LIVE on the air with “HCTV News”

Herkimer College Radio-Television Broadcasting students enrolled in Advanced Video Production will participate in a daily live news program. “HCTV News” will air Monday, April 28 through Friday, May 2 at 5 p.m. A 15 minute newscast will be on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, with a 30 minute newscast to run on Thursday.

This is a first attempt at a daily news program. “HCTV News” normally airs live weekly on Thursdays. Assistant Professor of Radio-Television Broadcasting Douglas Flanagan said “we’ve tossed this idea around for several years, the idea of giving students a real feeling of working in the day-to-day broadcast environment.”

Radio-TV Broadcasting major Melissa Krull is looking forward to the challenges of daily live production. Krull said “Being a part of Herkimer College's live 30 minute newscast, HCTV News, each week is exciting as a Radio/Television Broadcasting Major. This is what we are going to school for; it's what we want to do. But most news networks have news daily or even 24/7. Broadcasting HCTV News each day will put us in their shoes. Deadlines will be closer, pressure will be greater, but what we learn from this experience may ultimately determine what it is that we want to do in the industry. Being able to put together a live newscast everyday on top of homework, sports, clubs, and work is a big deal. It will be a testimony to what we have learned through the Radio/Television programs offered at Herkimer College. It's an exciting time to be a Radio/Television Broadcasting student.”

The crew includes students in the video production course as well as other Communication Arts students, and Flanagan serves as executive producer. He stresses, “This is a student powered production. They write the script, they shoot and edit, they anchor, they do weather, work the graphics, they direct, they run the video switcher, server systems, and audio. It’s their show.”

Viewers in the southern part of Herkimer County can tune into Time Warner Cable channel 97-3 or channel 99 if using a converter box.