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First Time Live

By Laura Burgio

Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for a Degree in Writing

Journalism/ Freelance

02/10/12

Thesis Advisor: Prof. Briggs

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Abstract

This thesis project is a blog that offers a behind-the-scenes look into a

Communications class at Western Connecticut State University over the course of a

semester, Fall 2011. First Time Live is a journalist‟s documentation of the work,

dedication and manpower that went into making a live-news television broadcast

within a short time and on a small budget. COM 394: Live News and Election

Broadcast offered students the opportunity to create a show that focused on the local

elections of 14 towns in western Connecticut. The 12 blog posts include reporting on

certain key aspects of the class, profiles of contributors vital to the success of the

broadcast, equipment used, a personal memoir of election night, and changes for next

year.

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Table of Contents

Welcome to the Class! 4

JC Barone: Teacher, Producer, Motivator 6

The Journalistic Angel – Tammy McVey-Camilleri 7

Why They Signed Up, What Their Learning and What They Expect 9

Check It Out! 11

The Team Gets Left in the Dark 12

The Taste of Success is Sweet 15

A Personal Memoir 19

Skype Call Used to Shoot Field Reports 25

The Path of Information: From the iphone to the TriCaster 30

Looking Back 31

Plans for Next Year: What‟s Changing? 32

About the Blogger 33

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First Time Live

http://www.firsttimelive.blogspot.com

A behind-the-scenes look at a class from Western Connecticut State University who

will report on the local elections for selected towns in Connecticut on live TV

November 8, 2011. A historic first for WCSU!

Blog 1

Welcome to the Class!

For the first time at Western Connecticut State University, a class of

communication students will cover the local elections for selected towns in Fairfield,

Litchfield and New Haven Counties on live television.

From 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8, students will report on Danbury

and 14 surrounding towns out of the Charter Communications Cable Access Studio

located in Newtown, CT.

Airing on channel 21, and reaching up to the 65,000 households that subscribe

to the Charter network, the live program entitled “Election Eleven, WCSU News”

will cover the elections for Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Danbury, Kent,

Monroe, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Roxbury, Sherman, Southbury,

Trumbull, Washington and Woodbury.

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Dr. JC Barone, assistant professor of communication, is both the creator and

instructor for the class. “We are providing an exciting and important community

service and giving our students an excellent opportunity,” said Barone.

The class, COM 394 “Live News and Election Broadcast,” has collaborated

with Charter Communications, WCSU‟s Office of University Computing and WXCI

91.7, the campus radio station, to make the live component of the class possible. On

the night of the program, WXCI 91.7 will simulcast and University Computing will

supply the Internet broadcasting.

“I am honored to be working with so many talented people,” said Barone.

The class is comprised of communication/media arts majors and professional

writing/journalism majors. The broadcast will employ the class both behind and in

front of the cameras depending on the position that each student holds. The entire

show will be operated, produced and directed by students, with the exception of

Barone who takes a role as lead producer and several WCSU faculty who will serve

as anchors. The student field reporters and faculty anchors will cover the election

results, candidates, and party platforms in a CNN-news style.

Assistant professor of Communication Tammy McVey-Camilleri is working

with the student reporters as a journalism coach throughout the semester. The class

also is partnering with a group of political science and economics professors and

students for research purposes.

The anchors chosen for the three-hour program include Dr. Christopher Kukk

and Dr. Patricia Crouse from the social sciences/political science department, and Dr.

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Truman Keys and Dr. Jay Brower from the communication department. They will be

providing commentary and analysis on the races, candidates and certain hot topics.

Field reporters and camera crews will be stationed in Newtown, Brookfield and

Southbury and also at the Danbury Democratic and Republican headquarters.

This blog is giving readers a behind-the-scenes look at the production of this

class. It will highlight how much effort and dedication it takes to create a successful

live news show on a short time line.

Blog 2

JC Barone: Teacher, Producer, Motivator

JC Barone is an assistant professor of communication at WCSU, and has

previously worked as a teacher, producer, director and editor at different colleges. He

also owns Barone Media, which produces PSA‟s (public service announcements)

documentaries, commercials, business promos and training films.

Barone said he created the Live News and Election Broadcast class simply

because, “It needs to be done.”

