March 25, 2025 • 33 mins
Mary Van Sickle is the Executive Director of Dakota Media Access (DMA) in Bismarck, ND. DMA is an award-winning, non-profit community media and training organization which provides Government and Community Media services in the Bismarck Mandan area.
Prior to DMA, Mary worked in a variety of marketing, economic development, government, and non-profit management positions.
She was the Executive Director for the Bismarck Downtowners, the Marketing Director for the Bismarck Civic Center and the Economic Development Specialist for the Bismarck-Mandan Development Assn. She has served in various leadership roles, and on numerous committees locally and nationally and is the past chair of the national Board of Directors for the Alliance for Community Media.
Prior to DMA, Mary worked in a variety of marketing, economic development, government, and non-profit management positions.
She was the Executive Director for the Bismarck Downtowners, the Marketing Director for the Bismarck Civic Center and the Economic Development Specialist for the Bismarck-Mandan Development Assn. She has served in various leadership roles, and on numerous committees locally and nationally and is the past chair of the national Board of Directors for the Alliance for Community Media.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to These Are Your Neighbors, a podcast hosted by
the City of Bismarck's Human Relations Committee and produced by
Dakota Media Access. The purpose of the podcast is to
celebrate change makers in Bismarck whose contributions break barriers, build connections,
and redefine what is possible for our community.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Welcome to Views of Your Neighbors, a podcast hosted by
TiO Jorgeson and Sargianawitski, both members of the City of
Bismarck Human Relations Committee. Thank you for joining us as
we highlight the individual's driving positive change and making a
lasting impact in our community. Their stories inspire progress and
shape the City of Bismarck.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Our guest today is Mary van Sikel. She's the executive
director of Dakota Media Access in Bismarck. Dakota Media Access
is an award winning nonprofit community media and training organization
which provides government and community media services in the Bismarck
Mandan area. Prior to Dakota Media Access, Mary worked in
(01:05):
a variety of marketing, economic development, government and nonprofit management positions.
She was the executive director for the Bismarck Downtowners, the
marketing director for the Bismarck Civic Center and the Economic
Development Specialist for the Bismarck Mandan Development Association. She has
served in various leadership roles and on numerous committees locally
(01:27):
and nationally. Is the past chair of the national Board
of Directors for the Alliance for Community Media. Welcome Mary,
thank you.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Welcome to you both, and thank you both for doing
these programs for Dakota Media Access.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
So, Mary, first off, why do you make Bismarck home
of all the places? Why do you choose to live here?
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Well, it was really opportunity that brought me here. It's
probably not an unusual story, but my parents actually moved
We were in the Twin Cities and moved to North
Dakota when I was a senior in high school. In
the moment, it was quite traumatic, but I'm the only
one of my family that still remains here. And after that,
it was basically opportunities, different jobs that were interesting and
(02:11):
challenging and really I valued and ended up staying.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah, and so then a big part of Bismarck is
actually Dakota Media Access and the work you do. Can
you just talk about some of the you know, the
impact that you have in the community.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Well, I think, you know, the one thing I should
mention at the at the front end is really this
organization is unique in North Dakota. We do have public
channels and government channels in different communities across the state,
and they can be run by maybe it's a local
chamber office or a school, or the city itself may
(02:49):
have a government channel. But we consider ourselves what's called
a PEGA operation public education and government operation. We are
a five oh one c three non profit organized primarily
to do local government meetings. That was really the whole
gist of why Dakota Media Access was organized. And it
(03:12):
started out, as you probably recall if you've been here
long enough, as Community Access Television was the original name
of the organization.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
When did that change?
Speaker 4 (03:22):
You know, We changed our name in two thousand and nine,
and that was for a variety of reasons. The City
of Mandan came on board at that point, so our
channel was getting pretty congested with lots of meetings, and
we knew we should launch and did launch another channel
(03:43):
at that time, So we launched Government Access. We had
Community Access, and it seemed to like a logical time
now we would change our name to Dakota Media Access,
and then in twenty fourteen we launched two more channels
that are an HD, so we we at this point
have four cable channels that we're launched. But the title
(04:07):
of Dakota Media Access really fits much better because we
do more than television now. I mean, we have multiple
streaming platforms here. We are in a radio studio where
radio broadcast as well as streaming. We have apps, so
it's not about television any longer.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So what is your day to day like then, as
executive director for Decoda Media Access.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
Well, I think it's a difficult question ask. There's no
typical days. But I think, like anybody, you come to
come to work and you know, you probably open up
your computer and respond to emails and messages of people
that are you know, trying to ask questions or your
projects that you're working on, and really checking in with
our staff. We have a really very small staff of people,
(04:54):
but they're very specialized and they're certainly very very good
at what they do. They know what they need to do.
And one of the first things that we always look
at too during the day is what meetings are coming up,
because again, our primary function is local government meetings. Last
year we produced I believe the number is three hundred
(05:17):
and thirty live government meetings between the cities, Counties, School District,
Park District, those types of meetings going on. So there's
a lot of activity in that area. But again, our
staff is just you know, so super and they know
exactly what we need to do, and we come in
in the morning. Is everybody here who's doing the meeting,
(05:38):
what position they're in, and you know that's again our priority.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
So how long after you guys record the meetings does
it go on your sites?
