Be the Media

Do you watch the TV news or read the daily paper and think, “Something’s missing here. Where are the stories about the people I know? Where are stories about the issues that affect me and my family from our perspective?” If you do, come to the Free Speech Media Conference on Saturday, February 20, where you will find out how to be a part of important changes that are taking place in the local media scene.
The conference will show you how to be part of the Valley’s growing independent media movement. There will be panels that give you information about how to become involved with local print and broadcast media, and there will be workshops where you will learn the skills you need to start producing the stories people in this community need to know about.

The workshops will consist of training in video, radio and print. The video training will be given by professionals who are involved in the Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAC). CMAC is in the process of establishing a Community Media Center for the Public, Education, and Government (PEG) channels in the Fresno/Clovis area. Soon, the Public Access channel will be on the air and they will need content providers to produce locally originated programming. The training will explain how you can become involved and have your own show on the Public Access channel.

Radio producers from Radio Bilingue and KFCF 88.1 FM, two listener-sponsored noncommercial stations, will conduct workshops that will show how you can become involved in radio broadcasting.

There will be a writing workshop conducted by Conn Hallinan, an excellent writer and teacher from the Bay Area, as well as a workshop on how to conduct an interview and one on investigative reporting.

The goal of the conference is to motivate more people to become active participants in producing media in this area. You will find out how to become involved with local media, learn some of the skills you need to become a journalist and meet professionals in the industry who are looking for new people, like you, to become involved in this exciting work.

The Free Speech Media Conference will be held on Saturday, February 20, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Dickey Community Center (1515 Divisadero St., at Glenn Street). The cost is $5 per person and that includes lunch.The conference is sponsored by the Community Alliance newspaper, KFCF 88.1 FM, Radio Bilingue 91.5 FM, Indymedia (http://www.indybay.org), El Concillio de Fresno, The Undercurrent newspaper, CineCulture at Fresno State and FresYes! For more information about the conference, call 559-978-4502, e-mail editor [at] fresnoalliance.com or visit http://www.fresnoalliance.com.