Community media impacts the life of the Bronx in numerous ways and BronxNet recently shared thoughts about its own economic impact on the borough with an audience of community TV media leaders from around the nation.
BronxNet Executive Director Michael Max Knobbe teamed up with Doug Gray, Austin public station manager for Austin Film Society, at the Alliance for Community Media’s national conference, to lead a workshop where they talked about how the accessible media services each of their organizations provide, helps respectively in building up the economies of the Bronx and Austin, Texas, for the people of the Bronx and Austin.
Participants from states including Oregon, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, California, Hawaii and more, heard firsthand how BronxNet’s media workforce development and internship programs for students and media training for Bronx residents help Bronxites gain strong, marketable career-building skills and how content featuring information from Bronx leaders and highlighting services offered by Bronx organizations help improve the quality of life and potential for growth for the people of our Bronx neighborhoods.
Over the years, BronxNet has provided media education and media production facilities and technology to tens of thousands of Bronx students and residents and produced thousands of hours of content to empower Bronxites with information on health, education, housing, community development, arts, culture and much more.
Gray shared information on how Austin Film Society, through management of Austin’s Public Access Television Station, was able to create their new AFS Creative Careers Program, which offers educational programming geared towards workforce entry and career advancement within Austin’s creative media sector, with a resulting economic impact on the greater Austin community.
“BronxNet is proud of the services we have been able to provide for Bronx students, residents and organizations and the impact we have had on the borough, while working in partnership with Bronx leaders and organizations. Thank you to Doug Gray for joining me in the presentation and thank you to the Alliance for Community Media for providing great platforms where media leaders can exchange ideas about how to best serve the people of our locales. BronxNet has economic impact via the provision of local jobs, workforce development, and local content, helping communities to thrive. Support for BronxNet and community media centers like BronxnNet represents an investment in our communities,” said Max Knobbe.
Alliance for Community Media President Mike Wassenaar added, “Community media organizations like BronxNet have a long history of empowering people in neighborhoods to tell their own stories. But this work also improves the economic lives of people who build skills and gain valuable experience creating media. Recognizing that aspect of their work is long past due.”
BronxNet is the independent not-for-profit organization serving the people of the Bronx with media production training, access to technology and television channels. For more information visit: www.bronxnet.org.
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