Laurie Cirivello

A 1981 graduate of Ohio University (Athens, Ohio), Laurie has been working in noncommercial media for nearly 20 years, first in public broadcasting fund development (The WOSU Stations, Columbus, Ohio) and then in community media. She has been an executive director of PEG operations since 1993.

In 1996 she relocated to California to undertake the role of Executive Director of a new PEG access start-up media center in Santa Rosa. During this period she took on regional leadership roles in the Alliance for Community Media (ACM), co-authored the ACM Access Start-up manual and provided advice and consultation for numerous access organizations.

Currently, Laurie is Executive Director of the Grand Rapids Community Media Center, where she leads a staff team providing services in public access cable, community radio, and nonprofit IT support and web development. GRCMC also owns and operates a 100 year historic venue infused with modern media technology.


In this interview Laurie provides a wealth of examples of best practices in PEG media operations and the philosophy that underlies her initiatives. Listen to the full interview.
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/60_Laurie_full_int

Laurie recounts her "first brush" with community TV and why it drew her in.
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/61_Laurie_beginnings

Laurie lists the key ingredients for success in a community PEG media center - beginning with attitude.
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/62_Laurie_succesful_ingred

How does a community media center incorporate the internet into its "toolbox?" What changes and what stays the same?
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/63_Laurie_internet_CMC

Laurie describes how GRCMC helps its users with different media tools and pathways depending on the communications needs they have.
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/64_Laurie_mediatools

Listen to this clip! It's the key to Laurie and GRCMC's approach to its users.
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/65_Laurie_problem_solvers

Hiring decisions as Media Centers expand their roles.
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/66_Laurie_Staffing

What are some of the new classes at GRCMC?
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/67_Laurie_classes

Nonprofit agencies are a key constituency at GRCMC. Here's a taste of how they use the media center.
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/68_Laurie_nonprofits

With a Knight Foundation grant, GRCMC is setting up a major citizen journalism project. Learn about the concept, the tools, the training, and the vision.
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/69_Laurie_NeighborhoodNews

How might a PEG-related citizen journalism project interact with the commercial media outlets in Grand Rapids?
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/70_Laurie_commercialMedia

How might a media center without a Knight grant go about implementing citizen journalism?
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/71_Laurie_advice_newsprojects

Laurie describes an earlier project she engineered at Santa Rosa's media center that was an innovative way to accomplish many goals at once.
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/72_Laurie_Snapshots

Laurie describes two other grant funded projects at GRCMC. Each could be replicated in other locations.
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/73_Laurie_2Grants

Laurie offers some advice for PEG grant-seekers.
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/74_Laurie_grant_advice

Laurie sums up her recipe for PEG media center success.
Click to listen
Share with others by mailing this link:
http://www.archive.org/details/75_Laurie_summation

Colin Rhinesmith

Cambridge Community Television
Colin Rhinesmith is Community Media Coordinator at Cambridge Community
Television (CCTV) in Cambridge, MA. Previously, Colin was Digital Media
Producer for the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard
University, where he produced audio & video podcasts for MediaBerkman and
the Citizen Media Law Project. At CCTV, Colin manages the
Bridging the Digital Divide program, NeighborMedia, Computer CENTRAL and other community media & technology projects. He also teaches many of CCTV's web media courses. Colin received his M.A. in Visual and Media Arts from Emerson College, where he wrote his Master's Thesis on the intersection of PEG Access Television and the Social Web. Colin's blog can be found at http://colinrhinesmith.com.

You can listen to the entire interview or listen to individual subclips that appear below. Please consider leaving a comment or a question and subscribing to the discussion.

full interview
Click to listen
Mail this URL to share clip: http://www.archive.org/details/50_Colin_full_intrview


Colin talks about his previous work and how he arrived at a community media center.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/51_Colin_music_roots
________________________________________________________________________________________

Colin describes how the internet has changed the role of CCTV.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/52_Colin_internet_impact
________________________________________________________________________________________

Colin describes new classes and services that go beyond cable TV program production at CCTV - most of which have come about because of potentials generated by the internet.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/53_Colin_newSvcs_Classes
__________________________________________________________________________________

Colin describes the exciting citizen journalism enterprise at CCTV called "Neighbor Media."
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/54_Colin_NeighborNews
________________________________________________________________________________________

Colin describes the training CCTV gives to Neighbor Media participants.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/55_Colin_Training_NeighbrMedia
______________________________________________________________________________________

Colin explains the multiple functions and functionality of the Drupal-based CCTV web site.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/56_Colin_webSite_functions
______________________________________________________________________________________

Colin explains how the CCTV web site is set up to gather "Cambridge-centric" media from other sites on the web.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/57_Colin_WebSite_Aggregator
______________________________________________________________________________________

CCTV is trying to figure out ways to outreach to folks already publishing on the web, that may not know of the media center resources.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/58_Colin_outreach_online
______________________________________________________________________________________

There are drop-in hours every week at CCTV just for figuring out web 2.0 applications and destinations.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/60_Colin_webMedia_Help
______________________________________________________________________________________

Colin's thesis is that there will always be a need for "brick and mortar" media centers.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/59_Colin_ongoingCMC_roles

Sue Miller Buske

President, The Buske Group

For the past 35 years, Sue Buske has represented local governments, citizens, and community organizations in their interactions with cable companies. Ms. Buske is widely recognized as one of the leading experts in the United States on cable policy and local cable programming issues. She is one of the pioneers of public access TV having participated in the training for Access Directors organized by George Stoney and Red Burns at the Alternate Media Center in 1972. She has received numerous national awards, including the George Stoney Award for Humanistic Communications. An award bearing her name, The Buske Leadership Award, is presented annually by the Alliance for Community Media to persons providing outstanding leadership in the field of local cable programming. Ms. Buske’s alma mater, the University of Wisconsin at Platteville, selected her to receive a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2000.