“There is a huge community need for such a vital service and it is great

experience for our students; they need this kind of training.”

WCSU has a reputation as a very good school for students interested in media.

“This kind of high-stakes experiential learning is extremely valuable and the

communication department at WestConn is the best in the state. That‟s what we‟re

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going for. It‟s the best video, film and television training in the state of Connecticut,”

said Barone.

As producer of the live news show, Barone has already started thinking of

what needs to be changed for the class next year.

“I am looking into ways to expand how often we meet and if we can expand

the number of credits [given to students] because we are all working way beyond the

three credits.”

Barone made a point to add that he would like to offer this class every fall,

since every year is an election year.

“Already I have learned the changes I would make for next year. I want to do

this class every year; I want it to be a tradition.”

Blog 3

The Journalistic Angel – Tammy McVey-Camilleri

This class involves eleven different departments here at WCSU and over 45

people. One of those people is WCSU‟s professor Tammy McVey–Camilleri.

McVey-Camilleri teaches Interpersonal Communication and has previously

worked in public relations, print media and professional development where she

worked on sales coaching and communication coaching.

“My education and employment paths have direct application to this course,”

said McVey-Camilleri.

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She chose to get involved with this project because she wanted to help the

students enrolled in the class with Q&A techniques and getting camera ready.

“As a journalist and communication coach, I‟m passionate about asking

questions and learning,” said McVey-Camilleri, “I also find our students to be very

eager to learn about news and election media material.”

Professor Barone stated that McVey-Camilleri is extremely helpful to the

students in the class and he is very pleased that she came to him with interest in

joining the team.

“She actually approached me and I was thrilled. It was like being sent an

angel. She is everything we need to help with this class, because it is a lot to handle,”

said Barone.

She added that other than admiring Barone‟s media work and teaching style,

she also felt that she wanted to be a part of this class because she enjoys seeing

students develop their communication skills in an academic setting and then having

the chance to go into the real world and start producing material.

McVey-Camilleri‟s role in the class is a crucial one. Not only does she offer

the student field reporters instruction on interview technique, but she assists them in

creating question templates, and coordinates the Town Clerk and Headquarters

connections for the five coverage zones (field teams) that will be live on Election

Night.

McVey-Camilleri has high expectations for the class and believes that the live

show will be successful.

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“This is going to be a great show. Stay tuned!”

Blog 4

Why They Signed Up, What Their Learning and What They Expect

Barone stated that this class is a great opportunity for students because they

have the chance to learn skills in a studio setting and out in the field. Students are not

just fed information through a lecture but have to all work together in a real work

setting to create a successful show.

Andrew Hopkins, a senior media production major who also works on campus

at Media Services, says he signed up for the class because he wanted to learn more

about a new technology that is used for broadcasting, live streaming, recording, and

virtual sets.

“When I saw the TriCaster in Las Vegas at the National Association of

Broadcasters Convention, I really wanted to learn how to use it. JC said we were

getting one for the Live News and Election Broadcast class, so I signed up,” says

Hopkins.

Other media production students, such as Steve Marucci and Neil Suto, signed

up for the class for different reasons.

"Amped Up"

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“It sounded so exciting, and I love both politics and production. Additionally,

JC [Barone] was a big draw because I had yet to have him for a class and as you

know, everyone raves about him,” says Marucci.

Marucci goes on to explain that what has made the class exciting for him is

the atmosphere.

“JC [Barone] is always just so amped up and that makes things exciting. All

of the students are great too; everyone just wants to help each other,” says Marucci.

Suto signed up for the course because he was intrigued by the opportunity.

“Once JC [Barone] told me about what the class entailed, I knew I would be

missing out on an excellent experience if I didn‟t sign up,” says Suto.

Suto is in agreement with Marruci‟s opinion of why the class is fun and

exciting.

“This class is fun because of the group of people who are participating in it.

This includes the students, teachers, Charter‟s staff, and the countless number of other

people involved. It is a group of hardworking, caring, and goal-oriented people, and it

is a pleasure to work with all of them,” says Suto.

What's the Job?

Marucci is working on some news packages prior to the live show but holds

the position of cameraman at the Danbury Republican Headquarters on the night of

Nov 8. He says that though he has had experience with cameras and editing

equipment, the class has already taught him things he never knew before.

