- TV not "Made in Berkeley"
L A Wood, Berkeley Voice, April 9, 1998
- Where Has All the Access Gone? L A Wood, Berkeley Voice, June 8, 1996
- What's wrong with the picture?
L A Wood, Berkeley Voice, January 18, 1996
- Berkeley Poetry Goes Prime Time via Cable
By Sara Sutler-Cohen, Berkeley Voice, February 19, 1998
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Annual Report Berkeley Community Media Fiscal Year July 1993- June 1994
Wednesday, October 26, 1994 Berkeley will have its own community cable
channel in the next few months.
Thanks to a remarkable and long-lived collaboration by citizens, the
City of Berkeley and the Berkeley Unified School District. Berkeley
Community Media, which is just completing its first year, will be responsible
for operating and managing this channel and future channels.
BCM is the product of a long struggle to bring community TV to Berkeley.
Many Berkeley people have worked hard over many years to make this happen.
The community owes its appreciation to those who campaigned for community
TV--the members of the Mayor's Task Force on Cable Television; its successor
city commission from 1988 onward, the Cable Television Task Force; the
Board of Conveners that created Berkeley Community Media; the City Council
members of recent years who repeatedly supported citizen efforts and
many others. One person deserves particular mention--Sean Gordon. As
assistant to the City Manager, Sean Gordon had the determination and
the vision to make sure community TV came back to Berkeley. Unfortunately,
Sean died unexpectedly just as he was helping to negotiate the franchise
agreement that would make his vision a reality.
The City Manager at the time of the negotiations, Michael Brown, and
city staffers, with the help of the Cable TV Task Force, carried on
the campaign to complete the tough year-long negotiations. The City
Council adopted the franchise agreement on Sept. 15, 1992. At the same
time the Council took actions to support creation of an independent
non-profit community television corporation, voted funding to assist
in its development and adopted a policy that at least 40% of the franchise
fee would go to support public, educational and government access programming
and activities in future. The franchise agreement specified that Bay
Cablevision would provide $900,000 for equipment and facilities for
community cable over the 15 year life of the agreement. A Board of Conveners
selected by the Cable Television Task Force worked with Sue Buske, a
nationally known consultant on community cable, to create a non-profit
organization to manage community cable for Berkeley.
Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws were drafted and a budget drawn
up. The facilities committee adopted criteria for a permanent facility
and looked for temporary sites. A search committee advertised for and
sought out members for the first board of directors. Berkeley Community
Media was the result of the energetic and knowledgeable efforts of the
Board of Conveners. [The members of the Board of Conveners are included
in the attached Summary Report on Creation of BCM. See Attachment #3.]The
new board of directors of BCM met for the first time on September 13,
1993.
Members of the first Board were: Wendy Lee Anderson, Cliff Barney, Nancy
Bickel, boona cheema, Paula deJoie, Robert C. Goss, Jr., Marci Lockwood,
Lee Marrs, Stephen H. Potter, Claire W. Schooley, Betty Segal, Sherry
Smith, Kevin Wilimering. Brad Fox, Assistant Principal, Berkeley High
School, served as the designated appointee of the Berkeley Unified School
District. The slot designated for a post-secondary representative appointed
jointly by the University of California Berkeley and the Peralta Community
College District was vacant during this first year. Officers were: Nancy
Bickel, Chair; Bob Goss, Vice-chair, boona cheema, Secretary; Kevin
Willmering, Treasurer. The new board had the benefit of initial training
sessions with Sue Buske to set up committees, define its tasks and write
its work plan for the first two years. [Capsule biographies of the Board
members are attached. See Attachment #2.]
Basic organizational tasks were completed in the fall and winter of
1993-94. Incorporation was finalized on January 3, 1994, when the articles
of incorporation were endorsed by the Secretary of State. BCM has been
recognized as tax exempt by the State of California and by the federal
Internal Revenue Service.
Funding and housing BCM were the main focus of the Board's work during
the fall and winter. Negotiation of the contract with the City of Berkeley
to manage public, educational and government access channels and facilities
was unexpectedly protracted and difficult. Contract negotiations were
completed in early March 1994. During the negotiations, Chris Mead,
Manager of Information Services, replaced Laura Allen as the City's
cable coordinator, he continues as the City's liaison with BCM.
The five year contract with the City outlines BCM's obligation to operate
the channel(s) and a community access center. Citizens and community
groups producing programs for cable cast on the channels will have free
use of the facilities. City and school district staff and students will
also produce programs. The contract provided that BCM would receive
$35,000 for the remainder of the 1993-94 fiscal year and $115,000 for
the 1994-95 fiscal year. In addition, BCM will have $400,000 to spend
on equipment and facilities during its first five years. The $400,000
is the first installment of the $900,000 capital grant provided to the
City by Bay Cablevision under the provisions of the franchise agreement.
