Broadcasting live from WUTV

UWG’s broadcast television news station WUTV added some new additions to its newscast during this spring semester. Students and staff at WUTV are preparing to do something that not many other university broadcast stations have: WUTV is broadcasting live.

On Feb. 29 at 1 p.m., WUTV will broadcast its first ever live newscast and will continue to deliver fifteen-minute broadcast . WUTV will broadcast on channel 13.1 on campus and on channel 180 for Charter customers off campus.

“We have never had a newscast every day,” said Melissa Martin, WUTV program broadcast producer and volunteer liaison. “This has been something we have always worked toward, and it is exciting because there are not many university stations doing it.”

For WUTV, broadcasting live was a simple transition because the station is already outfitted with quite a bit of state-of-the-art equipment, so gaining live capabilities was as simple as adding new software to existing components.

“Each year the station gets increasingly and progressively better with new technology, new talent and bright students,” said Martin. “We have a very advanced studio, and that gives us a lot of freedom to be creative with how we shoot our broadcast.”

Even though adding new technology made going live simple, it was still no easy task and proved to be difficult. Martin said the team at WUTV is constantly working on their execution of a full, live thirty-minute newscast. Martin said that seamlessness is key, but WUTV has been training and is preparing to take on any challenges that lie ahead. They are still working and practicing to make the newscast everything they envision.

Although the station did not produce many newscasts last semester, Martin feels the station has gained some traction and consistency with producing newscasts this semester. The station produces mock newscasts everyday in preparation for the live broadcast on the Feb. 29.

“Gaining live capabilities is uncommon for a university broadcast station,” said Martin. “It is cumbersome and adds quite a bit of work, but we are ready. We will broadcast live shots from just about anywhere we want. That is huge and is something that students down there are eager to put on their resume and portfolios.”

Resources are abundant at WUTV. The station’s studio and control room are near replicas of those of top-tier broadcast news stations. Over the years WUTV has added new cameras, switchboards and software to make its newscasts even better. Now with the capability to broadcast live, WUTV is poised for a brighter and focused future.

“We have so many capabilities now,” said Martin. “Gaining the ability to broadcast live from the field via Skype was a big move for WUTV. Now our station’s reporters, anchors and photojournalists can not only get creative and work outside the box, but they can really step outside the studio.”

Erin

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