Since over a year ago, the URTV club attempted to reemerge, and put programming on channel 18, UR’s closed circuit television station. Due to the overwhelming effort required for students to create, produce, act in and direct their own television productions, the effort failed. The result is that the channel has been almost completely barren.
However, there is already a lot of material that is available that could be run on that channel. Things like student film projects or the televising of student government meetings could form the backbone of the network.
We should tap into the video resources that are already present on campus, which would lift much of the burden off of any group of students intending to take charge of the URTV channel. Faculty in the Film and Media studies department should surely be involved.
This alone might generate the necessary interest for individual students to create their own programming. If some students want to put together a weekly news show, it could be aired. Student bands could create music videos. Anyone on campus can get their 15 minutes of fame. Photographic stills of student art projects could be set to music and played on the channel. Student drama productions could be recorded and aired at a later date.
Right now, the channel is going to waste and that is a shame. The URTV club had too much to do – students couldn’t be full time television producers. If some of that burden is lifted, it would benefit not only the URTV club, but also UR students on the whole, who will finally have an alternative to the College Television Network.