Speaker 4 (05:48):
Pretty darn quick. You stake a little while to dread's code,
but you know, we're actually it's out on Facebook Live,
so that recording is in place right away. The streaming
platforms also are out immediately it's live. That video and
demand in on our website at FreeTV dot org is
(06:09):
probably within an hour or so. You really do see it,
but we you know, we have to be careful because
as you know, there could be technical problems and sometimes
a glitch happens, so we can't get it in there
until maybe the next morning. And then it also takes
a while to get some chaptering done or close captioning
we've got to check all those things and make sure
(06:30):
they're all functioning.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
So, and I don't how long have you been here
as the executive director.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
I started in January of two thousand, so it's twenty
five years this January.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
So what have been some of the biggest changes you've
seen with you know, broadcasting and you know the videos
and everything.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Yeah, I think again, you know, you kind of go
back to the streaming element. I mean, we've just seen
that takeover. People are not getting their their content necessarily
through television or cable any longer. The streaming platforms, we've
exploded with those and we're on almost any kind of
(07:10):
streaming platform you can imagine. So that's technology has probably
been the biggest shift for us, and we just have
to always continue to keep up with this. I think
one thing that we always tell people is that we've
been live streaming, which was a simulcast from the cable
channel since two thousand and five, so that's twenty years
(07:33):
we have actually been streaming the content that's coming out
of live out of our channels, which is pretty significant
when you think about that. We're one of the first
websites to offer that.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Yeah, that's awesome online. So then you mentioned that you
guys are a nonprofit but you cover local government events
as well as like our podcast and radio broadcasts. How
does the funding work with all of that.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
Well, we've been really fortunate that we have always had
kind of a pool that we can draw from. You know,
that's not a luxury that a lot of nonprofits have.
But it's changing. Unfortunately, that pool is going away. Good question,
we always get it. How are you funded? Because we
don't sell advertising that's typical of most media, we are
(08:26):
funded through cable subscribers in the Bismarck Mandan area. They
on their regular cable bills will pay a franchise fee
that is collected by both the City of Bismarck and
the City of Mandan, and that every year we make
a budget request to both cities through their budgeting process,
(08:48):
and we are allocated funds drawing out of those pools
of funds that they collect. Now it's changing, as you know,
people are cutting their cable and using streaming platforms rather
than the cable operator to get their content. So the
pool is drawing down. I mean typically we were drawing
(09:09):
at the peak probably thirty percent of what was collected
and now we're at eighty percent of what is collected,
so that means we have to make some changes and
figure out how do we move forward and how do
we fund our operation because our budget goes up, the
pool is going down, and that's concerning certainly. But I
(09:32):
think one of the things that we are exploring, or
probably the main thing we are exploring, is that we
need to sit down with the political subdivisions that we
provide those services too that have not ever contributed to
our operation. I mean, the cities of Bismarck, Amanden have
been very generous in opening the doors of their meeting
(09:55):
rooms and asking us to provide the same services to
all the those political subdivisions. But now we need to
sit down and have a conversation about how do we
continue that. I think the really valuable thing is that
people in this community appreciate and want the service. They
(10:15):
want to be able to go to a place and
find that content when they need it and in a
place that is easy to find and it's consistent. We
really are kind of that umbrella organization where you have
the counties, the city, all the different political subdivisions that
we serve are all on one page on our website.
(10:38):
You can go into that particular location and find a
library of video on demand and be able to access
that information. I think that in today's world that is
absolutely critical on people. I don't think people would have
much of an appetite in this community to see that dissolve.
So we need to have these conversations about how we
(11:02):
can provide that in the future.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
And I do think, you know, especially the Bismarck City
Commission meetings. I don't know why, but the thought of
driving there and then driving home, which probably takes fifteen minutes,
is you know, like why would I do that? But
watching them at home is something I do regularly, so
it's it is definitely a great service.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
Well, people are busy. I mean, you have full time jobs.
People have families, they're taking care of kids or parents
or whatever it is, and have jobs to they have
to report to. It's very difficult to go in person
and sit at these meetings. But having it at your
fingertips and being able to retrieve that information when you
(11:46):
need it and go to where you want to go
in that meeting to hear that item is really important.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
I was still I've done really coming commission meetings the
city or Bismarck City Commission meanings. I listen to the
school board meaning and the nice part about it is
what you said is going to be able to go
to the part where you want to listen to, so
you don't have to listen to the whole meeting while
you're sitting there. Yeah, because I feel bad like getting
up and leaving a meeting after my topic is done.
So yes, So are there different regulations then you have
(12:14):
to follow for the different types of content you have.
As far as undercoded media access.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Well, it has more to do with how we distribute
that content than the content itself. So here we are
in the radio studio, anything that's going out broadcast is
under the FCC guidelines and that's been a bit of
a steep learning curve initially to work under that umbrella
(12:39):
or under their rules and whatnot. The cable industry is
pretty wide to open. There wasn't a whole lot of
regulations there for us, but we also know that we
have to be careful about our community standards too. We
don't just kind of open the door to anything that
(13:02):
can go out on our channels, but we do have
certain guidelines in our own policies. For one thing, we're
prohibited from advertising, so we have to make sure that
the content that's being submitted to us, and we get
a lot of content submitted to us, whether it's the
radio programs or PSAs video shows those programs as well,
(13:27):
that we're not selling a product or service through that.
So that's in right now. The FCC is really cracking
down on nonprofit mpr pbs, those types of public stations
that those underwriting guidelines are being followed to the t,
so we have to be very careful that that's not
(13:49):
happening as well. So your question about what regulations mostly
FCC radio type stuff streaming is pretty wide open as well.
But again we really look at our own policies and
community standards to help guide that a bit.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
And so you kind of mentioned it there, but how
do you determine who and what you air?
Speaker 4 (14:12):
Well, the first thing that comes to mind is we don't,
I mean, who is anyone in our community can provide
can bring in a program to us. Now, we do
allow people to use our facility and our equipment, and
we will train you to do a program. We do
not provide staff to produce a program for an individual.
(14:34):
Some organizations we work more closely with to help them
do that, but we don't judge. I mean, if somebody
wants to bring in a program about jewelry making, that's
really up to them. It's not up to us to
decide that's important to the community, and that kind of
programming would either fall with radio or community access. Our
(14:58):
government channel is all government content.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
So in your time at DMA, what do you think
are the most changes that have happened with radio?
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Well, I you know my radio experiences. We launched this
radio operation nine years ago, so that that's been interesting.
Before that, my experience with radio was writing the applications
to the FCC, which was quite lengthy process. We initially
(15:30):
had started with a full power application before we went
after this low power station. We ended up working quite
a long time on the FCC with the FCC and
getting a full power radio operation going. We were a
finalist in that application with one other entity that ended
(15:53):
up coming to our board and offering money to buy
us out, and they made the determination at that time
to do so. And I still regret that we did that.
