Gretjen Clausing, founder of PhillyCAM, has died

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Gretjen Clausing, the founding director of PhillyCAM, Philadelphia’s public access media company, has died.

According to a statement from PhillyCAM, Clausing, 61, had been battling an illness and passed away over the weekend.

Clausing launched PhillyCAM in 2009 after decades of community work to establish a public access cable channel. When she opened the PhillyCAM production studio in 2012, Clausing said it was to give “all Philadelphians an opportunity to amplify their voices through media.”

Leading up to the founding of PhillyCAM, Clausing lobbied with cable giants Comcast and Verizon and Philadelphia City Council to ensure that space on cable networks was reserved for the public.

“Her vision, leadership, and belief in the power of community media shaped this organization in countless ways, and her loss is being felt deeply by our staff, members, volunteers, partners, and the broader Philadelphia community,” the organization said in a statement emailed to stakeholders.

Clausing fought for equity in the media space. In 2015, when Comcast was negotiating with the city to ink a new franchise contract, Clausing pressed the cable giant to supply affordable internet access to all residents and modern computer technology in public schools.

While the channel leaned toward progressive ideals and politics, Clausing opened the airwaves to anyone with something to say and the perseverance to learn how to say it on the air.

“Public-access cable is meant to allow any voice that meets the most very basic submission guidelines of decency,” she told Technical.ly in 2010.

In an interview with Philadelphia Magazine in 2015, Clausing was asked if she would give space to a hypothetical alt-right show with a naked, ranting host. She said that would be fine but “you have to understand that this is a collaborative medium, and you’ll need to find others to work on the show with you.”

In 2018, PhillyCAM attracted major political figures, with then-presidential candidate Bernie Sanders appearing on the cable channel alongside Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner to discuss criminal justice reform.

An on-air fundraising campaign for PhillyCAM’s FM radio station, WPPM 106.5, had been set to begin Wednesday, May 27, just days after Clausing died. It will continue “in recognition of the public access media landscape Gretjen helped build,” read the PhillyCAM statement.

A memorial event for Clausing is being planned.