Wanda Baer

Wanda Baer was a Dayton, Ohio independent producer and community media voice whose work with DATV connected public access television to lifelong learning, civic participation, and local storytelling. Her path reflected the field’s deep volunteer and producer tradition: people using community media not for recognition, but to keep showing up, creating programs, and helping local voices have a place on the channel.

Wanda was affiliated with DATV beginning in 1982 as an independent producer. She was also connected to education and community service through Sinclair Community College, where she retired in 1990 and remained active with lifelong learning and alumni work. Her community media contributions were recognized with the Roxie Cole Award for Excellence at DATV in 1995 and the ACM’s George Stoney Award for Humanistic Communication in 2002.

Her work points to one of the quiet strengths of public access: the steady presence of local producers who understood television as a community tool. Through years of independent production and civic engagement, Wanda helped make access television part of the local fabric in Dayton — a place where residents could keep learning, sharing, and documenting community life.