re-apply, the process has been very informative and educational in revising the proposal for a second try.

The vision of the project involves updating Public Access TV stations into integrated on-line institutions that serve as a gateway for disadvantaged communities to begin creating multimedia content for the web and encouraging sustainable broadband adoption among communities with historically low broadband use. Participating stations will receive support in implementing the Open Media Project tools which, among other things, automate the process of posting all video content on-line. The Open Media Foundation will provide the development, integration, and if necessary, equipment required to implement the features of the Open Media Project (as outlined at http://openmediaproject.org/features)

Participating Stations will be asked to support early adopters in their local “disconnected communities” (neighborhoods with low broadband penetration rates) to produce content that conveys the relevance of broadband in their lives. Free Speech TV will produce a national TV series for both DishNetwork and DirecTV featuring samples from the participating stations. As with our first round application, we also plan to partner with the ACM to support a full-time staff evaluation expert, documenting best-practices in sustainable broadband adoption among member stations and developing a knowledge-base with search-able content on a wide range of related issues.

Because the window is so tight, interested parties have only one-week to complete the new application form at openmediaproject.org Keep in mind that completion of the application, and participation in the proposal does not guarantee funding, nor does it legally bind your station to any agreement. ?The application is required to be considered for participation in the grant, but it is not until the grant is awarded and a subsequent contract is signed by your ED and Board that your organization would be legally bound to any agreements.

Feel free to contact me or Maria(at)openmediafoundation(dot)org with any questions.”

Tony Shawcross
Executive Director
Open Media Foundation
700 Kalamath St
Denver, CO 80204
720-222-0160 x200
tony(at)openmediafoundation(dot)org

This is the first in a series of occasional posts on the future of public media in the broadband age, inspired by the The Knight Commission’s report, “Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age” and the FCC’s Future of Media Inquiry.

Last night, I had a dream.

In this dream, I spoke with a friend who works in public radio. I told him that people from PEG access TV and Public Broadcasting need to find ways to collaborate in the digital age. He agreed.

When I woke up this morning, I realized my dream could be a reality and posed the following on Twitter:

I’m interested in helping to bridge the #pegtv & #pubmedia divide. I think we may need each other. Who’s with me?

This idea was later re-Tweeted by folks from both PEG access TV and Public Broadcasting. I was pleased to see that others shared this interest. However, if we are going to bridge this public media divide then we’ll need to begin by addressing the reasons why this divide exists. Here is my hunch about a few of the reasons why:

• Public Broadcasters don’t take Public access TV seriously
• PEG access TV advocates believe Public Broadcasting does not truly represent the public

We could talk for hours about the reasons for this public media divide. But, it’s critical now, more than ever, for PEG access TV and Public Broadcasting to explore new opportunities for collaboration. Why?

• PEG access TV lacks the public awareness enjoyed by Public Broadcasting
• Public Broadcasters need access to local residents who benefit from PEG access TV services
• Most importantly, both PEG access TV and Public Broadcasting are becoming less relevant as viewers AND producers move to the Internet

As the FCC begins to investigate the Future of Media, it is important for public media, including PEG access TV and Public Broadcasting, to explore opportunities for collaboration.

It’s time to start the conversation.

(Photo above by Robert Levesque available on Flickr under a Creative Commons license)

From the Alliance for Community Media:

The Alliance for Community Media is sponsoring a 90-minute webinar on Citizen Journalism, Tuesday, March 2nd at 1 PM EST for the irresistibly low member cost of $10. Sign up today and pass this on to others who would benefit.

A number of community media centers are participating in exciting new collaborations with local organizations, neighborhood activists, schools, and media outlets to create online, hyperlocal, citizen-journalism sites.

Learn how citizen-journalism projects have been set up by Cambridge Community TV and Grand Rapids Community Media Center. Get an overview of 56 different projects nationwide that have been funded by J-Lab, The Institute for Interactive Journalism. Hear an editor’s point of view when it comes to generating credible and competent content from local residents for the Twin Cities Daily Planet.  Pose questions to our four distinguished panelists to understand the rewards and challenges of these innovative projects that are using digital technologies to generate civic awareness and participation even as traditional journalism institutions are facing their greatest challenges to sustainability.

