Community Media Program Director and founder William "Billy" Jackson received an MA in Educational Media from Harvard University in 1974, and was a filmmaker throughout his career. Jackson was a principal of Nommo Productions, which produced films for Alcoa, BET, Duquesne Light, and the New York City Department of General Services, as well as co-producing "Booker T. Washington" for PBS, which won the Cine Golden Eagle in 1986. Jackson founded Community Media, Inc. (CM) in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh in 1989. CM was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization in 1994, with the mission of "provid[ing] programs for young people to increase their knowledge of cutting-edge media production and presentation skills," and "present[ing] respected media artists and their work to diverse audiences to celebrate and preserve African-American culture throughout the Diaspora." Jackson partnered with a variety of contemporaneous Pittsburgh- and regionally-based non-profit corporations, and assembled an executive board and staff of experienced businesspeople from the private and public sectors. Major A. Mason, III, Ph.D., served as CM's President for much of its existence, though the general board makeup rotated frequently, and Jackson retained executive fiat in all corporate affairs. CM obtained major funding through donations from grant-making organizations and civic associations including the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Allegheny Regional Asset District, the Heinz Endowments, and The Pittsburgh Foundation. Beginning in 1998, Jackson adopted a less active role in CM management, resigning as Program Director to focus on special program development and instruction of volunteers and interns. Finances, personnel, and public relations responsibilities were also delegated to hired staff. CM's mission was primarily carried out in three programs. "Images of Culture" presented African-American filmmakers and their work to multicultural audiences through film series ("First Fridays," "Takin' It to the Streets"), lecture forums, and special events featuring artists such as playwright August Wilson, filmmakers Gordon Parks and Melvin Van Peebles, and entertainer and social activist Harry Belafonte. "Video Documentation Services" (VDS) trained interns and linked them to video professionals to produce freelance documentaries for non-profit organizations. "Community Eye" served as an in-house documentary production company. Directed by Jackson, interns produced films on African-American enterprise, theater, and community life. CM's 10th Anniversary, "Visions of the World" in 1999, marked Jackson's retirement as program director; he resigned from the corporation altogether in 2002. Dr. Mason managed Community Media's dissolution through 2003.
From the description of Community Media, Inc. records, 1989-2003. (University of Pittsburgh). WorldCat record id: 701727132