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“I‟ve learned a tremendous amount about production and interviewing. I‟ve

never really done any sort of video work that was non-creative before so this whole

thing was a learning experience. One very useful thing I‟ve learned is that creative or

not, the process for creating content is essentially the same,” says Marucci.

Hopkins‟s job for the semester is technical director. He says, “Working with

all of the newer technologies and working together with all the people in the class to

put this production together has been great.”

Although, he believes that, “It is no easy task putting together a news show.”

All three students expect to gain practical experience, a better knowledge of

how the production of a live news broadcast is put together, and a better

understanding of local politics.

“Additionally, I get a fantastic resume booster and potentially awards!” says

Marucci.

Blog 5

Check It Out!

Thanks to Student Producer William Trotta, a Facebook event page

[http://www.facebook.com/events/285990508088014/] for the Election Eleven,

WCSU News was created. Check it out and join the event to support the students and

faculty who have worked extremely hard to make this program possible!

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Don't forget to watch tomorrow night, from 8 to 11 p.m. on channel 21. If you

do not belong to the Charter network you can watch our live stream online at

http://www.wcsu.edu/live/.

Blog 6

The Team Gets Left in the Dark

After two lengthy technical rehearsals, the students on COM 394 expected to

have a dress rehearsal on the night of Tuesday, Nov. 1. However, something

completely unexpected happened in Connecticut during the last weekend of October:

a Nor‟easter.

Breaking the Connecticut record for the most snow in October since 1985, the

Nor‟easter brought a massive power outage and almost two feet of snow to western

Connecticut on the night of Saturday, Oct. 29 and during the early hours of Sunday,

Oct. 30.

Charter Communications Access Studio was still without power on Tuesday

which resulted in the cancellation of the dress rehearsal. However, the time could not

be wasted, and even though many of the students did not have power at home,

everyone met at 5:25 p.m. in their designated classroom in the basement of Berkshire

Hall for a much needed production meeting.

“We may not even have a show on Tuesday, if there is still no power in

Newtown. That is the worst case scenario,” said Barone.

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Briefing his class on what would happen if the live show got cancelled,

Barone said that the class would then broadcast the live show on Nov. 15 instead of

the original Nov. 8 date.

“If that happens, that means we are going to go live the following Tuesday,

and it would be a news show about the elections and about the Connecticut

Nor‟easter. It is the worst power outage in 75 years,” said Barone, “It‟s the earliest

and worst snow storm in Connecticut‟s history. So the show would be a combination

of what we have already done, with a couple more news stories.”

Barone told his students that he and student producer Christa Laukevicz

would do all they could to keep the students updated with the status of the show, but

to understand the difficulties that they were facing.

“We just checked five minutes ago and Newtown is 95% without power,” said

Barone.

“Not only that, though, but they do not have a time restoration for the hardest

hit towns. That means all of upper-western Connecticut,” said Laukevicz, “That being

said, were not going to know until we get a time restoration estimate, and not only

that, but we need to keep checking back with Charter and the phone lines are going

crazy, cell phone towers are still down…so it‟s still hard to get in touch with people

in general.”

Barone continued on to tell the class that there was still a chance for the live

broadcast to take place on Nov 8., and that the class would continue to work towards

that goal. Although the dress rehearsal was a necessity of the course, and much

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needed as a practice run, Barone explained that not having a dress rehearsal had its

advantages as well.

“In a way, this is a blessing,” said Barone, “If we wouldn‟t have had this

night, we would have been at Charter, and there are a lot of loose ends that need to be

tied.”

Barone was referring to the news-packages that some students still hadn‟t

completed. The news-packages are pre-taped news stories that the students needed to

finish and give to the anchors to review a few days prior to the live show.

Barone also reviewed with his students what next Tuesday would be like if

they did have the live show.

“Everyone needs to first meet at Charter at 5 p.m., I want to have a pre-

production meeting,” said Barone, “This is still in a rough state where we left off. So,

if we have the anchors there by 6:30 p.m. next week, we can start rolling and have a

quick run through from 7 to 7:30 p.m., and then just sit tight and wait for 8 p.m. to

roll by. That‟s the status of things right now.”

