NTC upgrades technology with donation
October 16, 2002
The Northern Television Center is making headlines outside of its newscasts.
The student-operated TV station recently received private foundation money from outside contributors to help produce better broadcasts.
In addition to new paint and carpeting, the center is trying to give a new look to its broadcast.
General Broadcast Manager Allen May, an NIU staff member, has been with NTC for the last three years.
“The center table is a fully computerized newsroom system,” May said. “It allows a reporter not only to write a script, but to call up a news wire service. It also allows a producer to format the entire news program or other types of programs. The same system is tied into the control room so that the director actually can do the whole studio production using the software and the electronic display.”
NTC workers are excited about the current system of electronics they use because it’s the same system professional broadcasting stations use.
The goal for the station is to understand the way the production is put together, and to use that function to educate everyone involved.
“The technology is a critical tool in how the industry puts together its product,” May said. “We can teach a lot about how it is done, but that doesn’t really prepare students to actually do it.”
May thinks that in order to prepare students in the broadcasting field, the tools used need to be similar to those used by industry professionals.
“We have who knows how many people, anonymous and named contributors, that we should be sending ‘thank you’ notes to,” May said. “We were at a crossroads that told us we were either going to move into the future, or watch it pass us by.”
Ken Beck, NTC’s news director, is a graduate student in media studies.
“I think the station has a lot of potential,” Beck said. “We are trying to expand our investigative wing and expand our news-gathering abilities, too.”
Jasmeet Mago, a junior communication and journalism major, also works at the center.
“The main thing I enjoy about working here is that we actually get real-life news experience,” Mago said.