Kari Peterson

Kari Peterson is a longtime community media leader and the founding executive director of Davis Community Television, the organization now known as Davis Media Access in Davis, California. DCTV was incorporated in 1988, emerging from the earlier Davis Community Cable Co-op, and Peterson helped establish the new nonprofit as a community-based public access operation. During her tenure, DCTV developed training, production, and internship programs, moved into its Fifth Street facility, and expanded its role in local media and civic life. Davis Media Access

Peterson’s work extended beyond day-to-day station leadership into telecommunications policy and the development of new community communications tools. She served on the City of Davis Telecommunications Task Force and helped organize Friends of Community Media during local cable and telecommunications negotiations. Under her leadership, DCTV also began providing educational-access services for the Davis Joint Unified School District and launched low-power FM station KDRT in 2004, broadening the organization beyond public-access television. Davis Media Access

Peterson also contributed to the national community media field through the Alliance for Community Media, serving as its secretary in the 1990s and later writing and speaking about the transition from cable access to networked and digital community media.