QPTV received six 2020 Hometown Media Awards from the Alliance for Community Media Foundation. The awards program was established to honor and promote community media and local cable programs that are distributed on Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) access cable television channels.
Sister Tesa Fitzgerald, the Executive Director of Hour Children, became a foster parent in 1986 to eight children of incarcerated mothers at the convent where she lived. That set the beginning of her work with families impacted by incarceration. In 1992, she founded Hour Children as a nonprofit organization to offer supportive services to other children of incarcerated mothers and the mothers themselves. Before that, she was responsible for New York State curriculum oversight for Catholic elementary schools for the Diocese of Brooklyn and both a school principal and teacher at various Catholic elementary schools. In addition to being an educator, she is a Certified Foster Care Trainer. Sister Tesa has been named a CNN Hero (2012), a White House Champion of Change (2013), the 2014 winner of the Opus Prize, and in 2015 was awarded the Cross Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice. In 2017, she was named to the Irish American Hall-of-Fame.
Eid al-Fitr also called the "Festival of Breaking the Fast", is a religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. This religious Eid (Muslim religious festival) is the first and only day in the month of Shawwal during which Muslims are not permitted to fast. The holiday celebrates the conclusion of the 29 or 30 days of dawn-to-sunset fasting during the entire month of Ramadan. Rajaa Singh was raised in an interfaith home and along with Diwali she and her family celebrates Eid.
In this episode of the “Community Media Podcast,” host John Collins welcomes Michael Wassenaar, President of the Alliance for Community Media, the educational, advocacy and lobbying organization that represents over 1000 local media outlets across the US. The ACM works tirelessly to support and promote these public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV organizations and community media centers that strive to promote interest in local issues and events.
In the podcast, Mr. Wassenaar offers some thought provoking ideas about the value of these community media centers when it comes to their roles in promoting civic engagement and protecting and increasing freedom of expression. Wassenaar also speaks to the challenges PEG channels face today and going forward.
The show highlights Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, the Queens Chamber of Commerce, legislators, members of the community, and the businesses of Queens as they celebrate Queens Day in Albany 2019. This event is always a huge success! Participants enjoy a full day that includes: complimentary transportation, meet and greet the Queens Assembly and Senate delegations, tours of the majestic Capitol Building and Legislative Chambers, and a sampling from the finest food and drink purveyors in Queens. The trip gives Queens’ constituents an opportunity to come together at the State Capitol to have their voice heard and to showcase the culture, tourism, and economic development of our great borough at the State Capitol in Albany.
COMMUNITY EVENTS- PARADES/FESTIVALS WINNER
ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS- SINGLE EPISODE WINNER
The first and only festival in Queens is highlighting the exploding craft brewery scene in New York City and particularly Queens County. Over 2,000 attendees came out this year to meet, taste, and discover the local breweries and seasonal craft beers offered. The event also included activities and live music.
This event happens only in Queens, and it shares all the diversity Queens has to offer, and the community it brings together.
Each year, a panel of judges evaluates over a thousand entries based on several factors including subject, experience and budget. Awards are then presented to the most creative programs that address community needs, develop diverse community involvement, challenge conventional commercial television formats and move viewers to experience television in a different way. Proceeds from the awards program are used exclusively for facilitating, preserving and promoting education in community media.
“The Hometown Media Awards celebrate both the excellence of work and the diversity of media that appears on community channels being produced around the country. The ACM Foundation is proud of their achievement and of how they represent their communities in their work,” said Mike Wassenaar, president & CEO, Alliance for Community Media.
About the Alliance for Community Media (www.allcommunitymedia.org) Founded in 1979, the Alliance for Community Media is a national, non-profit membership organization committed to ensuring access to electronic media for all people. The Alliance for Community Media carries forth its mission by educating, advocating and acting as a resource for the more than 3,000 Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) cable channels nationwide.
