Deproduction applies open source practices to cable access

Katie Donnelly

Open source practices have worked well for group production of free software, but how do they work with media projects? The Denver-based Deproduction aims to find out. Deproduction is a nonprofit organization that “exists to put the power of media and technology in the hands of the people in order to enable every person to actively engage their community and bring about the change they wish to see in the world.” In order to achieve this goal, Deproduction relies on a four-pronged approach that includes affordable media and technology equipment access and distribution services, Web and technology development and consulting, professional video production services, and community media education.

I recently spoke with Tony Shawcross, Founder and Executive Director of Deproduction, and Adrienne Russell, Deproduction Board Member, who described Deproduction’s philosophy and latest accomplishments. Deproduction started off in 2001 with the Denver-based online community calendar, denverevolution. In 2006, their open source, Drupal-based content management system grew to power Denver Open Media, a public access television station with a community activist foundation. Denver Open Media now operates three Denver Comcast channels: 56, 57 and 219.

Denver Open Media’s vision is entirely web-based and community-driven. They provide production classes and workshops and equipment and studio rentals. The project's operations are funded through fees for these services, income earned from video and web development services, grants and donations, and membership dues. Ten staff members and over 250 active community members work on the three channels noted above.

Community members create and submit videos, which are guaranteed to air at least once. Users aren’t bound by any strict content rules — they must publish their content under a Creative Commons License and refrain from producing anything illegal. (If needed, other users can flag content as inappropriate.) Community members are encouraged to rate the videos on a five star scale. In order to ensure that one type of programming cannot dominate over others, this voting takes place within particular “theme blocks.” These community ratings drive an algorithm that determines the programming schedule. The entire 12-step “User Automated Process” is outlined here.

Denver Open Media’s Content varies greatly. There is a wealth of religious programming representing diverse points of view (including Atheism), as well as music, comedy and public affairs content. There is also a great deal of programming focusing on health and wellness, particularly recovering from addiction. The range of programming is quite impressive: for example, see Cannabis Common Sense (dedicated to all marijuana-related issues), Brainiacs (produced by people with brain injuries), Encrucijada: Sin Salud, No Hay Nada (practical health-related advice for Spanish-speaking residents) and Spotlight on Students (produced by middle and high school students).

For more about Deproduction’s vision for open access television stations see this 30 minute video:

In 2008, Deproduction received a Knight News Challenge grant to replicate their Open Media model in six additional stations and facilitate sharing among public access stations nationwide. Subsequently, Deproduction acquired Civic Pixel, a Drupal development firm, hired additional staff members, and redesigned their toolset in order to increase flexibility and accessibility for a diverse group of partners. Shawcross explained that Deproduction uses the Drupal platform because it is open-source, flexible, and robust, with a large and active community of users. However, Deproduction has faced some challenges in its Drupal development in the past, resulting in models that hindered shared use. (Read more about the successes and failures of various models here.)

Deproduction worked with the six new stations to develop new, Drupal-powered sites that emphasize content-sharing and multimedia tools such as blogs and webstreaming. According to Russell and Shawcross, Deproduction did not force the Denver Open Media model on the six other sites; instead, they “succeeded in developing the project in a distributed way” by offering a set of customizable tools which stations were free to use as they wished. They maintain that each station is, indeed, developing its own approach to the Deproduction toolset. Currently, Denver Open Media is the most sophisticated site, while the others range across various stages of development. The six other participating beta-stations in the network include Amherst Community Television, Boston Neighborhood Network, Channel Austin, Davis Media Access, Portland Community Media and Urbana Public Television.

There have been some challenges in this initiative. With no historical precedent and a variety of funding obstacles, embracing the Deproduction philosophy is not always automatic for partner stations. Some of the stations were initially reluctant to use Creative Commons licensing for fear of driving away potential producers. Additionally, the partner stations are not all well-versed in open-source technologies, which means there is a learning curve to consider, and varying levels of expertise can make widespread collaboration difficult. The new stations do not yet have Drupal developers on staff, although some have entered into partnerships with outside Drupal developers.

Deproduction has begun beta-testing of the Open Media Project tools and is planning to release a simpler “Open Media Install Profile” at Drupal.org by 2010. They are also testing a variety of content sharing options in order to release a best practices document that promotes one particular model by July 2010. They are currently exploring options on the technical side — the size of the video files alone presents a significant challenge.

Another challenge is the tension of balancing hyperlocal productions with widespread sharing. What about the potentially troubling possibility of productions from technologically rich communities usurping locally-created ones? According to Shawcross, “There has been a shift in what community means, and communities are no longer tied to physical locations.” Both Russell and Shawcross said that Deproduction will remain committed to the hyperlocal and that this new system of sharing content (including sharing best practices, costs, curricula, and training) would, in the end, better serve local communities as well. We’ll follow up with Deproduction in the Spring to see how this system of content sharing progresses as the beta stations develop.

Want to learn more about Public Media 2.0? Read our white paper: Public Media 2.0: Dynamic, Engaged Publics.