Barbara Popovic

Barbara Popovic is executive director of Chicago Access Network Television. CAN TV gives every Chicagoan a voice on cable television by providing training, facilities, equipment and channel time for Chicago residents and nonprofit groups. Popovic is president of the Alliance for Communications Democracy, an organization that participates in court cases involving constitutional questions about public, educational and governmental (PEG) access television. She was instrumental in negotiating a statewide franchise law in Illinois that is widely seen as the strongest state law in the nation in relation to protecting PEG funding and channels. Prior to CAN TV, Popovic was the director of cable services for the city of Wheaton, Ill., where she developed their first public access facility and institutional cable system. She previously worked as a public affairs producer for WMAQ-TV, the NBC-TV owned and operated Chicago station, and taught television courses at Columbia College. Honors include a National Hometown Video Award, Honorable Mention in the National Gabriel Awards, a SkyAward Honorable Mention in the broadcast category for Women in Communications, an Outstanding Contribution to the Media Award from African American Contractors Association, and inclusion in "100 Women Making a Difference," by Today's Chicago Woman magazine.