You can listen to the entire interview or listen to individual subclips that appear below. Please consider leaving a comment or a question and subscribing to the discussion.

full interview
Click to listen
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/30_Buske_full_interview



Sue recounts how she first got involved in public access TV via an ad in the NY Times.
Click to listen
Mail this URL to share clip: http://www.archive.org/details/31_Buske_answers_ad

Sue remembers the training she got at the Alternate Media Center with George Stoney and the other pioneer Access-Directors-to-be.
Click to listen
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/32_Buske_alt_med_ctr

Sue describes the environment and the mission in her first months as a public access manager in Dubuque, IA.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/33_Buske_JohnnyAppleseed

Sue's memories of the first shows in Dubuque. You will be surprised at the gameshow Sue hosted!
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/34_Buske_Dubuque_shows

Sue provides an overview of the legislation that has been sweeping across state legislatures and changing the franchising process and formulas for cable TV and PEG.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/35_Buske_DeconstructFrnchis/

In the state legislation maneuvers, Sue describes the dynamics between the cable TV industry is doing with the telco industry.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/36_Buske_Cable_vs_Telco

How are the Telcos persuading the state legislatures?
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/37_Buske_Telco_Stratgy


What has been left behind in the new state cable franchising laws?
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/39_Buske_What_lost

Two states fared better than the other 18 where the cable franchising laws have been changed.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/38_Buske_2States_Better

Sue identifies the ingredients that led to better outcomes in the state legislatures of Illinois and California.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/40_Buske_ingredints_vctry

Many PEG access centers are closing down.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/42_Buske_closings

Can we expect this franchising paradigm shift to be played out in all 50 statehouses?
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/48_Buske_Replay50States

Background on the restriction of PEG funding to capital expenditures only
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/47_Buske_capital_restrict

Sue's opinion on what ought to happen regarding PEG and the law.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/46_Buske_FedMandate

Coalitions help on the local and national levels.
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/41_Buske_Coalition

What is Sue's answer to those who say that the internet has made community media centers and PEG channels irrelevant?
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/43_Buske_Reply_relevance

What are the ingredients of a vibrant PEG center?
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/44_Buske_SuccesfulPEG

Why makes a PEG center less likely to succeed?
Click to listen.
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/45_Buske_pitfalls

Helen Soule Ph.D.

Executive Director
Alliance for Community Media

Throughout her career, Helen Soulé, Ph.D., has focused on providing leadership at the intersection of media, technology and learning. She has broad experience leading public and non-profit organizations, most recently as the Executive Director of Cable in the Classroom, the cable telecommunication industry’s education foundation.

Previously Soulé served as chief of staff to the assistant secretary for the Office of Post Secondary Education in the U.S. Department of Education and for eight years, was director of the Mississippi Department of Education Office of Technology, with responsibilities including the statewide internet backbone, teacher professional development, state and local technology planning, E-rate, and textbooks. As former teacher and district technology coordinator, she worked with teachers and administrators at every level to use technology and media to transform and enhance teaching and learning.

Soulé is one of the founders and past chairman of the State Education Technology Directors Association (SETDA), has been a member of the George Lucas Educational Foundation Advisory Board and has served on the board of the Consortium for School Networking and the International Society for Technology in Education. She is the recipient of Converge magazine's 30 "Shapers of the Future" award for 2001, a recipient of the 2001 E-School News "Impact 30 Award for Excellence", the 2004 SETDA Pioneer Award and a recipient of CableWorld’s 2007 “Women with Clout” award.

Soulé holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from Mississippi State University, M.A. in Educational Administration from Mississippi State University and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern Mississippi.

You can listen to the entire interview or listen to individual subclips that appear below. Please consider leaving a comment or a question and subscribing to the discussion.



Full interview.
Click to listen
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/20_Soule_full_interview


In the first subclip, Helen points to the ACM's biggest strength and its greatest challenge.
Click to listen
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/21_Soule_ACM_strength_challenge

Helen says that "localism" is the key to the success and sustainability of PEG operations.
Click to listen
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/22b_Soule_localism

It's critical that we get our message to government officials.
Click to listen
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/23_What_msg_to__offcials

...the importance of building coalitions on the local and national level...
Click to listen
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/25_Web2ToolstoTeach

What does a PEG staff need to accomplish?
Click to listen
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/26_Meet_Community_Needs

Helen's favorite part of the job.......
Click to listen
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/27_Soule_Favorite_Part

What are Helen's hobbies outside of work?
Click to listen
Mail this URL to share clip:
http://www.archive.org/details/28_Soule_Hobbies