Sunday, July 24, 2011

Hiatus is Over

This blog was basically abandoned in October 2009 because the values and ideas presented seemed no longer valid for Contra Costa County. The Access Contra Costa proposal for public and educational access management and rollout was dismissed in the usual way judicatories discourage petitioners-'thank you for providing substantive information but please come back and give us much more information so we can ask you for even more.' That charade had lasted three years and was a deal breaker for everyone involved. The Access Contra Costa applicants listened as a city official berated public access once again and, of course, invoking YouTube as a sufficient alternative to a public access television channel.

But times change and so do ways of creating public media. With this posting I wish to announce that The Martinez Lightworks is the newest community media center in Contra Costa County. At the start it will be privately held with myself as principal, and steadily build the basic components of a public/educational access facility. The first project is to create a flash studio, a one-person station where one can record a webinar, podcast, turn a slide presentation into a video or produce local promotional videos.

Income for the media center development will come from community media services performed professionally by the Martinez Lightworks.

The idea of a public service institution being a for-profit venture is very new to access television. However, one only has to look as far as Heald College or the Job Corps to see how privately held companies can provide excellent value for scarce dollars.

Just about every other path to a media center in Contra Costa County has collapsed, perhaps free enterprise might at last save the day. Please wish us luck folks.