1/14/2020
What song are you going to sing with Alan Bushong?
Alan’s retiring this year after 30 years of service as Executive Director of CCTV in Salem, Oregon this year. Before that, Alan was a formative presence at what was Austin Community Television i
1/6/2020
I hope you'll join me on Wednesday, January 15 (3PM ET) on the first ACM webinar of 2020. We'll discuss election programming and political candidate policies prior to the 2020 elections.
12/30/2019
We’re almost to 2020, and I want to urge you to consider two last minute opportunities – literally you can do this up until the last minute of 2019!
12/23/2019
As we near the end of the year, I want to wish you all a Happy Holiday. This time of year, is for family, reflection and renewal – things slow down and people take the time to be with the ones they love and send regards to those who are far away.
12/18/2019
Are you preparing for the 2020 Elections?
While other media may be fixated on the Presidential election next year, local election coverage is one of the essential services that PEG channels can provide. And if you do it right, it can help you tell
12/10/2019
ACM will start its webinar calendar next month and hold monthly webinars throughout 2020 on the Third Wednesday of each month at 3pm ET.
12/2/2019
A couple quick updates in the fight against the FCC’s Third Report and Order on Cable Franchising:
ACM along with municipal allies across the US supported a motion to stay the FCC’s Third Report and Order in Federal Court last week. The stay mot
11/25/2019
I feel fortunate to be spending my Thanksgiving this week with family. The holiday is an opportunity for us to celebrate all the people and moments for which we are thankful.
11/18/2019
The ACM Board of Directors met last week at CAN TV Studios in Chicago – the city that will host next year’s National Conference. The Board’s business included approving a 2020 budget which will continue to support ACM’s Public Policy and Legal work a
11/22/2019
I’m just back from the ACM North East Conference which took place last week in Portland ME. It was a great event in all sorts of ways – presentations from vendors, a keynote from Maine artist Robert Shetterly about his portraits of freedom (American
10/28/2019
The Alliance for Community Media joined with municipalities, cable commissions and other groups to file an appeal of the FCC’s so-called “in-kind” order on cable franchising this last week in DC District Court. We expect that other cities and count
10/21/2019
The Central States Conference and Philo Awards just wrapped up this past week at WKTV Community Media in Wyoming Michigan. The star of the event was WKTV itself.
I’ve been to neighboring GRCMC in Grand Rapids but have never tak
11/4/2019
Our colleagues at NATOA along with the National League of Cities, US Conference of Mayors, and several other municipal associations filed a motion with the FCC to stay its cable franchising order this last week
10/21/2019
ACM has filed an amicus brief in court supporting the State of Maine as it fights the national cable industry to ensure that PEG channels are not subject to discrimination by cable providers.
9/23/2019
I’m passing on a couple of interesting stories about organizational change in community media – and wonder if similar stories lie ahead.
9/17/2019
Does the First Amendment give cable companies the right to degrade signals from community PEG channels to make them unwatchable? Or to eliminate or rewrite program information about the channels themselves? We don’t think so.
9/10/2019
Now’s the time to start looking ahead to next summer’s ACM Conference in Chicago, IL, June 29-July 2. Do you have an idea for a workshop you’d like to see? Want to hear from an inspiring speaker? Have a technology you’d like to evaluate or a vendor y
9/3/2019
Weekly messages from ACM President, Mike Wassenaar, will return next week.
8/5/2019
The FCC passed its Third Report and Order on Cable Franchising on Thursday – and while the results of the 3-2 vote were not surprising, the statements coming from the majority members of the Commission were at times alarming, arrogant and disingenuou
7/29/2019
Late last week Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (NY) issued a letter opposing the FCC’s proposed rules on cable franchising because of the costs that will shift to local governments that rely on Institutional Networks.
7/22/2019
This Thursday 7/25 is the deadline for ex parte comments and letters to the FCC about the proposed rules on cable franchising that we expect will be voted on August 1. That means we just have a few days for members of Congress to express their conce
7/16/2019
I’m just getting back from a very fulfilling and exciting week at the ACM National Conference in Portland, OR.
One of the highlights for me was the conversation with Jesse Hardman of Listening Post Collective, Andrea Faye Hart of City Bureau and
7/9/2019
We’re already beginning the action at the ACM National Conference with the Emerging Leaders Institute kicking off this morning.
7/1/2019
We're a week away from the ACM National Conference in Portland, OR. Here's a couple quick notes as we count down the days to #ACMPDX:
6/24/2019
There is a strong possibility that the FCC will issue an order in the cable franchise rule-making at its August 1, 2019 meeting. We will know the agenda of the meeting sometime during the second week of July, and if the item will be heard at that me