Somerville Media Center (SMC) cultivates a vibrant and inclusive community by providing a platform for community voices. SMC empowers residents and organizations to share their ideas, engage in discourse and dialog, and create content that celebrates their lived experiences. SMC prepares community members to become active participants in the creation of media through their unique perspectives. SMC supports the production of community-oriented content that has an impact on the audience who consumes it.
The organization is open to all sectors of the community with special efforts made to reach individuals who have been historically excluded from the exchange of ideas in the mass media marketplace.
Somerville Media Center operates live cable television channels, streaming radio stations, and video-on-demand services that feature community-produced content. SMC is the oldest community media center in Massachusetts, founded in since 1983, and is the home of the longest running community-produced program in the world Dead Air Live (going strong since 1972).
Somerville Media Center is a 501(c)3 organization governed by a fourteen seat Board of Directors who each come from a diverse range of experiences and industries and contribute their expertise to support the organization. The organization is funded, in part, by a contract with the City of Somerville as well other foundations, small donors, and memberships.
SMC is the winner of the Alliance for Community Media’s Award for Overall Excellence in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2015.
