Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow
Midnight Madness, Camp Elliott, Grand Canyon University's debut in the Mountain West Conference, Missions Week, lots of rain.
The campus is buzzing at a nonstop pace, and the Future Broadcasters Club plugged in from all corners of campus to capture the thrilling events and student culture in its first "Lopes Lately" broadcast of the year.
“I am so excited,” said broadcasting professor Michelle Fortin. “I have students who’ve had great success from what we were able to cobble together before. But now the freshmen and sophomores I am looking at, what they are going to have by the time they graduate and the rate at which we are growing and able to do things is incredible.
“Things are just going to increase, and these students are going to have so many opportunities. They are on the ground floor of it and will always be the first class that did this. It is a privilege to be here.”
After a recent move to the College of Arts and Media, the broadcasting program has access to even more resources to expand its reach.
Those resources have allowed the club to go live from a new broadcasting studio and control room built by audio engineer Andy Zulla, with the show livestreamed on the club's YouTube channel.
What used to be the broadcasting studio in a small Technology Building room is now a bustling control room with roughly 50 monitors, operator consoles and soundboards, where Zulla launched the livestream with a team of students. And the previous classroom and conference space attached to the control room is now a broadcast studio with professional anchor desks and podcast rooms.
“I’m ecstatic that it’s livestreamed,” said junior Tatum Fox, the episode’s executive producer. “Our studio went from a conference room to something that we can be in, start to finish, when putting together the production. Not a lot of college students get access to stuff like this, especially with people with so much experience. I am really grateful for the space.”
Bright lights, multiple cameras and a teleprompter surrounded student anchors Kyle Schmidt and Melodi Hankins as they repeatedly practiced their script before going live, experimenting with different angles, perfecting their tone and creating an inviting stage presence.
Emmy award-winning journalist and co-host of ABC15’s "Sonoran Living," Heidi Goitia, joined the Lopes in the studio on their big day by watching on the sidelines and coaching students on their posture, body language and voice to deliver a successful show.
“Do I keep my hands close together in front of me or on the sides?” Schmidt asked Goitia.
“They took the feedback really well,” Goitia said. “I was really impressed with how quickly they were able to absorb my input and turn it into action. This is a talented group to start with. There is a ton of potential here, and beyond that, there’s drive. They all want to get out and tell stories in the real world and that’s what we need.”
The 18-minute show was a collaborative effort between students, who contributed their creative journalistic and digital media efforts, and broadcast faculty members Fortin and Assistant Professor of Broadcasting Barry Buetel, who shared their expertise.
Students got a glimpse of their future careers as they drafted news packages, composed the show’s script, reported from campus events, hosted the show live and operated recording, filming and broadcasting equipment.
“I feel like we came a long way,” senior Melodi Hankins said. “The whole time I was thinking, there are a lot of people in here, I am kind of scared, but everybody is so encouraging. We are like a big family, and with more shows to come, I am excited to hear more student stories.”
The club’s show first launched two years ago before the broadcast major was introduced. Hungry for experience, a group of students put together a spontaneous news package, covering fun campus events and happenings.
With a few studio lights, a donated anchor desk from FOX10, a camera and a pretend teleprompter that included a laptop sitting on top of a trash can, the "Lopes Lately" team launched its first show, uncertain it would significantly expand or gain traction.
“The growth is amazing,” alumna and CW7 reporter Lexi Lambert said. “I once sat down with Barry and Fortin and four other students and we were like, 'Let’s start this club.'
"The idea that this is a degree now is beyond years because it used to be one class. To see what a classroom was is now a whole studio, I am in awe.”
GCU staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at [email protected]
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