He continued to explain that the show could be even more exciting, beyond

his expectations, because of the natural disaster that just took place.

“We have an award winning show, and we have to serve the community in a

way that they have never been served before,” said Barone.

He then consulted his students about the buzz that was going around campus,

which he said was very nice to hear.

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“People who have actually seen part of this are impressed with what we‟ve

done,” said Barone, “Now, I‟m not impressed yet. I mean, I‟m impressed with the

work you all are putting in, but I don‟t want you to be impressed yet either. We are all

building up to this one night, but boy, you can get a lot of millage out of one night;

just keep that in mind.”

He continued, “This will help you beyond. If you‟re looking at scholarships, if

you‟re looking at graduate schools, if you‟re looking at jobs; this is going to help you

big time. I hope you all are feeling scared and excited because there is a lot going on.

Any questions?”

Blog 7

The Taste of Success is Sweet

Professor Barone was right. He warned his students all semester that the night

of the live show, things were going to move very quickly, and they did. The crew

worked extremely hard to deliver an essential public service to the Western

Connecticut community, and they did what they set out to do.

The three-hour live program tested the skills and intelligence of the team, both

in front of the cameras as well as behind them. And, in my opinion, the show was a

great success.

The anchors: Dr. Christopher Kukk, Dr. Jay Brower, Dr. Truman Keys, and

Dr. Patricia Crouse were engaging and at times even comical. The field reporters

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were well prepared and looked professional in front of the camera. Other than some

minor setbacks, the audio and picture looked good. WCSU‟s University Computing

stood by to help with any technical difficulties in the live stream. Faculty members of

WCSU came to the Charter Studio to support the students and see what a live

broadcast is like first hand.

Out in the field, reporters conducted interviews with voters and certain

selectman winners right on the spot. None of these interviews was planned prior to

the night of the show. The team worked extremely well under pressure.

Beginning the day after the broadcast, students and professors involved in the

making of “Election Eleven!” started receiving compliments on the hard work they

had done on the night of Nov. 8.

“Bravo Team!”

Abbey Zink, the Interim Dean for the School of Arts and Sciences at WCSU,

sent out an email congratulating the students of COM 394.

“Everyone, just a quick note to congratulate all of you on your „Election

Eleven!‟ coverage. I had a blast spending time in the control room at Charter last

night and finished watching the coverage at home on my laptop. You did amazing

work and provided a tremendous service to the Greater Danbury community. Your

coverage was by far the best and most extensive in western Connecticut. I am so

proud of all of you!”

Other WCSU faculty also wanted to let the team know that they watched in

full support. Burton Peretti, the Interim Dean of Graduate Studies and External

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Programs said, “I just wanted to congratulate you on the great program last night. It

looked very professional and was technically first-rate. What a great experience for

[the] students.”

Phyllis Cortese, the Executive Director of Ives Concert Park, and Elizabeth

Popiel, Associate Professor and Design Director for the WCSU Theatre Arts

department also presented their compliments.

“Bravo team! [I] Just watched all three hours of your live broadcast.

Challenging enough to go live, but three hours is incredibly difficult for a launch

broadcast and you were all exceptional. [The] Pre-produced segments were

outstanding as were [the] field reporters. [I] Loved your break-bumpers! Special

thanks to Charter and congratulations to everyone for an extraordinary production,”

said Cortese.

Popiel wrote an email while watching the broadcast from home on Tuesday

night. It read, “I am watching the „Election Eleven!‟ live on the WCSU stream. The

WCSU COM [department] and JC Barone are doing an absolutely amazing job with

the show. Kukk is a great host, their camera work is excellent and the student [Christa

Laukevicz] who did the set, did an excellent job for a first project like this. I am so

impressed with the production values etc.”

Within WCSU‟s own Communication department: Katy Wiss, the Department

Chair, and Rebecca Woodward, the Director of Media Services, also acknowledged

the work that went into the immense project.

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Woodward addressed Barone the very next day. “Congratulations on your

show last night. Your students did such a great job, I‟m sure you‟re very proud of the

professionalism and skill they exhibited during a high pressure event such as live TV.

The complex coordination that you pulled off was impressive!”

Wiss, was one of the faculty members, along with Zink, who were guests in

the studio the night of the show.

