NonProfit NewsPod:Access Sacramento Facing Critical Funding Threat Amid Push to Preserve Community Media

[00:00:00] Welcome to this nonprofit podcast, NewsPod, where we amplify the voices of nonprofit leaders making a difference in their communities. I'm joined by Joe Barr, executive director, Access Sacramento, to share some significant and time-bound information about a local nonprofit that was one of the few resources the county has for its benefit in messaging of community storytelling, workforce training, and local media access.

Joe, welcome. Thank you for having me, Jeff. I'm glad to be here. Well, I'm, I'm happy to be able to get this messaging out because it really is not only urgent, but it's really significantly important. And before we get started, I want the listener to know that this isn't gonna be the full weekly episode that they're used to.

This is a brief NewsPod because there's something that's time-bound that we want to get to the listeners- Mm-hmm ... because it's actionable. We'll do a [00:01:00] full-length episode on, on, on Access Sacramento at a later date. But Access Sacramento might also be known for others as the Sacramento Community Cable Foundation.

In a nutshell, what is it you provide? What is Access Sacramento? Well, the bottom line for Access Sacramento is that we are workforce training, workforce development for the creative economy. And we do that through training in audio, so podcasting, video, and all kinds of video from people's iPhones, teaching them how to create content on their own phones, on, on the devices that they have in hand, all the way up to high-level television production and learning how to operate high-definition cameras, studio cameras, and the types of equipment you would be using in a full-fledged TV station, like KCRA or Channel 10 here in town.

So we teach people those skills that ultimately can [00:02:00] help to get them employed. And the other area that we're, uh, really proud of is our filmmaking program. It's an incubator program called A Place Called Sacramento, and we essentially put people through a course top to bottom. They learn all aspects of filmmaking, from scriptwriting to makeup to set design to directing.

And then we have a contest, and the people who go through the program can submit a script, and if we select it, then we help them produce a short film, a 10-minute film. This has been... This is our 26th year for A Place Called Sacramento, and a lot of folks, again, have used those skills to go into the film industry, to go into other professions where they came away with knowledge, skills, connections that they got when they were working with Access Sacramento.

So we-- It runs the gamut in terms of media, but ultimately it's about empowering people through knowledge and information. [00:03:00] Well, and if content creation isn't everything today, I don't know what is. It's exactly right, and when you think about how to, uh, empower people, in some ways it's never been easier for people to put their message out, as we know.

But there are best practices, ways to do that, that, that we can help people with. And, and that is all about this idea of ha- people wanting to have their voices heard, and they wanna feel as though they're contributing to their community. And so we have a really diverse membership that utilizes our services at Access Sacramento.

They're able to put their messaging out on all the platforms we talked about, and, and ultimately it just leads them to feeling like they, um, are able to... They have some leverage. And, uh, and again, that word empowerment always, I always come back to that. And to your point of diversity, we are one of the most diverse counties, one of the most diverse cities in the country.

This gives [00:04:00] everybody access. Everybody has a voice. Anybody can use the facilities, the equipment. There's, there's a membership of some sort. You wanna explain that a little bit? Yeah. It's a very, very simple membership process. It's $60 a year, and that gets you access to our classes, our equipment. We loan equipment out, high-end equipment, to equipment that you can use with your iPhone.

They're almost like steady cam apparatuses that you can use with your iPhone, and we can show you how to use this equipment. You can check it out. So people have access to the kinds of tools that they wouldn't normally have. They can learn how to audio edit. They can learn how to edit video, uh, on our, in our classroom here.

So it runs the gamut from, uh, the training, but then also the actual hands-on application of all of this, where they can take the equipment out into the field and learn how to use it. And I saw on the website the plethora of courses you have, [00:05:00] not to mention the depth of equipment you've got. It's, it's amazing, from lighting to cameras to, to stands to pretty much anything you would need to do any sort of a shoot.

Yeah. Yeah. And I think what's really important now is that we know people are... There's a maybe a reconsideration of, of college, the college path for folks. As we know, it's very expensive and, and can be challenging for people, and that's where Access Sacramento can come in for somebody who wants to be a filmmaker.

They wanna be a video producer, produce a podcast. We can give them those tools. They don't necessarily have to go to UCLA Film School. Uh, they can learn the craft here. And the other, uh, fantastic thing about this organization, and I've been here in this position for a little over two months, but there is such extraordinary talent and creativity in Sacramento that it can be overlooked.

[00:06:00] And some of these folks, especially with our film incubator They didn't have any film background, but they learned and they just had a natural affinity and we've had some amazing filmmakers who have come through and, and then taken that out into the world in, in lots of different positive ways. Yeah, we've seen that most recently even with Academy Awards.

We, we love to claim Sacramento talent in any way, shape, or form that we can. And Joe, this is all great stuff and I know people really appreciate it, have appreciated over the course of the past 20-plus years, but it's in jeopardy at this point. There's a challenge because revenue from the cable companies has been dramatically reduced as a result of the many options viewers have today.

