Mount Union, Alliance Schools partner for broadcast shows
Spectrum Cable Channel 1022 in Alliance has begun airing short programs and films produced by students at University of Mount Union.
The shows air at 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily on the local channel. Channel 1022 Director Kyle Schwarz credited staff member Logan McGee, a 2020 Mount Union graduate who now works as a district audiovisual technician for Alliance City Schools.
While in college, McGee worked for Raider Student Media, which includes the college’s radio station WRMU 91.1-FM, RaiderStudentMedia.com and the StudioM YouTube channel. McGee served as co-president and program director as a student.
McGee thought both Raider Student Media and Alliance High’s Media Arts/Spectrum Channel 1022 would benefit from a content-sharing partnership and that projects created for StudioM, such as athletics broadcasts, short films, documentaries, and interviews, could help fill programming gaps in the channel’s schedule.
Schwarz contacted Lynn Riggle, co-adviser for Raider Student Media, whom Schwarz said jumped on board to showcase the student productions in the Alliance community.
"Lynn and I met over 20 years ago when we both worked at the local radio station, WDJQ 92.5-FM/WDPN 1310-AM. Ever since then, we have been in contact and try to find ways to connect the university and AHS media arts students through tours of both facilities, internships and other opportunities. We both thought this was a great way for the high school students to see college-level work and for the college students to be able to share these productions on the local cable station,” Schwarz said.
Riggle said the content is created both by students in the media classes at Mount Union taught by Dr. Adelina Cooper, and by students in Raider Student Media.
“We are so fortunate to see our students creating work like this whether they are media majors or not,” Riggle said. “RSM is open to all students, regardless of their major. We just want to allow students the opportunity to do what they love, even if it won’t be what they do for a living.”
Chelsea Shar, AHS media arts instructor, said the shared programming is accessed by the high school students regularly.
"High school students can also see the programs on the school’s internal TV channel, which airs in the common areas of the high school and in the media arts classroom,” Shar said. “The students have noticed the Mount Union shows airing alongside their own and appreciate the connection. It’s a great bridge to the university. Students see that what they are doing, they can continue in post-secondary education and what they are doing here really is real-world.”
In addition to swapping content, the partnership includes talent.
Staff from both organizations have collaborated for several years on programming, such as Spectrum 1022 inviting sportscasters from WRMU to provide commentary for their video live streams of AHS football and wrestling, and the Kehres Stadium video production team inviting media arts students to assist with the production of Mount Union home football games.
“Our students have the opportunity to learn from more knowledgeable peers and gain first-hand experience with semi-professional productions while their students have the opportunity to gain additional field experience and additional exposure for their content,” Riggle said.
The shows air daily for one week.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Mount Union, Alliance Schools partner for broadcast shows
