What happens when a community picks up a camera and starts telling its own stories?
For us, that question started with New Ellijay Television.
NETV is a community access station in the north Georgia mountains, powered by local producers. It’s real TV for real people in one specific place. That project taught us that the tools for making television are now in everyone’s hands. The only thing missing was a reason to use them together.
We tried to write down those reasons in a book called Community Media. It’s a handbook for what I called a revolution in DIY TV. The message was simple: produce your own media, become the media, join the revolution.
So here it is. The Community Broadcasting Network is a new hub for creative, community centered storytelling. It’s for the people who are already making videos about their towns, their passions, their small things. It’s also for people who are tired of the algorithmic feed and want to watch something real.
The network will live on both YouTube and PeerTube. We’re using the big platforms to reach people, but we’re also planting a flag on the independent web.
You can follow along on Instagram for updates and previews. The website will grow as we do.
If you want to support the work directly, we’ve started a Patreon. That’s also where a newsletter will live, along with behind the scenes content and first looks at new videos. Your support helps us find and share more stories from more places.
The trailer is just the beginning. The real work is finding the stories that matter and getting them out into the world. If you’re making something about your community, we want to see it. If you’re watching and wondering where the good stuff went, we want to be your answer.
Welcome to the network.