Registration Information:

Webinar: Tuesday, March 2nd, 1 PM EST
Cost:  ACM Members:  $10 / Non-members: $15
Registration link:  http://alliancecm.org/civicrm/event/info?id=16&reset=1

After registration, you will receive a URL, a telephone number, and an access code for participation.

This webinar and others to follow in the coming months are made possible by a grant to the ACM from the Surdna Foundation.  In addition to the webinars, Surdna has supported the creation of the Community Media 2.0 blog site, featuring interviews with PEG practitioners discussing their best practices.

Panelist information:

Laurie Cirivello is Executive Director of the Grand Rapids Community Media Center, where she leads a staff team providing services in public access cable, community radio, and nonprofit IT support and web development. GRCMC received a grant from the Knight Foundation and the Grand Rapids Community Foundation to launch an online citizen journalism outlet called “The Rapidian.”

Laurie has been an executive director of PEG operations since 1993 and has assumed numerous leadership roles within the Alliance for Community Media.

Colin Rhinesmith is Community Media Coordinator at Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) in Cambridge, MA. Previously, Colin was Digital Media Producer for the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, where he produced audio & video podcasts for MediaBerkman and the Citizen Media Law Project.

At CCTV, Colin manages the NeighborMedia program and other community media and technology projects. He also teaches many of CCTV’s web media courses. Colin wrote his Master’s Thesis on the intersection of PEG Access Television and the Social Web. Colin’s blog can be found at http://colinrhinesmith.com.

Jan Schaffer, former Business Editor and a Pulitzer Prize winner for The Philadelphia Inquirer, is executive director of J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism and one of the nation’s leading thinkers in the journalism reform movement.

She left daily journalism in 1994 to lead pioneering journalism initiatives in the areas of civic journalism, interactive and participatory journalism and citizen media ventures.

J-Lab is a center of American University’s School of Communication. She launched J-Lab in 2002 to help newsrooms use innovative computer technologies to engage people in important public issues. The center now spotlights new forms of digital storytelling on www.J-Lab.org. It rewards innovative practices through the Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism. It funds cutting-edge citizen media start-ups through its New Voices project. It built web tutorials on how to launch and manage community news sites (www.J-Learning.org). It collects information on community, citizen and original journalism projects with the Knight Citizen News Network and it raises awareness of women in media in a partnership with McCormick Foundation through the New Media Women Entrepreneurs project.

J-Lab is the successor to the Pew Center for Civic Journalism, a $14 million project which Schaffer previously led. The center helped to fund more than 120 pilot projects that developed new reporting techniques to engage people better in public life.

Mary Turck is the editor of the TC Daily Planet, a title that encompasses tasks ranging from reporting on legislative hearings to bringing snacks for citizen journalist and community media partner meetings. Mary is the former editor of the award-winning Connection to the Americas and AMERICAS.org. She is also a recovering attorney and the author of many books for young people (and a few for adults), mostly focusing on historical and social issues.

She currently teaches workshops on citizen journalism and immigration. Mary lives in St. Paul with her husband, their two daughters and two dogs. Mary’s blog is called Keeping the Faith.

Elliot Margolies, the Moderator, was Executive Director at media centers in Palo Alto and Cupertino, California.  He has a background in documentary and news production and a masters degree in broadcast journalism.

The national media reform organization, Free Press is asking community media makers to participate in a survey about the opportunities and challenges facing the field in a changing media landscape.

About the survey, Free Press writes:

This survey should take about 15 minutes to complete. We intend to produce and publicize a report that may include quotations from your responses. You have the option to indicate whether we may use your name and the name of your organization in connection with your survey responses. Thank you for taking the time to share this valuable information about your work.

The survey results will help Free Press create future public media campaign efforts. They will also share the results with survey participants who choose to include their names.

Please take a moment to respond to the survey: http://www.freepress.net/communitymedia/survey

Inspired by last October’s Knight Commission report, “Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age,” the Federal Communications Commission launched a new review last week, entitled The Future of Media to examine and report on the information needs of local communities.

The FCC’s public notice, released on January 21 (.Doc), announcing the initiative explains:

The objective of this review is to assess whether all Americans have access to vibrant, diverse sources of news and information that will enable them to enrich their lives, their communities and our democracy.

