College of the Redwoods issued a termination letter to Access Humboldt on October 7th stating, “The lease will be terminated …due to the planned demolition of the RBC-A Building. As such, the premises must be fully vacated by the Lessee no later than May 31, 2026.” The termination of the 5-year lease comes three years into the lease.
“This gives Access Humboldt a short timeline to exit the building,” Christina Jeffers says. Finding a suitable building to move to is another challenge as moving a television and radio station that operates five channels of cable, streaming, and LPFM is no ordinary task. “We consider CR a valuable partner and hope to find a solution with them. We are grateful for the time we had at CR, benefiting the community by expanding our training programs and facilities there.”
Access Humboldt is a longstanding, valued community institution with broad community support, strong leadership, and organizational capacity. They broadcast civic meetings, educational content, and community created content centered in freedom of expression, government transparency, and localism. Now, they’re considering how small of a footprint they can survive on until a better solution is found. This adds to PEG funding reductions over the last several years, further destabilizing their future.
Jeffers hopes to find a building that can house the TV studio, podcasting studios, KZZH 96.7 LPFM, a computer lab, rental facility, library of production tools, meeting rooms, and a server room robust enough to house broadcasting and archiving needs. “We are looking for regional partners to think outside of the box,” Jeffers observes, “Like other rural areas, Humboldt County stands to lose more of our local news infrastructure. Without Public Access, Educational & Governmental (or PEG) TV & Radio, civic engagement and local representation will plummet. People trust and depend on locally made content to stay informed on what matters most at home.”
Access Humboldt’s hands-on training programs teach the community how to broadcast on TV & radio. Without an appropriate facility, these trainings cannot take place, causing a further skills drain on the region at a time when digital media literacy is paramount. “It is extremely important to have strong, independent sources of local information, delivered by local people for and about their community, especially now that so many local institutions are being challenged. Humboldt’s friends and neighbors are responsible for most of the content programmed on Access Humboldt’s channels and training is essential.” says Jane Callahan, Access Humboldt’s Board Vice Chair.
This year Access Humboldt created three unprecedented regional initiatives: Illuminate (Sunshine Week Awards recognizing achievement in local journalism), BOLD Days of May (County-wide fundraising initiative that benefited 14 nonprofits), and BOLDtFEST (County-wide short film incubator and film festival that creates 10 shorts by Humboldt for Humboldt annually). “We put the pedal to the metal, so to speak,” Jeffers continues, “and now Humboldt can’t afford to back off–which is why I am asking the community for help right now. We are reaching out to organizations and I want to innovate with partners that may not be traditional.” To support Access Humboldt during this setback, you can donate to help fund the move. You can also volunteer to help them pack up and move in the coming months.
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