“Congratulations on a phenomenal job tonight! Your coverage and work was

top notch. I enjoyed being in the studio, listening on the radio and watching the live

stream at home. You have taken our program a big step forward and have raised the

bar high for all future student work. I am very proud of all of you and will take great

pleasure in boasting about your achievements to everyone on campus and in the

community,” said Wiss proudly.

“Grand Success”

Furthermore, WCSU faculty members were not the only commentators on the

“Election Eleven!” broadcast. Greg Van Antwerp, the Community Access Supervisor

for Charter Communications, Inc. thanked his staff through an email on Wednesday,

Nov. 9.

"Team -

We made local history last night! Our collaboration with Western Connecticut

State University resulted in first ever live election coverage for our 14 town service

area. While the networks were running limited results on the crawl below regular

programming, Charter customers were watching commentary, reports from the field,

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packaged current news stories, and, of course, poll counts as they came in. Thank you

to everyone for helping WCSU through the negotiation process, and for the technical

support which resulted in this grand success.”

Blog 8

A Personal Memoir

When I signed up for the course, I knew I would need to be extremely focused

and donate a lot of my free time to going beyond the minimum requirements of the

class. I originally learned about the class from Dr. Barone, who confronted me with

the idea for the class and asked me if I would be interested in being a part of this huge

project. He explained to me why this class would be a good choice for me and for the

show: unlike many of my classmates, I am not a communication major, I am

journalism major and I minor in communication (broadcast journalism). Barone knew

I was intrigued because I am passionate about news and becoming a television

reporter.

I knew in that moment that this class would open up a door for me, if not more

than one. I also realized that the class needed journalists in front of the camera. So,

naturally, I signed up knowing that the class would help me hone my craft of being a

broadcast journalist.

When the end of August came, all the students of COM 394 were prepared for

what was to come this semester. Most of us in class knew each other already and have

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worked with each other in previous classes on numerous projects. Looking around,

recognizing faces, I knew that everyone in class had a good work ethic.

What I liked most about this class was that it was hands on: we weren‟t sitting

in lectures every Tuesday night that explained how to create and produce a live news

show, we actually were going to create and produce a live news show, all in the time

frame of two short months. We were all up for the challenge. Barone specifically told

us that we all should be a little scared and a lot excited.

He also warned us that the two months of pre-production and rehearsals were

going to fly by, and they definitely did. By the second week of class we had our

“jobs” locked down. It was important that everyone needed to work together, and

more importantly, pull their own weight. My job was entitled news package producer

for the weeks prior to Nov. 8, and on-camera field reporter stationed in Southbury for

the night of the live show.

The class was divided into groups to create pre-recorded news packages that

would air during the broadcast. The political science group involved with the class

picked the topics for the COM 394 students to choose from.

My group picked Hurricane Irene and immediately jumped into making a

news story. My group consisted of Victor Tu, Derek Calderara, Brian Hill, and

myself. All of us were previously friends and familiar with how each other work,

what each of us is good at, and so on. We decided to create two stories about the

hurricane: one about the preparedness of the city of Danbury, and one about the

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citizens who were warned to stay home during the storm, resisted the advice, and

ventured out.

This news package took up a lot of our spare time, between booking and

conducting interviews (we interviewed the Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, Danbury

Fire Chief Geoff Herald, and Danbury Police Officer Lt. John M. Browne), shooting

B-roll footage, taping voiceovers and stand-ups, and editing the entire package.

Before we knew it, we were well into technical rehearsals for the fast-approaching

live show.

THE LIVE SHOW

On the morning of Nov. 8, I was completely ready for my live TV debut as a

reporter. I was scared, excited, and extremely anxious for 8 p.m. to come around. I

had gotten a manicure and my make-up professionally done so that I would look neat

and professional on camera. I also rehearsed all of the facts that I had gotten from my

research so that I was sure I knew what I was talking about and wouldn‟t be

blindsided by the anchors‟ questions.

My cameraman Calderara and I had gotten to Republican Headquarters in

Southbury at 7:30 p.m. and the atmosphere was exciting. There was food, drinks and

Republican signs and everything read “Vote Bill Davis.” Everyone was smiling,

cheerful and anxious. The mood was light and happy.