I wish we would have captured that full power license.
I think that would have been extremely valuable to have,
but we moved on Low Power FM opened up again
(16:15):
the application process and we were successful in getting this station.
So it has changed even in the nine years that
I've been involved in the operation part of it. But
I think radio in general has just been slammed in
the last we could probably say, twenty years with streaming
platforms and some of the ownership regulations that really I
(16:42):
think hurt a lot of local radio stations. When you
have a large nationwide organization owning thousands of radio stations,
that local voice gets kind of lost. I mean, we've
got some really strong local radio stations still operating. Some
of them still do news and local information. They're doing
(17:06):
the best they can, but they've been decimated quite a
bit with streaming platforms. A lot of people don't even
listen to radio anymore. Unfortunately.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Why do you think local radio then is still important
to a community.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Well, And I think it does give that local voice
and a local just a presence for our community. I
don't want to hear what's going on and wherever, I
mean across the country. I can go to national news
sources and other streaming platforms, but I really do want
to know what's happening. When I drive with anybody, I'm
(17:40):
always flipping the radio. Era drives people crazy, but I
always enjoy that, especially going through a smaller community and
you can always grab a local radio station. But for
us here, I think the thing that we're really unique
about is the fact that we allow people to do
their own radio here. I don't think a lot of
(18:00):
our radio stations do that. I don't think any of
them really do. We do allow people to provide a
radio program for us, and that can be a really
great podcast, like these are your neighbors, or it could
be somebody who's just passionate about music or a hobby.
And we've got some really great radio music programs that
are curated so well. I mean, they're just fabulous to
(18:23):
listen to. You don't really get that on other radio stations.
I mean, these are local people who are passionate about
a genre or just music in general and really really
work hard to make very interesting playlists. So those are
really fun. But again, we allow people to have the
voice here, whether it's community access television or radio access.
(18:48):
Both of those offer people an opportunity to get involved
and have a voice and say what they want to say.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
I think the curated playlists are probably extremely valuable because
if you're just flipping through regular radio channels or the
larger ones will say it's always the same songs. You
can go like three stations and you're hearing the same
song on all three.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
Yeah. Well, I'm glad you brought that up, because at
the very beginning we'd have these community meetings with lots
of people who are interested in providing either a podcast
or a music program, and it was always our intention
from the beginning. Let's not try and duplicate what's already happening.
I mean, there's again, the local radio stations are great.
They play, they have their particular format, whether it's country
(19:39):
or Top forty or whatever it is, and they do
a good job with them. Why would we want to
do the same thing. Let's dig into these other artists
that are out there, or go back in time a
little bit and find that some of the other less
played singles that are out there, because there's so much music.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
So you had mentioned that one of the interesting things
about Tacoda Media Access is a nonprofit. So for you,
what have some of been some of the most challenging things.
As far as running a nonprofit.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
Well, again, I will say we've been really fortunate as
far as our funding because we have this leg of
government access that we stand on and I think we
do it pretty darn well that we provide that service
and the cities have supported us in doing that. So
we've been really really fortunate for that in that respect
(20:33):
as far as our funding, But again, it's changing, so
I'm not quite sure how to We're not your typical
heartstring nonprofit. I mean, and I know the two of
you really work hard in the community with lots of
different groups, and I think that's fabulous, and they have
a lot of challenges with fundraising. We have not gotten
(20:55):
aggressive with fundraising, so it's that is again we're fortunate
that we haven't had to go down that road too far.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
However, if someone accesses your programs, there is an entity
where they can donate.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Cour definitely thank you for bringing that up. Yes, absolutely,
and we do have people who are who are providing
support to us and we always appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Is on the website, yes, can you set up like
a monthly reoccurring.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Yes, absolutely, there is a donate button on there.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
So then you've really spoken about your relationship with the government.
How did that I should say local government, But how
did that start? How did that come about?
Speaker 4 (21:40):
Well, that really was the beginning. That was the whole purpose,
and it was I wasn't here at the time, but.
Speaker 5 (21:48):
I was.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
I'm going to say the mid eighties, cable operations were
beginning across the country and we had a local city
commission that was watching what was happening. They granted a
cable operator to begin in the community, but the FCC
was also providing oversight to the cable operators themselves. And
(22:14):
one of the conditions that are allowed cities are channels.
The cities had a right to ask for those channels.
The cities also had a right to ask for a
franchise fee, and this was in exchange for using the
public right of way to deliver their product. Because basically,
(22:36):
they're running cable on the streets, so those streets need maintenance.
There's some oversight, and that's what those franchise fees were
intended to do, along with if the community chose to
operate their own channels. Many don't, but that was the intention.
(22:57):
So we were established merely to do Bismarck City Commission meetings.
That's how it all started. But quickly Burley County came
on board, as did the Bismarck School Board. I think
it was only a couple of years later. They were
all in that same Tom Baker meeting room that is
used today having their meetings down there. So that was
(23:19):
how did we get involved with government. That's why we
were established.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Yeah, so you talked a little bit about public service announcements,
So what is the criteria for an organization to people
they air one on DMA.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
Well, again, our basic guidelines not selling a product for
a commercial product or service. So PSA is we love them.
I mean people need if we have events going on
and whatnot. In the community. We have our Carousel system,
which is on our video platforms. All of our programming
(23:55):
defaults to what we call Carousel, which is basically a
community bulletin board. So we have a lot of organizations, nonprofits, churches, schools,
and governments sending us their announcements, so those are in
rotation on our carousel system. But also with radio PSAs,
we like to get those people in here or delivering
(24:17):
their PSA to us thirty seconds tell us what's going on.
Not a lot of criteria. In other words, to answer.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Your question, I don't know if you know the answer
to this, but is it true that your traditional radio
station is required to do so many PSAs for free
for nonprofits?
