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from: Community Media in Transition

Audio Documentary on Community Media in the YouTube Age
January 3rd, 2008 by Colin Rhinesmith

For his graduate audio production course at Emerson College, my fellow grad student and CCTV colleague John Donovan (above) sat down with staff and members at Cambridge Community Television to find out “why community media still matters” in a YouTube age.

In this 11-minute podcast, John first spoke with members of the staff who told him that “access to professional production equipment” and “affordable training” are among two of the many benefits of belonging to an access center. Susan Fleischmann, Executive Director at CCTV told John that community media is

“about being apart of a community and it’s about engaging with other people that are interested in the same kinds of things they’re interested in and that’s something that a YouTube or an Internet-based form of dissemination can’t touch.”

John next turned to CCTV members to get their response to the question. Jacques, the “Haitian Firefly” told John that CCTV creates a “sense of family” and a “supportive” environment. Jacques likened his weekly visits to CCTV to “a family reunion.”

Another member, Angel Aiguier told John that being at CCTV is “like being at home.” She said that she gets more video production done at CCTV than she does at home, even though she has the equipment at home needed to produce video for the web. Angel said that when she works at home she feels that she’s “missing something.”

Susan also told John that while community does exist online, the advantage of being involved with a public access center like CCTV is that it can broaden members’ sense of community.

CCTV staffer, Shaun Clarke told John that coming to CCTV while in high school allowed him to learn a lot about Cambridge that he wouldn’t have otherwise.

In his conclusion, John reports

“When asked why community media centers still matter in the YouTube age, other CCTV staff members and producers mentioned the persistence of the digital divide and the generation gap that keeps the poor and those unfamiliar with computers of the Internet from being able or willing to go online. Some highlighted CCTV’s proactive efforts to reach out to those whose voices would otherwise never get heard.”

To listen to John’s complete podcast, visit Why Community Media Still Matters in the YouTube Age.