Women in Community Media — Media Women Worldwide

Written By: Margaux Fortier

The world of community media can be an environment dismissed by viewers and the viewing public. Public access centers all over the U.S. are facing the stigma that the work they are doing is outdated and poorly produced. Because of this, bills are occasionally put forward in Congress in an effort to defund media centers and make these centers obsolete. Depleted funding for these stations limits advances in technology and hiring experienced staff.

The truth is that community media contributes to making an informed and educated voting public. In many cases, the community media centers are the only outlets that give attention and information about local elections, especially in rural and suburban areas. Community media directly represents Freedom of Speech in small communities and allows the voices of those communities to be heard.

I have worked in a community media station in Massachusetts for 5 years and the longer I am in the public access world, the more value I see in it. I went to the Alliance for Community Media Annual Conference in Baltimore, MD last week and was impressed with the work that public access stations are doing nationwide. Many aspects of my trip were memorable, informative, and fun but one thing that I enjoyed the most was that I went to 2 workshops that were completely female-led panels.

If there were ever a way to break the stigma around public access, it was to sit in these workshops to see the work that women are doing in community media. The workshops were about Community Media & Independent Journalism and Leveraging Social Media. These topics show that community media is working to modernize, and modernizing will lead to increasing the relevance of the stations as a whole.

Community Media & Independent Journalism focused on the power of collaborative networks to put forward a united message in small communities. Leveraging Social Media discussed engaging the audience and encouraging participation in enlightened conversation. Both put forward the idea that public access should represent the beating heart of each community. These panels were inviting and informative and I was able to return to my station with new ideas and a new plan for the future.

At the conference, the rooms were full of men and women who are looking to improve the stations they work for through innovations in new technology and business practices. Women, in particular, have a strong voice in the world of public access and in many ways have a higher success rate through promotion and creative decision-making than in larger companies.

This is why community media and public access television matter to the world of women in media today. Women are making strides in community media every day and preconceived notions about the quality of public access work is limiting the recognition of these projects.

Please check out the work that local stations are doing in your community. If given the opportunity, as I was on Capitol Hill during the conference, voice the value of these stations to local officials and groups to ensure that Freedom of Speech and education is given equally to all communities in the U.S.