LIVE Wed, April 28 (8am-5pm) on Government Access, cable channel 2 and streaming on www.freetv.org from the Heritage Center Auditorium will be presentations by industry experts and Industry, Business and Labor Committee discussion regarding the impacts of the newly passed healthcare reform legislation.

Government Access, cable channel 2 is now the exclusive television viewing location for all local government meetings which include the Bismarck City Commission, Burleigh County Commission, Bismarck School Board, Burleigh County Social Services, Bismarck and Burleigh Planning, Bismarck Park District Board and as of January 6, the Mandan City Commission.  All meetings will be televised and web streamed live and replayed several times prior to the next scheduled meeting. 

In addition, television viewing of the 2009 North Dakota Legislative Session will be available on Government Access, cable channel 2 beginning January 7th.  Coverage will be limited to floor proceedings which will alternate weekly between the House and Senate and will begin approximately 1:00 pm daily.  Legislative coverage will also be available via the live web stream.

For web streaming video, click the “On Air” icon at www.freetv.org.

Dakota Media Access (DMA) serves the cities of Bismarck and Mandan by managing the production facilities, equipment, programming and distribution systems for the area’s public, educational and governmental (PEG) media needs.  Go to: www.dakotamediaaccess.org for current information on DMA productions, volunteer crew calls, featured videos, agendas for upcoming local government meetings and other happenings at the DMA center.  An RSS feed is available and the public is encouraged to subscribe. 

For more information contact:

Jack McDonald, DMA Board of Directors President, 751-1776

Mary Van Sickle, DMA Executive Director van@freetv.org or 258-8767

The organization formerly known as Community Access Television has changed its name to Dakota Media Access (DMA) to better reflect the changing media landscape and the services provided to the community.  DMA also announces the official launch of Government Access, cable channel 2 which, as of January 2009, will be the primary viewing location for coverage of local government meetings, candidate and election information and programs originating from government sources.  Coverage of LIVE Mandan City Commission Meetings is scheduled to begin January 6th.

www.dakotamediaaccess.org has been launched to distribute current information on DMA productions, volunteer crew calls, articles that focus on community media industry news, featured videos, links to agendas for upcoming local government meetings and other happenings at the DMA center.  An RSS feed is available and the public is encouraged to subscribe to site updates via email or any RSS reader. 

DMA serves the cities of Bismarck and Mandan by managing the production facilities, equipment, programming and distribution systems for the area’s public, educational and governmental (PEG) media needs.  Originally incorporated in 1987, Dakota Media Access (DMA) is a North Dakota non-profit, 501(C)(3) corporation with a volunteer board of directors drawn from the community. 

For more information contact:

Jack McDonald, DMA Board of Directors President, 751-1776

Mary Van Sickle, DMA Executive Director van@freetv.org or 258-8767