Students at the School of Communication and Journalism (SoCJ) for years have been able to produce news shows from an on-campus TV studio. But they’ve never been able to broadcast their shows on live television.
Until now.
Thanks to a partnership between the students at the School and Stony Brook Athletics, students for the first time were able to see themselves on television. So far, they have produced two news broadcasts that aired during halftime at recent basketball games.
They plan to continue producing the shows throughout the semester.
“I love the pressure of it all, I kinda thrive under it,” said senior Ray Wilson, from Nesconset, NY. “I really enjoy this and being able to take extra time to learn outside of the classroom, it makes it even better when I’m in the classroom. It feels good to have something that you’ve actually produced. You can say, ‘I did that and it’s actually on TV,’ which is awesome.”
Stony Brook Athletics announced a deal with SNY, the cable network that covers many professional New York sports teams, to broadcast 13 basketball games live this season from Island Federal Arena. Cameron Boon, a Stony Brook journalism graduate who currently serves as assistant director of Athletic Communications, reached out to the School to see if students would be interested in producing a show during halftime.
Predictably, the students jumped at the chance, and a team came into the SoCJ broadcast studio during winter break to produce two three-minute broadcasts, one each game week. After the first broadcast, Tropical Smoothie Cafe came on as a sponsor of the shows produced by the newly named Stony Brook Media Group.
“Working as a broadcast anchor is ultimately my professional goal, and being able to immerse myself in an actual studio with real equipment and professionals who know what they’re doing is such an honor,” said Chris Cumella, a senior from Manhattan. “My colleagues always have my back, and I’m always able to provide something, both technical and in front of the camera.
“There is always a position for everybody regardless of skill or experience. We always find some role for somebody to fill, and we’re just like one tight community.”
Watch the broadcasts live during Stony Brook men’s and women’s basketball games, or on YouTube.
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