They can stream, they've got Netflix, they've got Hulu, they've got all these other elements that they don't have to use the cable companies, hence the diminished revenue. Your percentage of that revenue that was funneled at, by law from the cable companies to provide access to Sacramento operating income, [00:07:00] and obviously as that money diminishes, so does your opportunity for revenue short of membership, which is nominal.

$5 a month isn't really gonna get anybody rich. But understanding that, what seems to be happening, if I'm not mistaken, is that the percentages that have been decreased are even being greatly more degre- decreased As a result of what's happening from the cable board in funding for Access Sacramento, correct?

Yeah. Yeah. The thing is that this is, this, uh, structure was put into place 45 years ago, and it was at a time when cable companies were bringing in a lot of revenue. And so municipalities around California, around the country, created this mechanism where the cable companies would tax their users, and some of that money would come to community medias to support community voices.

And so that's what the structure is. Where we [00:08:00] are now is the, the cable commission, which has dispensed those funds for all that time, uh, has some change management that it needs to be, um, dealing with, I'd say, a little bit more effectively than it has been. The funds are decreasing. People are cord-cutting.

But, uh, the cable commission is making a very specific choice to fund one part of where this money goes to, which is the government channel. It's called Metro 14, and it covers, uh, they air all city council meetings, county supervisor meetings, um, uh, government meetings from around the region are broadcast on this channel.

And that's a great thing. It's a great way for people to see government in action. So we're not disputing that that shouldn't exist, but it shouldn't be at the expense of Access Sacramento having our budget cut. We could be completely cut. That's one of the options on the table for the commission. Also, cutting Sacramento Educational Cable [00:09:00] Consortium, which works with young people in school districts around Sacramento County, creating media, doing a lot of the same kind of empowerment sorts of things that we do.

And then KVIE is in the mix of this. They also get a chunk of money through the cable commission. We're, we're all looking at significant funding cuts, and all we've been asking for is for the commission to look at this holistically, to understand that there, uh, are significant community impacts that would be felt if our organization were to have our funding cut, and not just cut us in favor of Metro 14, but let's look at this holistically.

And we have our own budget projections. The cable commission says the money's gonna go away really fast. There's a cliff. Our projections don't show that, and that's the other part of it, is we just wanna come together and talk about the numbers and come to some kind of an agreement or conclusion as to where things are [00:10:00] going.

And you're not in a silo here. You just explained that you're in this together with other entities to where you're pleading the case to demonstrate the value. The community sees the value. The community has an interest. There's a demand. There's a need. Is there any understanding why the cable commission wants to be so aggressive in the cuts?

Well, I think it's, it's-- there's a self-preservation mode. The commission runs Metro 14, so it falls under their auspices. So it's, it's part of that, that structure, whereas we are just funded by them, so we're a separate organization. Um, and I, I also, you know, do wanna mention in fairness that it's not all of the commissioners.

There are many who are supportive of us and talking to us and helping to find solutions. There's, I'd say, a small cadre of folks, several people who have been driving this for whatever reason, self-preservation, [00:11:00] not totally clear. And I think that's part of the, the problem is that the commission has not been communicating with us, collaborating.

We should be having dialogue and conversations to figure this out together, but they have not wanted to do that. The executive director of the commission has not wanted to do that for-- We've been asking for this for a, almost a year, and they will not engage us in that way, and they keep moving down this path of defunding us.

So we're now at the point of a, a very critical tipping point that we are actually asking the community to step up and reach out and make their voices heard to demonstrate the interest in maintaining and keeping Access Sacramento Not distinctly as it is, but the new version of it. And y- we see a lot of things changed over the course of the years, and now with the content creation and all the courses that you're providing, the access to our youth, the ability for people to [00:12:00] learn at a much lesser expense and- Mm-hmm

investment than they could in any other commercial sense. I mean, we don't wanna lose that. Yeah. And that's exactly right. And the, the other thing that we have stressed to the commission and to all of our stakeholders in the community is that we're not asking to preserve the past. We're asking for a pathway to the future.

We have a vision for the future for Access Sacramento, and we know that what we do is needed more than ever in terms of supporting the community, supporting people with knowledge and information, and that empowerment idea. And, and being a, an even more integral part of the community with the, the nonprofit community, the creative economy, that's part of our vision, is to really be supporting those areas in more significant ways.

And all the while providing this workforce development, this training, so we can be doing several things at once. We can be supporting [00:13:00] nonprofits and bringing in different types of revenue by working with nonprofits to tell their story. We can create videos, TV shows. If somebody wanted to do a film, we could work with them on doing a short film.

Podcasts. All kinds of opportunities, but at the same time we can be training people as we're working on these projects in the community. And so there's, there's a double benefit there. We just need the pathway to reposition ourselves and become self-sustaining. We know we need to move away from the cable money.