Speaker 4 (24:38):
I do believe that's true, yes, yep.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
So then if someone comes in does a PSA and
tapes it and then you put it on the radio station,
is it going your website as well, like information about
that organization, like if they have an event.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
Oftentimes we do both. Yes, yeah, we can send it
out on multiple places. So that's a good way to
do it.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
If you have a nonprofit there, it's not scary to
come on and just record quick thirty seconds. You get
your name out there.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
She says, it's not scary, but ask us about our
first first.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
Episode coming in, get used to it eventually start somewhere right. Yeah,
So then let's kind of shift. You've been involved in
a lot of things in Bismarck. What are some of them?
What have you enjoyed being a part of.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
I have had the opportunity to get involved in a
lot of things, and I should say at the onset
that it's it's really was more of a result of
my jobs. I had really fortunate to have some very
interesting positions. So I was asked to be on you know,
task forces or short term initiatives or long term committees,
(25:48):
whatever it might be. So I had that opportunity, and
you know, I really should say it was because I
was a staff person and I had these positions within
the community. I was very fortunate to be involved in
a lot of that, whether it's the Forestry Department or
right now, I'm on a group called the Future of
Local News in North Dakota Initiative, who had a first
(26:11):
meeting last last week. It's probably a six month product project,
done a lot of different things. I've been a part
of League Women Voters for many, many years, and again
that associated with what we do here with election programming.
So it's been really a privilege to do that, no doubt.
And again I kind of look at you two, and
(26:33):
you guys are like super volunteers in the community and
what you do. You have full time jobs that serve
the community already, whether it's through your nonprofit or National
Guard that you're in Thea's so awesome, and then you
have all these other things that you do. Not to
mention the fact that you do this radio program for us,
(26:54):
and I know you don't do it for us. You
do it for the people in the community and to
allow people to know that there's a lot of people
like you out there that are doing quiet things, but
they are really really important things. So I mean, as
you guys are the big volunteers here, and I think
we have to always say thank you for doing it
(27:17):
because a program like this is so valuable. I think
if it just influences a couple of people to get
out in the community and do more than it's worth it, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Thank you for that. And I think to a big
part that we get excited about is just sharing what
these organizations are doing as well in the community, because
a lot of people are surprised when they find out
that we have so many great organizations.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
There's a lot going on behind the scenes, and if
those things go away, we really notice, you know, because
people are quiet about it. They're not doing it for recognition.
Most of the time, they do it because they care.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
So one of the former things that you had done
a job role was the executive director of the Downtowners.
Can you talk a little bit about the impact that
the Downtowners has in our community?
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Well, you know, the downtown area of any community is
really kind of the heart and the place where you
know people care about and should care about because it's
usually where your history lies as well. And I think
the other thing about Bismarck that's so unique is the
location of our downtown area in relationship to a regional
(28:31):
mall and the event center. It's it's quite a nice
lineup that we have here in Bismarck. So that's really important.
But the downtown area is so important again because it's
it's your history. It's when you travel, where do you go.
I mean you usually go to communities and you check
out their downtown. It is a reflection, kind of a
(28:54):
mirror of the way your community is.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
I didn't even really realize how close it was to
the Civic Center and are the event center in the mall.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
So it's pretty unusual. You know, after years of sitting
on different committees, whether through the city offices or whatever,
you know, there'd be consultants coming in to study the
areas and that was always mentioned. It was like, how
did that ever happen? Because usually when you build a mall,
(29:26):
it's out on the near the interstate where people are
traveling through that type of thing, So I don't know
whoever did that. I think it was probably the Walker
family who had that property and made the deal with
whoever was involved at that time, But it is very
unusual to see that kind of a lineup. But I
think it's created a healthy dynamic for the community as well, because,
(29:52):
you know, shopping malls have had their had their heyday
and now they're shifting. But I think Kirkwood still is
pretty viable.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
And it really because I would not consider Bismarck a
walkable city normally, So you pointing that out, I think
about like when I travel, I just prefer to walk everywhere,
So that is definitely a nice bonus for our downtown area.
So you kind of mentioned this that you've been involved
(30:23):
mainly in the community because of your profession, whether it's
professional or volunteer capacity. Why do you think it's important
for people to get involved locally.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
Well, I think even for your own your own family
and your own peace of mind, to know what's happening
in your community is really really important. You know, we
can't it's tough to sit in your own space and
not know what's going on, and I think that's you know,
(30:55):
The thing that we try and provide, and I think
we do provide, is that access to what the leadership
is doing in your community is so important because it
affects you. Whether it's a school board or planning and
zoning or whatever group it is, you be paying attention
to it, it makes a difference.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
So we're already to the last question, and we asked
the same last question for everyone, So that is, how
would you encourage your neighbors to create an atmosphere of inclusion, equality,
diversity and accessibility.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
Well, I probably continue that same thought and say just
be aware and pay attention to what's happening. It is
really tough. I know, people who are working and have
families and all of the obligations that go with that.
It's hard to get down to these meetings and really
you know, read agendas in advance. But you know, there's
(31:48):
a variety of sources that are available to people. And
you know, I look at some of the city staff
and the elected officials in the community, add a privilege
of working with probably hundreds of them, and they work
one of the main issues that they always deal with
(32:09):
is trying to inform people of what's going on. I mean,
because media has shifted so much. We've already talked about
radio newspapers. I mean, people aren't reading the paper anymore.
But most of our political subdivisions all have Facebook and
social any social media site they can put out posts
(32:33):
on and try and get people informed. But you know,
an answer to the question is just to stay informed
as best you can. Is going to only help you
and your neighborhood and hopefully your whole community.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
Yeah. Well, thank you, Mary, and to everyone for tuning
in too. These Are Your Neighbors with our guest Mary
van Sikel, Thank you for wanting to get to know
your neighbors as we hold these important and necessary conversations.
If you found this conversation as important as we do,
please make sure to share it with your neighbors.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Thank you for tuning in to These Are Your Neighbors,
a podcast hosted by the City of Bismarck's Human Relations
Committee and produced by Dakota Media Access. We hope you
were inspired by the stories of citizens driving meaningful change
in Bismarck. For more info on the HRC, visit bizmarckand
dot gov.
