Fresno Famous

Note: This is a cross-post from a personal blog.

A couple of weeks back, a Fresno City employee posted a call for applications to MindHub, seeking board members for the JPA. Or was it PEG? Wait...maybe it was CMAC?

I love a good acronym as much as the next citizen, but only when used in moderation.

The concept of the Community Media Access Collaborative (CMAC) piqued my interested, at least by name; I advocate for open media and an embrace of technologies that facilitate community and access (that makes sense, right?). I looked over the materials, and responded back to MindHub for clarification. I never received any.

Still interested in the collaborative—its purpose, its technological focus—I tried navigating a series of broken links, resolving to use an anonymous contact form. In my message, I explained that I had an interest in serving as a board member, but needed more information. Most importantly, I wanted to know if the term "media" is restricted to referencing TV/cable stations.

I still haven't received a reply, and the (extended) application date has passed. Upon further research, it seems as though my assumption was correct: the CMAC is about cable access, not media access. Media encompasses so much more than public access cable.

Honestly, I don't need another commitment, so I'm not upset that I missed the application deadline. Rather, I'm disappointed that this project reinforces the notion that Fresno just doesn't keep up (I'm also disappointed that neither of my attempts to contact someone were answered).