Everything remained this way until the numbers started coming in. Then the

mood totally changed. In a separate room stood members of Davis‟s campaign team

which, by the looking through a glass window, didn‟t look too happy. I weaved my

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way to the front of the crowd, stood in front of the window, waited hesitantly, and

looked for answers. Up-close I saw the tally of votes from each of the polling

locations written on a whiteboard and they proved Davis losing.

It was just after I finished scribbling down those numbers that I got the one

minute warning from the studio to get ready. Throughout the night I was talking to

Billy Trotta in the studio; he was the voice coming through my earphones telling me

what to do and how the shots looked. I was nervous and excited to make my live TV

debut.

When the studio gave the one minute warning, a.k.a. the get-ready signal, they

switched the reporter‟s audio over to the anchors, so that instead of hearing Trotta, I

was hearing the anchors through my earphones. This needed to be done so we could

communicate correctly and engage in a conversation.

My earphones went from a few short seconds of silence to hearing the anchors

converse with each other. I stayed quiet and waited for my cue. They transitioned

their discussion into introducing me to viewers.

“And now let‟s take a look at what is happening in Southbury. We have

Laura following the intense race there. Laura how are you doing?” said Dr. Kukk.

I couldn‟t stop smiling. I gave my report and the whole time it just felt natural.

My nerves died down as I went on and I tried to be myself. It was a rush, and after the

first report, I was addicted.

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Calderara and I decided that since Davis was losing, we should go over to

Democratic Headquarters and do our second report there. We were happy to walk into

a room full of smiling faces and cheers.

It didn‟t take long for people to notice us: with a tripod and a microphone we

immediately attracted attention. I updated my numbers from off the projector screen

they had been using to show the crowd how the race was turning out when I got the

one minute warning from Trotta in the studio.

As I waited anxiously to go live again, I noticed that the large projector screen

was showing the anchors talking on our live show! People started looking at

Calderara and I, made the connection that we were on the show, and the excitement

grew even more. Yet, there was a small problem.

Within those few seconds I realized that the live show on the projector screen

had a delay of a couple seconds over what the anchors were saying in my ear. I knew

I would need to go outside to give my report so I could hear what the anchors were

really saying and not get confused.

Calderara and I attached by all the cords and cables ran outside and stationed

ourselves underneath an outdoor light. It was the best we could do given the

unexpected circumstance. As I gave my report of the updated numbers, I started to

hear everyone inside cheering for what I was saying: Ed Edelson, the Democratic

candidate, is still in the lead!

After the report we went back inside and were greeted with such compassion

and cheering. Within almost a half hour all the numbers were in and we realized that

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unofficially Edelson had won the election. It was a very exciting place to be. I

decided to get some courage, go up to Edelson and ask for a live interview. (The great

thing about the three-hour broadcast was that all the interviews shown that night were

unplanned, they happened on the spot, and every field crew conducted at least one

interview.)

Edelson was more than happy to give me what I needed to qualify as a

reporter: his time. I immediately told Trotta that I had an interview with the new

Southbury First Selectman and before I knew it, I was receiving the one minute

warning to go live again. Kukk fed me questions and I asked Edelson how excited he

was and what he was planning to do or change while in office.

After the interview we drove back to Republican Headquarters to do another

report. However, when we arrived (around 9:30 p.m.) the door was locked and there

was no one there. We decided to do the report anyway.

No news was good news for the Democratic party of Southbury and Kukk

laughed when Calderara did a camera-pan from me to the window, which showed our

audience that indeed no one was there. Kukk told us to go find some people. It was

funny and I was now completely comfortable with the idea of being on live TV. I

realized mistakes were okay, I am only human, right? People don‟t want to see robots

that just spit out information; they want to see a personality, a human being just like

them.

After the no-show report, we decided to go to our final destination: Registrar

of Voters located in Southbury‟s Town Hall. I was craving to do another interview.

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When we arrived I discussed the election with Marie Greene, Southbury‟s

Democratic Registrar. She agreed to do an interview and I was ecstatic. On camera

we reviewed the unofficial results and she gave her feedback about the election. We

did one more live report after that, saying goodnight, and before we knew it was 11

p.m. and the show was over.