Welcome to These Are Your Neighbors, a podcast hosted by
the City of Bismarck's Human Relations Committee and produced by
Dakota Media Access. The purpose of the podcast is to
celebrate change makers in Bismarck whose contributions break barriers, build connections,
and redefine what is possible for our community.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Welcome to Views of Your Neighbors, a podcast hosted by
TiO Jorgeson and Sargianawitski, both members of the City of
Bismarck Human Relations Committee. Thank you for joining us as
we highlight the individual's driving positive change and making a
lasting impact in our community. Their stories inspire progress and
shape the City of Bismarck.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Our guest today is Mary van Sikel. She's the executive
director of Dakota Media Access in Bismarck. Dakota Media Access
is an award winning nonprofit community media and training organization
which provides government and community media services in the Bismarck
Mandan area. Prior to Dakota Media Access, Mary worked in
(01:05):
a variety of marketing, economic development, government and nonprofit management positions.
She was the executive director for the Bismarck Downtowners, the
marketing director for the Bismarck Civic Center and the Economic
Development Specialist for the Bismarck Mandan Development Association. She has
served in various leadership roles and on numerous committees locally
(01:27):
and nationally. Is the past chair of the national Board
of Directors for the Alliance for Community Media. Welcome Mary,
thank you.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Welcome to you both, and thank you both for doing
these programs for Dakota Media Access.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
So, Mary, first off, why do you make Bismarck home
of all the places? Why do you choose to live here?
Speaker 4 (01:47):
Well, it was really opportunity that brought me here. It's
probably not an unusual story, but my parents actually moved
We were in the Twin Cities and moved to North
Dakota when I was a senior in high school. In
the moment, it was quite traumatic, but I'm the only
one of my family that still remains here. And after that,
it was basically opportunities, different jobs that were interesting and
(02:11):
challenging and really I valued and ended up staying.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Yeah, and so then a big part of Bismarck is
actually Dakota Media Access and the work you do. Can
you just talk about some of the you know, the
impact that you have in the community.
Speaker 4 (02:27):
Well, I think, you know, the one thing I should
mention at the at the front end is really this
organization is unique in North Dakota. We do have public
channels and government channels in different communities across the state,
and they can be run by maybe it's a local
chamber office or a school, or the city itself may
(02:49):
have a government channel. But we consider ourselves what's called
a PEGA operation public education and government operation. We are
a five oh one c three non profit organized primarily
to do local government meetings. That was really the whole
gist of why Dakota Media Access was organized. And it
(03:12):
started out, as you probably recall if you've been here
long enough, as Community Access Television was the original name
of the organization.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
When did that change?
Speaker 4 (03:22):
You know, We changed our name in two thousand and nine,
and that was for a variety of reasons. The City
of Mandan came on board at that point, so our
channel was getting pretty congested with lots of meetings, and
we knew we should launch and did launch another channel
(03:43):
at that time, So we launched Government Access. We had
Community Access, and it seemed to like a logical time
now we would change our name to Dakota Media Access,
and then in twenty fourteen we launched two more channels
that are an HD, so we we at this point
have four cable channels that we're launched. But the title
(04:07):
of Dakota Media Access really fits much better because we
do more than television now. I mean, we have multiple
streaming platforms here. We are in a radio studio where
radio broadcast as well as streaming. We have apps, so
it's not about television any longer.
Speaker 2 (04:27):
So what is your day to day like then, as
executive director for Decoda Media Access.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
Well, I think it's a difficult question ask. There's no
typical days. But I think, like anybody, you come to
come to work and you know, you probably open up
your computer and respond to emails and messages of people
that are you know, trying to ask questions or your
projects that you're working on, and really checking in with
our staff. We have a really very small staff of people,
(04:54):
but they're very specialized and they're certainly very very good
at what they do. They know what they need to do.
And one of the first things that we always look
at too during the day is what meetings are coming up,
because again, our primary function is local government meetings. Last
year we produced I believe the number is three hundred
(05:17):
and thirty live government meetings between the cities, Counties, School District,
Park District, those types of meetings going on. So there's
a lot of activity in that area. But again, our
staff is just you know, so super and they know
exactly what we need to do, and we come in
in the morning. Is everybody here who's doing the meeting,
(05:38):
what position they're in, and you know that's again our priority.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
So how long after you guys record the meetings does
it go on your sites?
Speaker 4 (05:48):
Pretty darn quick. You stake a little while to dread's code,
but you know, we're actually it's out on Facebook Live,
so that recording is in place right away. The streaming
platforms also are out immediately it's live. That video and
demand in on our website at FreeTV dot org is
(06:09):
probably within an hour or so. You really do see it,
but we you know, we have to be careful because
as you know, there could be technical problems and sometimes
a glitch happens, so we can't get it in there
until maybe the next morning. And then it also takes
a while to get some chaptering done or close captioning
we've got to check all those things and make sure
(06:30):
they're all functioning.
Speaker 3 (06:33):
So, and I don't how long have you been here
as the executive director.
Speaker 4 (06:36):
I started in January of two thousand, so it's twenty
five years this January.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
So what have been some of the biggest changes you've
seen with you know, broadcasting and you know the videos
and everything.
Speaker 4 (06:50):
Yeah, I think again, you know, you kind of go
back to the streaming element. I mean, we've just seen
that takeover. People are not getting their their content necessarily
through television or cable any longer. The streaming platforms, we've
exploded with those and we're on almost any kind of
(07:10):
streaming platform you can imagine. So that's technology has probably
been the biggest shift for us, and we just have
to always continue to keep up with this. I think
one thing that we always tell people is that we've
been live streaming, which was a simulcast from the cable
channel since two thousand and five, so that's twenty years
(07:33):
we have actually been streaming the content that's coming out
of live out of our channels, which is pretty significant
when you think about that. We're one of the first
websites to offer that.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Yeah, that's awesome online. So then you mentioned that you
guys are a nonprofit but you cover local government events
as well as like our podcast and radio broadcasts. How
does the funding work with all of that.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
Well, we've been really fortunate that we have always had
kind of a pool that we can draw from. You know,
that's not a luxury that a lot of nonprofits have.