It is going away, but not as quickly as the commission says, and we think there should be a pathway for us to become a, a self-sustaining organization, which we wanna be. And I like the approach you stated there, Joe, is the fact that the nonprofit organizations or community-based organizations can come and use this facility to create that content for themselves, and if they're not familiar with how to do it, they can learn through a course or their marketing [00:14:00] director or their media person or whoever the spokesperson is for the entity.

Yeah. It's there. You are a nonprofit as well. So there's a lot of symbiotic relationship here to the community that is extremely beneficial in getting some of that work done, and we all need to do that. The communication is necessary in some way, shape, or form for any business that's going to survive.

What if this doesn't happen? Well, yeah, it's, it's a difficult question. We're, we're looking at different options that might be able to get us through, but, but honestly, b- it's such a significant portion of our budget, it's really hard for me to see a, a path forward. And I think th- this is the thing that the-- we really want the commission to pay attention to, which is all of these things that Access Sacramento does would be lost.

There isn't really a replacement for what we do. Secondly, even just [00:15:00] something like our location, the Coloma Center, this-- We're in a community center, a city community center. It's one of several across the city, and we're the largest tenant. If the commission decides to defund us and we leave the Coloma Center, that could destabilize, and I don't know that it would close the center, but I think that's a possibility because we're the largest tenant, and that's a lot of support and revenue for the Coloma Center that would be lost.

And I don't think the commission has thought about these wider ramifications. It's the trickle-down effect of the budget cuts across the community in terms of the impact that it has. Yeah. What is the best way for one to learn both more about Access Sacramento and how to get engaged? What's the call to action?

What do we want people to do here, Joe? This is, I think, for anybody who has ha- ever had a connection with Access Sacramento, or anyone who is interested in [00:16:00] and supportive of an informed community, a community that supports people who maybe don't have all the advantages that others do, and First Amendment, actually.

Anybody who's interested in First Amendment, because one of the issues here is that the Cable Commission is essentially prioritizing the government voice over the community's voice. I think that's an issue. And so there are all kinds of angles that somebody could, or prisms you could look at this through.

But I would say if, if any one of those is something that gets you riled up and you wanna help Access Sacramento, go to our website, accesssacramento.org, and you'll see a pop-up menu that will take you to a landing page where we've got all the information on our situation, including a very easy button you can click, and it will actually open up your email populated with the addresses for the commission, county supervisors who are, [00:17:00] who oversee the commission.

Sacramento County supervisors oversee the Cable Commission. So it's all there. Just go to our website. The information is, is there. And people can, of course, call me, reach me at Access Sacramento, jbar@accesssacramento.org. I'm always happy to engage in conversation. And I will put all of this in the episode notes as well, so it's really easy.

They don't have to remember this as they're, you know, either driving and listening, running and listening, whatever it may be. Yeah. Uh, we'll have that as an easy, you know, one-touch link to the website- Thank you ... and then your email w- as well. And, and I appreciate you giving that because I think people may want to engage and learn a little bit more, ask specifically some questions, and the fact that you're making yourself that accessible is, is wonderful.

Well, and that's-- I appreciate that, and I think that's the idea here is that we should be accessible. I would like the Cable Commission and its executive director to be accessible as well. That's all we're asking for. Nobody is [00:18:00] under any illusion that the money isn't diminishing. It's just how do we handle this moment of significant change?

It's-- This is change management 101 in a lot of ways, and we would like the commission to step up and do the right thing and have the appropriate conversations before making unfortunate decisions. Well, Joe, I appreciate it. Thank, thank you for your commitment to local media. I know you've been involved a long time in the community.

Uh, thanks for the local training that you're doing and the inclusion for all our communities via Access Sacramento. Thank you for having me on your show. It's-- I've listened to the podcast and watched them for a long time, so it's exciting to now be on one myself. Well, and you know we're gonna do that full-length episode at some point in the future as well, so that'll even be more entertaining for everybody because we get to really explain and get in depth to, to what's happening with Access Sacramento.

And by then we'll know something, because if I'm not mistaken, June is the, [00:19:00] uh- Ah, yes ... the deadline. I'm glad you mentioned that. June 4th at 2:30 at the H Street facilities, the chamber for the Cable Commission. The address is on our website, the exact address, the time and everything. Going to the meeting is great as well.

We like to have a, a packed room. That'd be wonderful. Well, let's make a difference. Do what's necessary to get the funding support you so desperately need to continue doing what you do and serving the demand in the market, Joe. Thank you for your support, and thank you for what you're doing for the communities, and let's see what we can do to get some things turned around here.

Thank you. Thanks for listening. If you like our program, please subscribe, give us a positive review, and share with someone you know. This nonprofit podcast, NewsPod, is a production of Hear Me Now Studio.