Community Media Centers as Strategic Local Partners
As media projects are emerging across the country to do the crucial work in addressing a news crisis, they can find a friend in community media centers (CMCs).
Public access and community media centers have robust experience in their local information ecosystems, as well as resources and assets that make them invaluable partners in today’s media landscape.
Image Credit: Berks Community Television
With a growing surge of newsrooms also delving into the nonprofit space - either in their own business models or in partnerships – it bears noting that while not all CMC’s are structured as nonprofits, a majority operate as nonprofit organizations or are entwined with extensive nonprofit partnerships and networks.
But, regardless of their tax status, CMCs are valuable business partners and resources for a variety of compelling reasons. Partnering with community media centers offers newsrooms a range of benefits that can enhance operations, outreach, and impact. The philanthropic sector should be encouraged to seek and support programs and projects that specifically include CMCs in their planning, production, and delivery of media content strategies.
A notable example of a newsroom/CMC partnership is the relationship between Berks Community Television (BCTV) and Spotlight PA in Berks County, Pennsylvania. BCTV, a 501c3 nonprofit community media organization and the public access manager for the City of Reading, has been a member of Spotlight PA’s partner publisher network since early 2020. As a partner publisher, BCTV increases the local reach of Spotlight PA’s investigative and public service journalism through local platforms including their website, email, and social media. Fast forward to 2023, and Spotlight PA selected BCTV’s Executive Director to be the Berks County Project Lead in a year-long community study to explore potential for a regional Spotlight PA bureau in Berks.
The Spotlight PA Berks Bureau will in fact launch in 2025, and BCTV remains a local resource and partner for the news organization, as the parties continue planning for shared workspace, use of audio and video production facilities, and further collaboration.
"Community media centers offer newsrooms valuable access to hyperlocal content, diverse audiences, production facilities, and local content distribution pathways. Partnering with BCTV in Berks County is helping Spotlight PA to enrich our coverage and connections to the local market,” said Chris Baxter, President & CEO, Spotlight PA.
“Community media centers offer newsrooms valuable access to hyperlocal content, diverse audiences, production facilities, and local content distribution pathways. ”
Consider some of the following beneficial opportunities in developing a working relationship with a community media center/public access practitioner:
Best Practices: CMCs are attuned to the strategies and policies to enhance performance, accountability, and sustainability of organizations that specialize in media and information. An example of this is community media centers’ extensive experience in managing community media makers and in facilitating processes with volunteers and community members. This knowledge can be invaluable in developing civic media projects.
Development & Fundraising: By collaborating, newsrooms and community media centers can support each other’s sustainability efforts. Nonprofit CMCs can potentially serve as fiscal sponsors to drive funding into projects and programs that include traditional business models or individuals that may otherwise not be eligible for grants by extending the opportunity to work in tandem with a nonprofit CMC.
Institutional Knowledge: Sharing is key when it comes to historical context, relationships, cultural norms, and networks to be shared. By leveraging a newsroom/CMC partnership, both can benefit from experience and long-term success while saving time and avoid costly mistakes. CMCs also often have deeper understanding and connections in underserved populations, and communities that speak languages other than English.
Resource Sharing/Cost Efficiency: Sharing resources like equipment, studio space, and personnel can reduce operational costs. Community media centers often attract creative talent, including videographers, editors, and producers, who can contribute to newsroom projects on a freelance or collaborative basis. Nonprofit community media centers are skilled at leveraging limited resources and cost-effective approaches to create high-quality content.
Not only do community media centers serve as hubs of creativity, innovation, and community engagement in service to their own missions, they have decades of developed acumen in the local information sector that creates unparalleled learning and collaboration opportunities. Partnering newsrooms and CMCs reinforces a shared mission and can lead to more impactful journalism and civic engagement.