But it's changing. Unfortunately, that pool is going away. Good question,
we always get it. How are you funded? Because we
don't sell advertising that's typical of most media, we are
(08:26):
funded through cable subscribers in the Bismarck Mandan area. They
on their regular cable bills will pay a franchise fee
that is collected by both the City of Bismarck and
the City of Mandan, and that every year we make
a budget request to both cities through their budgeting process,
(08:48):
and we are allocated funds drawing out of those pools
of funds that they collect. Now it's changing, as you know,
people are cutting their cable and using streaming platforms rather
than the cable operator to get their content. So the
pool is drawing down. I mean typically we were drawing
(09:09):
at the peak probably thirty percent of what was collected
and now we're at eighty percent of what is collected,
so that means we have to make some changes and
figure out how do we move forward and how do
we fund our operation because our budget goes up, the
pool is going down, and that's concerning certainly. But I
(09:32):
think one of the things that we are exploring, or
probably the main thing we are exploring, is that we
need to sit down with the political subdivisions that we
provide those services too that have not ever contributed to
our operation. I mean, the cities of Bismarck, Amanden have
been very generous in opening the doors of their meeting
(09:55):
rooms and asking us to provide the same services to
all the those political subdivisions. But now we need to
sit down and have a conversation about how do we
continue that. I think the really valuable thing is that
people in this community appreciate and want the service. They
(10:15):
want to be able to go to a place and
find that content when they need it and in a
place that is easy to find and it's consistent. We
really are kind of that umbrella organization where you have
the counties, the city, all the different political subdivisions that
we serve are all on one page on our website.
(10:38):
You can go into that particular location and find a
library of video on demand and be able to access
that information. I think that in today's world that is
absolutely critical on people. I don't think people would have
much of an appetite in this community to see that dissolve.
So we need to have these conversations about how we
(11:02):
can provide that in the future.
Speaker 3 (11:04):
And I do think, you know, especially the Bismarck City
Commission meetings. I don't know why, but the thought of
driving there and then driving home, which probably takes fifteen minutes,
is you know, like why would I do that? But
watching them at home is something I do regularly, so
it's it is definitely a great service.
Speaker 4 (11:24):
Well, people are busy. I mean, you have full time jobs.
People have families, they're taking care of kids or parents
or whatever it is, and have jobs to they have
to report to. It's very difficult to go in person
and sit at these meetings. But having it at your
fingertips and being able to retrieve that information when you
(11:46):
need it and go to where you want to go
in that meeting to hear that item is really important.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:54):
I was still I've done really coming commission meetings the
city or Bismarck City Commission meanings. I listen to the
school board meaning and the nice part about it is
what you said is going to be able to go
to the part where you want to listen to, so
you don't have to listen to the whole meeting while
you're sitting there. Yeah, because I feel bad like getting
up and leaving a meeting after my topic is done.
So yes, So are there different regulations then you have
(12:14):
to follow for the different types of content you have.
As far as undercoded media access.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
Well, it has more to do with how we distribute
that content than the content itself. So here we are
in the radio studio, anything that's going out broadcast is
under the FCC guidelines and that's been a bit of
a steep learning curve initially to work under that umbrella
(12:39):
or under their rules and whatnot. The cable industry is
pretty wide to open. There wasn't a whole lot of
regulations there for us, but we also know that we
have to be careful about our community standards too. We
don't just kind of open the door to anything that
(13:02):
can go out on our channels, but we do have
certain guidelines in our own policies. For one thing, we're
prohibited from advertising, so we have to make sure that
the content that's being submitted to us, and we get
a lot of content submitted to us, whether it's the
radio programs or PSAs video shows those programs as well,
(13:27):
that we're not selling a product or service through that.
So that's in right now. The FCC is really cracking
down on nonprofit mpr pbs, those types of public stations
that those underwriting guidelines are being followed to the t,
so we have to be very careful that that's not
(13:49):
happening as well. So your question about what regulations mostly
FCC radio type stuff streaming is pretty wide open as well.
But again we really look at our own policies and
community standards to help guide that a bit.
Speaker 3 (14:06):
And so you kind of mentioned it there, but how
do you determine who and what you air?
Speaker 4 (14:12):
Well, the first thing that comes to mind is we don't,
I mean, who is anyone in our community can provide
can bring in a program to us. Now, we do
allow people to use our facility and our equipment, and
we will train you to do a program. We do
not provide staff to produce a program for an individual.
(14:34):
Some organizations we work more closely with to help them
do that, but we don't judge. I mean, if somebody
wants to bring in a program about jewelry making, that's
really up to them. It's not up to us to
decide that's important to the community, and that kind of
programming would either fall with radio or community access. Our
(14:58):
government channel is all government content.
Speaker 2 (15:03):
So in your time at DMA, what do you think
are the most changes that have happened with radio?
Speaker 4 (15:09):
Well, I you know my radio experiences. We launched this
radio operation nine years ago, so that that's been interesting.
Before that, my experience with radio was writing the applications
to the FCC, which was quite lengthy process. We initially
(15:30):
had started with a full power application before we went
after this low power station. We ended up working quite
a long time on the FCC with the FCC and
getting a full power radio operation going. We were a
finalist in that application with one other entity that ended
(15:53):
up coming to our board and offering money to buy
us out, and they made the determination at that time
to do so. And I still regret that we did that.
I wish we would have captured that full power license.
I think that would have been extremely valuable to have,
but we moved on Low Power FM opened up again
(16:15):
the application process and we were successful in getting this station.
So it has changed even in the nine years that
I've been involved in the operation part of it. But
I think radio in general has just been slammed in
the last we could probably say, twenty years with streaming
platforms and some of the ownership regulations that really I
(16:42):
think hurt a lot of local radio stations. When you
have a large nationwide organization owning thousands of radio stations,
that local voice gets kind of lost. I mean, we've
got some really strong local radio stations still operating. Some
of them still do news and local information. They're doing
(17:06):
the best they can, but they've been decimated quite a
bit with streaming platforms. A lot of people don't even
listen to radio anymore. Unfortunately.
