Malden, MA – 1/28/11 — In a ceremony in his hometown of Malden, Massachusetts, and in the community center named after his parents, Congressman Edward J. Markey was named “Legislator of the Year” by MassAccess, the state chapter of Alliance for Community Media, for his long-time support of the uniquely hyper-local medium of Public, Educational & Government Access Television in the Commonwealth and across the country.

“For 35 years, Ed Markey has supported the idea and ideals of community TV, and recently renewed his efforts by strongly endorsing the “Community Access Preservation Act”, said Robert S. Kelly, Chair of MassAccess and the Executive Director of NewTV, “and today we wanted to show our collective appreciation of his words and deeds.”

The ceremony was part of the MassAccess Annual Meeting held in the auditorium of the John & Christina Markey Community Center, and covered by Malden Access TV. The event will be cablecast on community TV channels in Massachusetts, across the country, on the MassAccess website and on YouTube.

In accepting the award, Markey said, “We must continue to support, and to fight for the spread of local Public, Education, and Government (PEG) access TV channels. PEG channels are the place where local citizens go to see and hear what is happening in their own community, and respond with their own voices to the needs of their cities and towns. I am honored to receive this award from MassAccess and I look forward to working with them to promote and preserve PEG access channels in the Commonwealth and across the country.”

In his speech, Congressman Markey reminded the audience that “you can’t beg for freedom you have to take it, fight for it”, just as he vowed to fight hard to get the Community Access Preservation Act passed this year.

Mass Access is a volunteer non-profit group comprised of over 180 community media centers in Massachusetts and is part of the Alliance for Community Media (http://www.alliancecm.org). Mass Access holds educational conferences and technical seminars for community TV staff, board, and volunteers, and the general public. Mass Access has also been involved in setting up a statewide program distribution network to better serve communication needs of state agencies, elected officials, and non-profits. To see a video, go to: http://www.youtube.com/ACMNational.