CMAC photo

Community Media Access Collaborative a (CMAC) took home eight awards from the Western Access Video Excellence (WAVE) Awards last month, showcasing prowess in production, narrative and local community-engaged content.

The WAVE Awards are presented by the Alliance for Community Media and showcase excellence in local storytelling across six Western states. This year’s event took place in Sacramento on Thursday, Feb. 12, and saw students and community producers receive praise for the community-driven work.

Four of CMAC’s eight award-winning producers began their careers at CMAC’s training program.

“Seeing our community recognized at the WAVE Awards directly reflects CMAC’s mission to empower local voices,” said CMAC Executive Director Bryan Harley. “Our WAVE winners reflect the spirit of the Central Valley and we are so proud of each and every one of them.” 

CMAC paced the field in this year’s WAVE Awards, taking home a total of eight awards. Access Humboldt, a similar community-based media organization serving Humboldt County took home six awards.

This year’s awards recipients are:

• Arts, culture & events (Student): Melody Gone Wrong — Autumn Batti, Hannah Johnson and Jared Calvillo, Redwood High School
•  
• Experimental (All producers): Cassini — Tony Imperatrice and Claudio Laso
•  
• Live format (Community producer): Fresno Rainbow Pride Parade 2025 — Fresno Art Beat Crew and volunteers
•  
• Live format (Student): Fresno State Focus Newscast — Fresno State Focus
• Narrative film – short or feature (Student): Silent Orbit — Lily Seargent, Jesus Rivera Lopez and Hannah Johnson, Redwood High School
•  
• News / documentary / magazine show (Student): Tony’s Strength — Hannah Johnson, Tony Thompson and Eric Navarro, Redwood High School
•  
• Talk show (Community producer): The Munro Review — Donald Munro, Fresno Art Beat Crew
•  
• Talk show / community issues / underserved voices (Student): Putting the Pieces Together — Robert Ceja

 

First opened in 2012, CMAC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to assisting local individuals, educational institutions and public agencies, empowering local voices by promoting media literacy and community engagement through a variety of programs and services.