Speaker 3 (17:15):
Why do you think local radio then is still important
to a community.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
Well, And I think it does give that local voice
and a local just a presence for our community. I
don't want to hear what's going on and wherever, I
mean across the country. I can go to national news
sources and other streaming platforms, but I really do want
to know what's happening. When I drive with anybody, I'm
(17:40):
always flipping the radio. Era drives people crazy, but I
always enjoy that, especially going through a smaller community and
you can always grab a local radio station. But for
us here, I think the thing that we're really unique
about is the fact that we allow people to do
their own radio here. I don't think a lot of
(18:00):
our radio stations do that. I don't think any of
them really do. We do allow people to provide a
radio program for us, and that can be a really
great podcast, like these are your neighbors, or it could
be somebody who's just passionate about music or a hobby.
And we've got some really great radio music programs that
are curated so well. I mean, they're just fabulous to
(18:23):
listen to. You don't really get that on other radio stations.
I mean, these are local people who are passionate about
a genre or just music in general and really really
work hard to make very interesting playlists. So those are
really fun. But again, we allow people to have the
voice here, whether it's community access television or radio access.
(18:48):
Both of those offer people an opportunity to get involved
and have a voice and say what they want to say.
Speaker 3 (18:55):
I think the curated playlists are probably extremely valuable because
if you're just flipping through regular radio channels or the
larger ones will say it's always the same songs. You
can go like three stations and you're hearing the same
song on all three.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
Yeah. Well, I'm glad you brought that up, because at
the very beginning we'd have these community meetings with lots
of people who are interested in providing either a podcast
or a music program, and it was always our intention
from the beginning. Let's not try and duplicate what's already happening.
I mean, there's again, the local radio stations are great.
They play, they have their particular format, whether it's country
(19:39):
or Top forty or whatever it is, and they do
a good job with them. Why would we want to
do the same thing. Let's dig into these other artists
that are out there, or go back in time a
little bit and find that some of the other less
played singles that are out there, because there's so much music.
Speaker 2 (20:01):
So you had mentioned that one of the interesting things
about Tacoda Media Access is a nonprofit. So for you,
what have some of been some of the most challenging things.
As far as running a nonprofit.
Speaker 4 (20:12):
Well, again, I will say we've been really fortunate as
far as our funding because we have this leg of
government access that we stand on and I think we
do it pretty darn well that we provide that service
and the cities have supported us in doing that. So
we've been really really fortunate for that in that respect
(20:33):
as far as our funding, But again, it's changing, so
I'm not quite sure how to We're not your typical
heartstring nonprofit. I mean, and I know the two of
you really work hard in the community with lots of
different groups, and I think that's fabulous, and they have
a lot of challenges with fundraising. We have not gotten
(20:55):
aggressive with fundraising, so it's that is again we're fortunate
that we haven't had to go down that road too far.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
However, if someone accesses your programs, there is an entity
where they can donate.
Speaker 4 (21:09):
Cour definitely thank you for bringing that up. Yes, absolutely,
and we do have people who are who are providing
support to us and we always appreciate that.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Is on the website, yes, can you set up like
a monthly reoccurring.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
Yes, absolutely, there is a donate button on there.
Speaker 3 (21:29):
So then you've really spoken about your relationship with the government.
How did that I should say local government, But how
did that start? How did that come about?
Speaker 4 (21:40):
Well, that really was the beginning. That was the whole purpose,
and it was I wasn't here at the time, but.
Speaker 5 (21:48):
I was.
Speaker 4 (21:48):
I'm going to say the mid eighties, cable operations were
beginning across the country and we had a local city
commission that was watching what was happening. They granted a
cable operator to begin in the community, but the FCC
was also providing oversight to the cable operators themselves. And
(22:14):
one of the conditions that are allowed cities are channels.
The cities had a right to ask for those channels.
The cities also had a right to ask for a
franchise fee, and this was in exchange for using the
public right of way to deliver their product. Because basically,
(22:36):
they're running cable on the streets, so those streets need maintenance.
There's some oversight, and that's what those franchise fees were
intended to do, along with if the community chose to
operate their own channels. Many don't, but that was the intention.
(22:57):
So we were established merely to do Bismarck City Commission meetings.
That's how it all started. But quickly Burley County came
on board, as did the Bismarck School Board. I think
it was only a couple of years later. They were
all in that same Tom Baker meeting room that is
used today having their meetings down there. So that was
(23:19):
how did we get involved with government. That's why we
were established.
Speaker 2 (23:24):
Yeah, so you talked a little bit about public service announcements,
So what is the criteria for an organization to people
they air one on DMA.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
Well, again, our basic guidelines not selling a product for
a commercial product or service. So PSA is we love them.
I mean people need if we have events going on
and whatnot. In the community. We have our Carousel system,
which is on our video platforms. All of our programming
(23:55):
defaults to what we call Carousel, which is basically a
community bulletin board. So we have a lot of organizations, nonprofits, churches, schools,
and governments sending us their announcements, so those are in
rotation on our carousel system. But also with radio PSAs,
we like to get those people in here or delivering
(24:17):
their PSA to us thirty seconds tell us what's going on.
Not a lot of criteria. In other words, to answer.
Speaker 3 (24:24):
Your question, I don't know if you know the answer
to this, but is it true that your traditional radio
station is required to do so many PSAs for free
for nonprofits?
Speaker 4 (24:38):
I do believe that's true, yes, yep.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
So then if someone comes in does a PSA and
tapes it and then you put it on the radio station,
is it going your website as well, like information about
that organization, like if they have an event.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
Oftentimes we do both. Yes, yeah, we can send it
out on multiple places. So that's a good way to
do it.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
If you have a nonprofit there, it's not scary to
come on and just record quick thirty seconds. You get
your name out there.
