California Arts Council Issues Statewide Arts and Public Media Report

SACRAMENTO – The California Arts Council released today the findings of an extensive evaluation of the state agency’s support of nonprofit media organizations in California, specifically as it relates to arts and culture coverage and related projects.

The report, Nonprofit Media Coverage of the Arts in California: Challenges and Opportunities, is the first of its kind – assessing the status of California nonprofit media organizations’ engagement with arts and culture, and the funding of such activities. The complete report can be viewed online at https://view.publitas.com/ca-arts-council/cac-artspublicmediareport_2016/page/1.

The central activities in the California Arts Council’s evaluation project included a June 2016 in-person convening of high-level California public media leaders and subsequent research and interviews. Twenty-three representatives from nonprofit media organizations and arts funding organizations contributed to the report, which was authored by Los Angeles-based arts journalist Matthew Stromberg.

“We hope this report will be the start of a conversation about the many opportunities for supporting public media’s engagement with arts, culture, and creative expression,” said Craig Watson, Director of the California Arts Council. “And that it will bring awareness to the important community engagement and storytelling that is taking place in the media field right now.”

The report includes a series of key findings followed by recommendations for arts funders, including the California Arts Council.

Members of the California Arts Council reviewed the preliminary results of this research at a public meeting on September 22, 2016 in San Luis Obispo. Based on recommendations from the Council’s programs committee, the Council voted in support of reinstating an arts and public media grant pro­gram in the current fiscal year (2016-17). The Council has committed to investing $200,000 in a revamped arts and public media program.

Report contributors include:

Sasha Anawalt, Director, Arts Journalism Program
USC Annenberg School of Journalism (Los Angeles)

Peggy Berryhill, President
Native Media Resource Center/KGUA (Gualala)

Jason Blackwell, Program Associate
The James Irvine Foundation (Los Angeles)

Alejandro Cohen, Director
dublab (Los Angeles)

John Decker, Director of Programming
KPBS (San Diego)

Jax Deluca, Director of Media Arts
National Endowment for the Arts (Washington, D.C.)

Juan Devis, Chief Creative Officer
KCET (Los Angeles)

Oscar Garza, Senior Producer
KPCC (Los Angeles)

Maria Hall Brown, Executive Producer for Arts and Culture Programming
PBS SoCal (Costa Mesa)

Marinda Johnson, Arts Producer
KVIE (Sacramento)

Josh Kun, Professor of Communications
USC Annenberg School of Journalism (Los Angeles)

John Lightfoot, Program Officer
California Humanities (Oakland)

Debra Lucero, Director
Shasta County Arts Council/SCACTV (Redding)

David Markus, Executive in Charge, Arts
KQED (San Francisco)

Matt Martin, General Manager
KALW (San Francisco)

Maeven McGovern, Director of Arts Pathway and Integrated Learning
Youth Radio (Oakland)

Hugo Morales, Founder and Executive Director
Radio Bilingüe (Fresno)

Ellin O’Leary, Director
Youth Radio (Oakland)

Matt Schuster, Executive Director
TV Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara)

Beatriz Solis, Program Director
The California Endowment (Los Angeles)

Ed Subkis, General Manager
KHSU (Arcata)

Jeffrey Tuchman, Founder
Documania Films (Los Angeles)

Donald Young, Program Director
Center for Asian American Media (San Francisco)

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The mission of the California Arts Council, a state agency, is to advance California through the arts and creativity. The Council is committed to building public will and resources for the arts; fostering accessible arts initiatives that reflect contributions from all of California’s diverse populations; serving as a thought leader and champion for the arts; and providing effective and relevant programs and services.

Members of the California Arts Council include: Chair Donn K. Harris, Vice Chair Nashormeh Lindo, Larry Baza, Phoebe Beasley, Christopher Coppola, Juan Devis, Kathleen Gallegos, Jaime Galli, Louise McGuinness, Steven Oliver, and Rosalind Wyman. Learn more at www.arts.ca.gov.

 

Caitlin Fitzwater
916-324-6617
caitlin.fitzwater@arts.ca.gov

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