About The Project

PEG ACCESS MEDIA: LOCAL COMMUNICATION HUBS IN A PANDEMIC

In the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, communities across the U.S. came to depend on public, educational and governmental (PEG) access operations, which are anchored to their cable service, for crucial local information. Drawing from a nation- wide survey of these community media services, this study documents their role not only in providing community news, but also technical operations support for local governments and schools, and a platform for community events. The transition to virtual provision of services sometimes increased user access. Lessons from the pandemic could strengthen PEG’s role in the future.

About the Center for Media & Social Impact

The Center for Media & Social Impact (CMSI) at American University’s School of Communication, based in Washington, D.C., is a research center and innovation lab that creates, studies and showcases media for social impact. Focusing on independent, documentary, entertainment and public media, CMSI bridges boundaries between scholars, producers and communication practitioners who work across media production, media impact, public policy and audience engagement. The Center produces resources for the field and research, convenes conferences and events and works collaboratively to understand and design media that matter. www.cmsimpact.org.

About The Authors

Patricia Aufderheide

Patricia Aufderheide is University Professor of Communication Studies in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, D.C. She founded the School’s Center for Media & Social Impact, where she continues as Senior Research Fellow. Her books include The Daily Planet (University of Minnesota Press) and Communications Policy in the Public Interest (Guilford Press). She has been a Fulbright Research Fellow twice, and was also a John Simon Guggenheim fellow. Aufderheide’s research on PEG was included in the Supreme Court case, Denver Area Educational Tele Communications Consortium (1996). In this case, 1992 law threatening the existence of PEG channels was struck down for First Amendment reasons. She received numerous journalism and scholarly awards, including the International Communication Association’s 2010 for Communication Research as an Agent of Change Award.

Antoine Haywood

Antoine Haywood is a PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication. His ethnographic, practitioner inquiry research focuses on understanding virtuous effects of commons-based media-making and PEG access media organizational culture. Prior to Annenberg, Antoine worked as a community engagement director at People TV, Atlanta (2005-2010) and PhillyCAM, Philadelphia (2010-2018). He has served on boards of community media organizations, including Radio Free Georgia and the Alliance for Community Media. Antoine holds a BA in English from Morehouse College, an MA in Media Studies from The New School, and he is a proud native of West Palm Beach, FL.

Mariana Sánchez Santos

Currently a PhD student in the School of Communication at American University, Mariana holds a BA in International Relations from ITAM in Mexico City and a Master of Arts in Political Communication from the University of Leeds, UK. She has also taken courses in City University of Hong Kong, Universidad de San Andres in Buenos Aires, Stanford University and Oxford University. Her doctoral research focuses in political communication, elections and technology in Latin America.