Posted on Tuesday, May 11, 2004
The Westminster College Cable & Radio Network is ending one successful academic year and preparing for the 2004-2005 academic year by naming its student management positions.
"Since September we carried 43 televised remotes, most of which were games, but they also included the Mock Convention coverage, the Lawrence County League of Women Voters Candidates Forum, and the Lawrence County Band Festival," said Bradley Weaver, instructor of broadcast communications at Westminster College. "We also produced 24 editions of 'The County Line' which is a television news magazine, and several editions of 'Coaches Corner.'"
"Things are so hands-on here," said Pat Sandora, a junior broadcast communications major from Cranberry Township and producer/director of 'The County Line." "I need to be active, not just attend lectures. At Westminster, a second semester freshman is already doing solo radio news broadcasts."
"After your freshman year, the student chooses which area, radio or television, he or she wants to get more involved in," said Amy DelBon, a junior broadcast communications major from Bridgeville and producer of the Westminster Cable network show, 'Coaches Corner.' "I thought I wanted to be a radio DJ, but now I like television more than radio. In television, you are always in contact with people, but radio is more comfortable for those who prefer to work alone."
"Students need a realistic sense of news gathering," said Dr. David Barner, associate professor of broadcast communications and chair of the Department of Communication Studies, Theatre, and Art. "Reporting the news live allows our broadcasting to feel the responsibility and immediacy of a professional operation."
Sandora feels that Westminster's liberal arts education helped him in his major.
"At first I felt like the other classes were just getting in my way, but learning other areas does help me in television," Sandora said. "Sometimes you need to know history to scrutinize the news of today, and forensics classes help me understand another area of news.
"My interest lies in radio because it's more instant than television," Sandora continued. "I'd really like to go more into entertainment radio when I graduate."
"Television is big on campus," DelBon said. "We have a remote truck and two regular shows a week, 'County Line' and 'Coaches Corner.' I had an internship at a WQED with students from some big Pittsburgh schools, and they couldn't do the things I did. I had already edited tapes and had my own show. I had much more than textbook learning."
"Our students work all the way down to the wire," Weaver said. "We try to make the experience here as much 'real world' as we can."
Westminster has recently revamped the radio news site, which can now be accessed at www. westminster.edu/student/orgs/radio.
"From here we post stories from the broadcast newsroom including scripts, sound bites, and more," said Weaver. "We feature some of our journalists and their reports, and try to update the site daily."
"We do the stories by ourselves here. We look for ideas, then throw them out to each other and discuss them. Mr. Weaver and Dr. Barner let us do as much as possible on our own," said DelBon. "I'm only a junior and I already have my resume tape package ready because of all the experience I've gained at Westminster."
Many successful careers have come from the Westminster broadcast communication program including Tim Kaiser '85, former producer of Seinfeld and current producer of Will and Grace; Tina Turley '97, KDKA TV 2 engineer; Rodney McNinch '89, WKBN TV 27 news photographer; Nicole McGary '97, Adelphia Cable sports producer; Cathy Raiche Noschese '87, KDKA TV 2 news producer; Denny Wolfe '97, ESPN Sports associate producer; and Mark Finkelpearl '89, Travel Channel executive producer.
Westminster's digital radio station is located at 88.9. Westminster's cable reaches nearly 100,000 homes in New Castle and the Shenango Valley on cable channels 9/10.
For more information, contact Barner at (724) 946-7239 or e-mail barnerdl@westminster.edu, or Weaver at (724) 946-7238 or e-mail weaverbl@westminster.edu.