The City Council also approved a six month trial for cable cast of Council
meetings.
The Berkeley Unified School District has agreed to build and donate
use of a permanent facility at Berkeley High School. With the support
of Superintendent LaVoneia Steele and Assistant Superintendent Nancy
Spaeth, Brad Fox, BUSD representative on BCM's board, worked with BCM
representatives and District staff to develop the proposals. The Board
of Education approved an agreement for a temporary playback location
at 1835 Allston Way and a draft letter of agreement with BCM to provide
approximately 4500 square feet of space in the renovated G building
at Berkeley High School. Details of the agreement are now being completed;
essentially BUSD will provide the space free of charge to BCM and pay
for the construction of the studio and television production facility.
BCM will manage the facility for the shared use of citizens, the city
government and school district students and staff. The temporary playback
facility will actually be housed, along with the video equipment for
Council cable casts, in a hallway behind the Council Chamber.
John Luvender, who has a strong and varied background in public access,
was hired as Executive Director in April after a national search. Beginning
work in mid-May, he has tackled the many tasks set out in the BCM with
energy and enthusiasm. The search for facility locations intensified
and, with the assistance of the Board's facilities committee, chaired
by Bob Goss, Luvender did an exhaustive search for a temporary site
that would meet the Board's many criteria: centrally located, accessible
by public transit, safe, with nearby parking, handicapped accessible,
adequate space, within budget. In mid-August, BCM moved from a tiny
temporary office on 7th St. to an interim facility location at 2065
Kittredge, Suite C. The facility is in the basement of the Shattuck
Cinemas building. The entrance is on Kittredge St. near the corner of
Harold Way and across from the main library.
Preview of Coming Attractions on B-TV, Channel 25, the Berkeley Channel
Berkeley Community Media expects to activate its first community cable
channel on Bay Cablevision's Channel 25 in November, when installation
of equipment at the City Council Chambers should be complete. Programming
will begin with an electronic community bulletin board and live City
Council meetings. A call for pre-produced community programming will
also go out at this time.
A system for automated playback of videotapes, editing suites and portable
equipment will be installed and readied for public use. Training of
new volunteer producers will begin in January at the temporary Kittredge
site. Plans and preparations for the move into our permanent location
at Berkeley High School will be completed during the year.We will be
primarily a S-VHS/VHS production format operation with the ability to
copy from HI-8/8mm or 3/4SP and 3/4 inch formats. Our interim facility
will house two editing suites, one of which will double as a portable
studio. Four camcorders will be available for loan to certified members
along with lighting kits and microphones. Character generation and graphics
will be handled by Amiga computers.
The permanent site at Berkeley High School will house a full size live
production studio, an A/B roll edit suite with two additional edit suites
and a small studio for phone-in programs. Berkeley High will have access
to the facility in the morning hours as part of our partnership agreement
and it will be open to the public in the afternoons and evenings, as
well as on Saturday.
revised 10/26/94
Berkeley Community Media
(BCM)....responsible
for operating and managing the City of Berkeley's Public Access
Cable Channel(s) BTV28 (formally Channel 25) and CTV33 ....
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- 1993-1994 Berkeley Community Media Annual Report (pdf)
- 1995-96 Berkeley Community Media Annual Report Pages 1-2 &
Pages 3-4 & Pages 5-7 (pdf)
- 1996-97 Berkeley Community Media Annual Report Pages 1-3 &
Pages 4-6 & Pages 7-9 (pdf)
- 1997-98 Berkeley Community Media Annual Report Pages 1-2 &
pages 3-5 & pages 6-8 (pdf)
- Berkeley Community Media Board of Directors List 1993-94
- Berkeley Community Media Board of Directors List 1994-95
- Berkeley Community Media Board of Directors List 1996-97 (pdf)
- Berkeley Community Media Board of Directors List 1997-98
- Resolution No. 57,463-N.S.Contract with Berkeley Community
Media & PEG
- Berkeley Community Media Budget and Contract Compliance
L A Wood, To Berkeley City Council, May 30, 1997
- Monitor. Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 1 pages
1-2 & Pages 3-4 pdf
Berkeley Community Media, September 1995
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BCM Staff September 1995-Left
to Right: John Luvernder, Chelseah Joachim, Jeanette Robinson,
Ben Hightower pictured at 2065 Kittredge Street, Suite K, Berkeley.
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