About Davis Media Access
From seed to root to bloom - Davis Media Access (DMA) has grown an organization, a community and much capacity since its humble beginnings in 1988 as a single public access channel known as Davis Community Television. Now in our 36th year, we’re taking a look at where we’ve been and seeking to grow a bold future and purpose as we move ahead.
DMA is the media center, which is both a physical space, and a philosophical commitment to a mission and set of values. These are carried out via three main projects: DCTV, DJUSD, and KDRT.
There is no other nonprofit like DMA in all of Yolo County. We strengthen community by documenting meetings and important events, and through promoting dialogue and encouraging artistic expression, all while acting as a forum for issues that may otherwise be unaddressed. We’re proud to have been recognized locally and nationally for our efforts to amplify the work of other nonprofits, local government, schools, libraries, and the arts.
This year also marks the 20th anniversary of our community radio station KDRT’s launch. KDRT’s brand of people-powered, grassroots-fueled community radio has had an undeniable impact throughout Yolo County and far beyond that belies its Low-Power FM designation.
General information, as well as links to our annual reports, can be found at http://davismedia.org.
Our mission is to enrich and strengthen the community by providing alternatives to commercial media for local voices, opinions, and creative endeavors.
Since launching as Davis Community Television in 1988, the one thing that’s been constant is change. From the early days of cable to the advent of the internet, to media mergers and consolidation--all topped off by a constant evolution in how people both make and view media--DMA has navigated a sea change in the media landscape.
And yet—this is a moment where the future of noncommercial media centers like DMA hangs in the balance due to the rapid telecom industry-driven decline in cable franchise funding. It’s also a moment where the diminishing of local news outlets is negatively impacting our community, leaving us without a common and with highly fragmented information.
DMA is developing a vision for a project that seeks to bring together an award-winning noncommercial community media center in Davis with other local news and culture resources, including student-run newspapers and podcasts; a community arts/culture/entertainment newspaper, and a once-robust local newspaper—all in the service of a community and its citizens’ information needs.
Generally, this would be a new source of community and civic information about Davis/Yolo, drawing on the strengths and needs of people in the community, and available to all. We don't see this as a commercial venture; we do see it as a supplement to existing local sources of information. How this would work or function, or how it would be funded, are questions we hope to answer through our exploration phase, but we envision a three-year runway to get the project up and running in Davis in Year 1, with expansion to covering other important news in Yolo County beginning in Year 2.
We've spent the past few months meeting with journalists and editors, elected officials, foundation staff, and nonprofit and community leaders. We've secured early support towards a planning grant from the City of Davis and Yolo County Supervisor Lucas Frerichs’ office. That grant will support a deep community information needs assessment in Davis and in Yolo County’s other three cities, which will in turn provide data to support and inform a pitch for project funding that is available at the national level.
With 20 percent of the planning grant funded, we are looking for individual and organizations to help provide support for the rest of the $50k needed. Inquiries can be directed to our Executive Director, Autumn Labbe-Renault.
Our mission reflects our values: localism, social equality, public participation, media literacy, diversity, and, of course, community media.
Organization name
Davis Media Access
other names
DMA
1988
Tax id (EIN)
68-0169922
Mission Category
Arts, Culture & Humanities
Operating Budget
$250,001-$500,000
Organization Need
Funding: Unrestricted, Board Members, Volunteers, Funding: Other
Demographics Served
Individuals with disabilities, Youth & Children, General population
Local Counties Served
Yolo
Equity Statement
Equity Statement
Address
1623 Fifth Street Ste ADavis, CA, US
Yolo, CA, US