The FCC is encouraging public comments and suggestions, by March 8, 2010, on various aspects of the media landscape, including changes within Noncommercial and Public Media. In question 27, the FCC asks a number of pertinent questions related to the state of Public, Educational and Government Access Television:

With regard to cable television, local franchising authorities can require a cable operator to provide channel capacity for Public, Education and Government (PEG) channels and some facilities and funding for such channels. Are these channels being used as effectively as possible for the provision of useful news and information to communities? How has the role of PEG channels changed over time, and how could their effectiveness be improved? Does statewide franchising change the number and composition of PEG channels? Does it serve to promote the intended benefits from PEG channels or undermine them? Are there other ways to provide for the benefits from PEG channels in the digital age? How should operators of PEG channels work with noncommercial television and radio licensees, as well as with other non-profit media entities?

The FCC is also looking for answers to the following questions about the state of Media In Your Community:

Tell us about your community and its media. Do you have a newspaper? Local TV news stations? Great websites? Anything else? What works well? What works poorly? How have things changed over time? What information do you wish you could get but can’t?

The Future of Media website at Reboot.FCC.Gov also provides visitors with the opportunity to vote on ideas that have already been submitted.

To learn more about the FCC’s Future of Media, visit the project’s mission on their website.

On Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s website, there is a list of ways for citizens to use media to stay informed and involved in civic affairs. As the screen capture above shows, the Governor recommends that residents use YouTube AND Public Access Television as tools for civic engagement.

For more on the discourse surrounding YouTube v. Public Access Television, visit my archived posts at Community Media in Transition.

The Knight Commission on Information Needs of Communities released a momentous new report, entitled “Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age,” last Friday at the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

For those of us working in community media and technology, the report provides overwhelming support for our field and creative strategies to help us push it forward.

The report envisions a world where community voices truly matter. It provides residents with opportunities to become more actively engaged in community life through media. It provides parents and educators with thinking about how youth can gain digital and media literacy skills today and into the future. And there is much more to the report.

As the report’s website explains:

“The Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy is a group of 17 media, policy and community leaders. Its purpose is to assess the information needs of communities, and recommend measures to help Americans better meet those needs. The Knight Commission sees new thinking about news and information as a necessary step to sustaining democracy in the digital age.”

The complete list of findings and recommendations are also available on the website. Here are a few of my favorites:

Recommendation 2: Increase support for public service media aimed at meeting community information needs, including this zinger: “Public broadcasting needs to move quickly toward a broader vision of public service media, one that is more local, more inclusive, and more interactive.”

Recommendation 6: Integrate digital and media literacy as critical elements of education at all levels through collaboration among federal, state, and local education officials.

I was quite pleased to see this statement: “It may be tempting for teachers and administrators who are themselves uncomfortable with new media to view digital and media competencies as ‘addons’ to basic learning in ‘reading, writing and, arithmetic.’ These competencies are, however, new forms of foundational learning.” Absolutely.

Recommendation 11: Expand local media initiatives to reflect the entire reality of the communities they represent.

When community media are at their best, this is how they should perform: “Local media have the unique potential to enable citizens to see how life looks from the perspectives of multiple groups and to engage people in conversation across group lines . . . Just as the diversity of a newsroom can bridge across a community’s various constituencies, so can and should diversity in a community’s media ownership. ”

And finally, my personal favorite:

Recommendation 7: Fund and support public libraries and other community institutions as centers of digital and media training, especially for adults.

The entire last paragraph of recommendation 7 is worth sharing here:

“The Commission also endorses digital literacy funding for community institutions, such as community centers and community-based development organizations.  These organizations provide crucial services in the area of digital and media training, and can be useful sites to engage even moderately Internet-capable adults in sharing their knowledge with those less skilled. Community organizations that already serve as trusted information providers to underserved populations are well situated to help integrate their clients more effectively into the community’s information networks.”

Video from the event is available on the Commission’s website, which also provides readers with the opportunity to discuss the report online.

My hope is that policymakers at the local, state and federal level will act quickly to implement the Commission’s recommended strategies.

The report is licensed his work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.