PSU launches television station

Another student media outlet is about to launch at Portland State University.

PSU-TV, a closed-circuit television station based out of the PSU campus, is set to debut within the next month.

Station staffers said that the first and most pertinent purpose of the television station is to be another method of bringing news to Portland State’s thousands of students and faculty.

“There is a lot happening on campus all the time,” said station co-coordinator John Miller.
Cassie Wakefield, the other of the station’s two coordinators, said that she was amazed there was not already an active campus television station.

“What better place to have a television station than Portland State, where the student body cares deeply about creating an un-biased media environment?” Wakefield said.

PSU-TV coordinators said they plan to launch the station as a bi-monthly 30-minute news segment, with influences from weekly news programs such as Dateline.

The station’s creators said their goals include keeping the students informed about what’s going on around campus, as well as broadcasting programs designed to help students live in a more comfortable fashion.

Coordinators plan for the news segments to be replayed throughout the day, viewable by any student or faculty member on the closed-circuit televisions located throughout campus. Station coordinators said that the scope of the station’s programming will depend on outside interest.

With time, the creators hope to expand to a 60-minute news segment, and they have high hopes for an array of other kinds of programming.

Brent Georgeson, PSU-TV’s self-proclaimed “camera guy,” said he is excited in particular about one angle the station can cover—PSU’s green initiatives.

Georgeson said that PSU’s recently acquired $25 million grant for sustainability is a wonderful opportunity to further expand the university’s sustainable practices, and said the television station will be the perfect method to document the usage of the grant.

Although the station has no specific coverage plans in place yet, Georgeson said he envisions students and faculty being actively aware and involved in the various projects that the money is used for.

Georgeson sketched out possibilities for how the station would cover the ongoing story, such as a portion of each program being dedicated to a “green update” or additional programming focused around updates about the grant.

The station will debut solely on closed-circuit televisions around campus, but the staff has hopes of a cable-expansion in the future.

“I would love to see this get off the ground and succeed,” Miller said.

How to get involved
Station coordinators said they encourage students and anyone interested to come to the meeting to share ideas.

Coordinators said they are open to filling positions related to editing, camera work, writing and reporting, as well as the position of office-manager.

Contact PSU-TV by e-mail at [email protected], or visit them on the Web: www.myspace.com/psutv.