Beyond Cable: A New Vision for Community Media
For more than 40 years, Birmingham, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms and Franklin have worked together with Bloomfield Township to produce local government and community television programming. It's a partnership I know well, having spent 3.5 years managing the contract during my employment at Bloomfield Township and my career helping communities tell their stories.
Now, through my production company, One of Us Films, I've submitted a proposal to the Birmingham Area Cable Board (BACB) that builds on that history while imagining a different future for community media.
The proposal maintains the core services residents have come to expect, including government meeting coverage, community events, high school sports and locally produced programming. It also introduces expanded opportunities for residents to participate directly through video production workshops, youth summer camps, podcasts, volunteer training and partnerships with community organizations.
We're also proposing a dedicated digital media identity, BBBF Community Media, with a website, social media channels and regular email communications to make locally produced content easier to find and share. Community media needs to reach people where they are today, not just where they were 20 years ago.
More Than a Production Contract
Perhaps the most exciting part of this proposal is the opportunity to establish One of Us Films within a new community center being envisioned at Franklin Community Church.
Over three years, the BACB will be making roughly a million-dollar investment in community media. That's a significant commitment, but within Bloomfield Township's overall operation, it's a relatively small piece of a much larger organization.
Imagine what that same investment could mean to a developing community center in Franklin.
Production professionals working on-site. Residents learning to tell their own stories. Students picking up cameras. Community organizations collaborating on programs and events. A podcast studio, production facilities and shared spaces that become resources for the entire community.
This opportunity feels especially meaningful following the closing of The Community House in Birmingham. I took my daughter there when she was little, and I know how much places like that mean to families. They're more than buildings. They're places where people connect, learn and develop a sense of belonging.
Building Something That Lasts
I have tremendous respect for the people who have kept this regional media partnership going for four decades. I know Steve Rota and Greg Black, and I'm confident that if the existing contract is renewed, the work will get done.
But I also believe this is an opportunity to consider what else that investment could accomplish.
Locating professional media production within one of the communities we serve creates opportunities that extend beyond any individual program or contract.
Presence creates relationships. Relationships create ideas. Ideas create programming. And programming brings people together.
I'm grateful to the community members and organizations who have expressed support for this vision and to everyone willing to consider what community media could become.
The BACB has an important decision ahead. My hope is that the conversation isn't simply about who produces the programming, but about how that investment can serve these communities for years to come.
Because ultimately, this proposal isn't just about funding community media.
It's about building community.
Read the full One of Us Films proposal here
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