Speaker 3 (25:05):
She says, it's not scary, but ask us about our
first first.
Speaker 5 (25:08):
Episode coming in, get used to it eventually start somewhere right. Yeah,
So then let's kind of shift. You've been involved in
a lot of things in Bismarck. What are some of them?
What have you enjoyed being a part of.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
I have had the opportunity to get involved in a
lot of things, and I should say at the onset
that it's it's really was more of a result of
my jobs. I had really fortunate to have some very
interesting positions. So I was asked to be on you know,
task forces or short term initiatives or long term committees,
(25:48):
whatever it might be. So I had that opportunity, and
you know, I really should say it was because I
was a staff person and I had these positions within
the community. I was very fortunate to be involved in
a lot of that, whether it's the Forestry Department or
right now, I'm on a group called the Future of
Local News in North Dakota Initiative, who had a first
(26:11):
meeting last last week. It's probably a six month product project,
done a lot of different things. I've been a part
of League Women Voters for many, many years, and again
that associated with what we do here with election programming.
So it's been really a privilege to do that, no doubt.
And again I kind of look at you two, and
(26:33):
you guys are like super volunteers in the community and
what you do. You have full time jobs that serve
the community already, whether it's through your nonprofit or National
Guard that you're in Thea's so awesome, and then you
have all these other things that you do. Not to
mention the fact that you do this radio program for us,
(26:54):
and I know you don't do it for us. You
do it for the people in the community and to
allow people to know that there's a lot of people
like you out there that are doing quiet things, but
they are really really important things. So I mean, as
you guys are the big volunteers here, and I think
we have to always say thank you for doing it
(27:17):
because a program like this is so valuable. I think
if it just influences a couple of people to get
out in the community and do more than it's worth it, absolutely.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Thank you for that. And I think to a big
part that we get excited about is just sharing what
these organizations are doing as well in the community, because
a lot of people are surprised when they find out
that we have so many great organizations.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
There's a lot going on behind the scenes, and if
those things go away, we really notice, you know, because
people are quiet about it. They're not doing it for recognition.
Most of the time, they do it because they care.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
So one of the former things that you had done
a job role was the executive director of the Downtowners.
Can you talk a little bit about the impact that
the Downtowners has in our community?
Speaker 4 (28:08):
Well, you know, the downtown area of any community is
really kind of the heart and the place where you
know people care about and should care about because it's
usually where your history lies as well. And I think
the other thing about Bismarck that's so unique is the
location of our downtown area in relationship to a regional
(28:31):
mall and the event center. It's it's quite a nice
lineup that we have here in Bismarck. So that's really important.
But the downtown area is so important again because it's
it's your history. It's when you travel, where do you go.
I mean you usually go to communities and you check
out their downtown. It is a reflection, kind of a
(28:54):
mirror of the way your community is.
Speaker 3 (28:58):
I didn't even really realize how close it was to
the Civic Center and are the event center in the mall.
Speaker 4 (29:06):
So it's pretty unusual. You know, after years of sitting
on different committees, whether through the city offices or whatever,
you know, there'd be consultants coming in to study the
areas and that was always mentioned. It was like, how
did that ever happen? Because usually when you build a mall,
(29:26):
it's out on the near the interstate where people are
traveling through that type of thing, So I don't know
whoever did that. I think it was probably the Walker
family who had that property and made the deal with
whoever was involved at that time, But it is very
unusual to see that kind of a lineup. But I
think it's created a healthy dynamic for the community as well, because,
(29:52):
you know, shopping malls have had their had their heyday
and now they're shifting. But I think Kirkwood still is
pretty viable.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
And it really because I would not consider Bismarck a
walkable city normally, So you pointing that out, I think
about like when I travel, I just prefer to walk everywhere,
So that is definitely a nice bonus for our downtown area.
So you kind of mentioned this that you've been involved
(30:23):
mainly in the community because of your profession, whether it's
professional or volunteer capacity. Why do you think it's important
for people to get involved locally.
Speaker 4 (30:34):
Well, I think even for your own your own family
and your own peace of mind, to know what's happening
in your community is really really important. You know, we
can't it's tough to sit in your own space and
not know what's going on, and I think that's you know,
(30:55):
The thing that we try and provide, and I think
we do provide, is that access to what the leadership
is doing in your community is so important because it
affects you. Whether it's a school board or planning and
zoning or whatever group it is, you be paying attention
to it, it makes a difference.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
So we're already to the last question, and we asked
the same last question for everyone, So that is, how
would you encourage your neighbors to create an atmosphere of inclusion, equality,
diversity and accessibility.
Speaker 4 (31:27):
Well, I probably continue that same thought and say just
be aware and pay attention to what's happening. It is
really tough. I know, people who are working and have
families and all of the obligations that go with that.
It's hard to get down to these meetings and really
you know, read agendas in advance. But you know, there's
(31:48):
a variety of sources that are available to people. And
you know, I look at some of the city staff
and the elected officials in the community, add a privilege
of working with probably hundreds of them, and they work
one of the main issues that they always deal with
(32:09):
is trying to inform people of what's going on. I mean,
because media has shifted so much. We've already talked about
radio newspapers. I mean, people aren't reading the paper anymore.
But most of our political subdivisions all have Facebook and
social any social media site they can put out posts
(32:33):
on and try and get people informed. But you know,
an answer to the question is just to stay informed
as best you can. Is going to only help you
and your neighborhood and hopefully your whole community.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
Yeah. Well, thank you, Mary, and to everyone for tuning
in too. These Are Your Neighbors with our guest Mary
van Sikel, Thank you for wanting to get to know
your neighbors as we hold these important and necessary conversations.
If you found this conversation as important as we do,
please make sure to share it with your neighbors.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
Thank you for tuning in to These Are Your Neighbors,
a podcast hosted by the City of Bismarck's Human Relations
Committee and produced by Dakota Media Access. We hope you
were inspired by the stories of citizens driving meaningful change
in Bismarck. For more info on the HRC, visit bizmarckand
dot gov.
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