Is MCM a Dinosaur?

It’s been a challenging few weeks at MCM: between the stresses of budget season and record-breaking heat (which knocked out our power for days), staff was pressed to the wall. That’s why it was like a blast of cool air on a hot day when we got the news that MCM had won the prestigious award for Overall Excellence for Public, Education and Government channels for 2012. Of the literally hundreds of public channels around the country, Montgomery County is the best of the best.

That’s something to be proud of. But is MCM merely the best ‘buggy whip’ manufacturer in America?

That’s a reference to a long-gone industry that went out of existence as technology (autos replacing horses) overtook it. In an age of YouTube, HD cameras in our pockets and desktop editing worthy of a Hollywood production, does an access media center like MCM still have a role to play?

Montgomery County residents think so.

In a study done earlier this year (via a telephone poll of hundreds of MoCo residents), 73% indicated it was important to have PEG channels available. And 73% of said it was important to have county facilities where they can produce programs for TV or internet distribution.

Some in the county think that after 25 years, MCM is a bit of a dinosaur… just biding it’s time until the winds of change drive it into extinction. Yet as the best PEG operation in America, and with the support of county residents, I am convinced that MCM still has an important role to play in this Digital World we live in.

What do you think? Share your thoughts by commenting below.

I look forward to continuing the conversation with you, and blogging about ideas that can make MCM and our county better.

Thanks and stay cool!

About Merlyn Reineke

Merlyn Reineke is Executive Director of Montgomery Community Media, which provides media training and community-based content by-and-for the residents of Montgomery County.

View all posts by Merlyn Reineke