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Broadcasting alive at UWM
By Martha Boehm
February 25, 2004
Since I'm a regular writer for The Leader, you may think that I would be majoring in print journalism. If you think so, you would be incorrect. Although I love to write, my heart truly lies with broadcast journalism. Therefore, when I heard there was a broadcasting club in the making at UWM, I got involved.
The club officially began last semester when Mark Zoromski, journalism and mass communications senior lecturer at UWM and the broadcasting club advisor, and a few students felt the urge to start a club that focused on broadcasting. The club got off to a slow start last semester with only one informational meeting that explained what they wanted to accomplish. Just recently the club has gotten underway and is in the process of recruiting UWM students to join. The club has about 40 paying members right now, but the numbers are continually growing. Last semester my heavy class schedule kept me from joining, but this semester I made sure I could find time for it.
A training session was held on the past few Friday afternoons to introduce the broadcasting club members to the I&MT studio equipment and to get them familiar with using it. I joined about 15 other members and got a good feel for the industry and what goes on behind the scenes. I always believed that in life there is a lot going on behind the scenes, but all most people see is the performance. It holds true to most industries out there, especially in the television industry. Most people, unless they're in the studio, only see the talent, or anchors and reporters addressing the viewers, but what some may not realize is that there is plenty of action going on off camera.
During the training session I was taught how to use the cameras, work the switchboard, do the audio, be a director in the control room, and be a floor director. One may ask, "Where did you go for your training?" The answer is: in the basement of Cunningham Hall. It's the studio that no one knows exists, says Zoromski. The studio has been set up as a business at UWM and has been used for several TV productions, such as International Focus. This is the first time ever that students have been allowed to use the studio. However, one must be advised that only broadcasting club members are able to use the studio. This semester is a "pilot study," says Zoromski, and we'll see what goes from there. Cassandra Gauthier, the club's current president, and Sarah Scarpace, president-elect, along with Zoromski, have worked hard to get the club off on the right foot by making a constitution and complying with the Student Association's (SA) rules for a new club. Zoromski has negotiated an agreement to use the I&MT studio and has received grant money for the club to buy a server and equipment for Internet broadcast.
Sure, there are some who are worried that students might break the $100,000 equipment, but those students who are a part of the club are so excited to use the studio that they wouldn't blow the opportunity by messing with the equipment. Zoromski said he's not worried about students using the equipment in the studio, because during PantherVision and PantherCast (class-based newscasts at UWM), when something did break it wasn't out of carelessness.
The club officers, Zoromski and John Grozik, co-advisor of the club, have been working on getting a weekly news and sports-based television program up and running. The club is hoping to get clearance for its own cable channel in which it would produce television programs as a showcase for student work, as well as an examination of student issues. It would be available in the dorms, in classrooms, and in the Union.
So what's the name of the telecast? It's still in the works. There's much to be done before the tentative early March telecast premiere. As I said before, "there's a lot going on behind the scenes," and eventually you'll be able to see the performance when all the loose ends are tied. The broadcasting club is history in the making for UWM. Hopefully once everyone puts their head together and the programs get underway, the broadcasting club will provide UWM and eventually, if all goes well, surrounding areas with quality programming.
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Originally posted in the February 25, 2004 edition of The Leader.
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