Video & Television

Map of Community Media in the US

This amazing map shows where cable access stations are and also Low Power FM stations:

http://communitymediadatabase.org/node/105

 

Community Media Database 1.0 is a 3-month pilot project funded by the Benton Foundation.  It is designed to collaboratively collect and freely present information about community media providers in the United States.  This site, CommunityMediaDatabase.org, is that project's principle vehicle. Presently it contains initial information on over 2,000 community access television providers and over 800 Low Power FM radio stations.

We are creating free log-in accounts for each of these community media providers, and emailing invitations to their representatives to review, edit and add to their information already here.

The pilot project will be demonstrated at the Free Press' National Conference for Media Reform in Boston, April 8-10, as part of the effort to find additional collaborators and funders to carry the project to the next stage - one where additional types of community media providers are included.

There are three main components to this site: Directories, Databases, and Maps.

  1. The directories are presented as spreadsheets in Google Docs.  They do not require log-ins in order to be viewed.  They are simple listings, in alphabetical order by state and service area, of community media providers' names, website URLs and phone numbers.  Contact names and email addresses are not included unless the providers have supplied that information.  Authorized representatives of providers wishing to add or update their listings will be sent permission to do so upon request; send requests to info@communitymediadatabase.org
  2. The databases, constructed using CiviCRM, take their initial data from the listings in the directories, but have additional fields.  The databases can be searched on a number of geographic and other parameters, and the results can be mapped online as well as printed out.  Users do need to be logged in to use the search profiles (see sample image below).  Authorized representatives of the providers can also update the information in their organizations' records.  Any changes made to the database records do not yet automatically update the directory listings in the Google Doc spreadsheet.
  3. The maps have been built using the National Center for Media Engagement's mapping tool (these are in addition to the maps derived from database searches).  Log-ins are not required to view these maps.  The data for these maps is taken from the information in the listed in the directories, but any changes made to the directory listings do not yet automatically update the maps. These maps currently show the community media providers by management type, although additional types of maps can be created, and may be, if deemed useful.

Update, 12/7/11:  This site's maps are now being generated via Google Fusion Tables.