I slept very little that night; the excitement stayed with me all through the next

day. I was so proud of my class. We had waited so long and worked so hard and it

was all over. I couldn‟t wait to watch the replay in class the following week.

Blog 9

Skype Call Used to Shoot Field Reports

A look at University Computing’s role in the project

We did not have the resources or budget to rent expensive satellite vans and

news cameras that news stations like NBC30 or ESPN use for their field crews. For

these reasons Barone knew we had to come up with something creative and cheap to

make this project cohesive with his vision and expectations.

He asked the staff at WCSU‟s University Computing Office to take the reins

on the matter. The Chief Information Officer (CIO) Lorraine Capobianco assigned

Web Services Manager Stephen Veillette, Information Center Manager Jason

Esposito and Director of Telecommunications Rich Parmalee to the task.

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“Initially, the idea came through the Communications Department to the CIO

here and then it was delegated down to the three of us for technical support,” said

Esposito.

Veillette and Parmalee found out about the project just a few months prior to

the opening of the fall semester.

“I would say it was like the middle of the spring semester when I first got

wind of it. Of course we didn‟t know any of the details at the time – We didn‟t know

it was Charter [Communications] and we didn‟t know how the broadcast was going to

be filmed,” said Parmalee.

It was back in April 2011 when they first found out about the COM 394 class;

however, it wasn‟t until early September that the University Computing team started

to hash out the details of what technologies they were going to use and how it was all

going to work together. They were well aware that it was going to be done by a trial

and error method.

The team of three got right to work on the project at the opening of the fall

semester. They knew they had little time to figure it all out. They were just as blind as

the students in regards to how we were going to shoot a live broadcast from six

different locations.

“We started from scratch,” said Esposito, “We began with some informal

meetings to kind of outline exactly what it [the project] was, what they wanted to do,

what they wanted to accomplish and what their idea was.”

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Esposito explained that they were trying to congeal the ideas of Barone,

Communications Department head Katy Wiss, and WXCI 91.7‟s Pat Carlone. He

added that the University Computing team met every Tuesday for four to five weeks

prior to the actual show.

“We kind of had an idea, but we didn‟t know it was going to be iphones

initially; there were a couple different technologies that we tested – some Windows

based, some Mac based – and we weren‟t sure how we were going to get this

information back to the Charter Studio,” explained Esposito.

Veillette said that Barone also added another component to the project: the

TriCaster.

“That‟s the self-contained computer that does the live broadcast, all the titles,

switching among cameras, and JC [Barone] said he also wanted to do live streaming

on the internet, so we had that part to work out as well. So, our involvement was

basically helping them with all the technology to do what JC [Barone] wanted to do,

which was a live broadcast in the studio at Charter [Communications], and he wanted

live field reporting and streaming on the internet,” said Veillette.

Their first weekly meetings were comprised of trying to set a good foundation

for the potential hardware and technologies they were going to need.

“I had a diagram on my white board with, you know, all the audio and video

coming in,” said Veillette, “Just trying to figure out how it was all going to work out.

We had these weekly meetings where we were just trying out the different

technologies, things we thought would work, seeing how it would work, and building

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on that we had a good foundation of how we thought all the technologies would work

together.”

The iphone4 is Chosen

It was a toss-up between the iphone and the Andriod smartphones.

“There was one particular Andriod phone that showed some pretty good

progress, but the App [application] that would have been used was just too full of ads

[advertisements] and they would have come across during the broadcast,” said

Esposito.

Esposito said that Veillette was the advocate for the iphone.

“Yeah, I had an iphone for seven years and once we realized that until we

bought a satellite van or hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment to be

able to do live field broadcasting, it was going to have to be a phone with some App

on it streaming over the internet through a 3G connection,” said Veillette.

After realizing that the iphone4 was the best choice because of its speed,

efficiency, great camera, and good call quality, the team needed to conquer the

decision of what App was best to conduct video conference calls.

“We didn‟t decide on Skype until later, but we knew that iphones and other

smartphones like the Androids had the capability of streaming audio and video over

3G to other places,” said Veillette.

Parmalee explained that he tested quite a few programs before discovering

that Skype was the best way to go. He tried Livestream, USTREAM, WebEx, and a

program called Video, but Skype was the only application that was able to maintain

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good audio and video signals without continuously dropping out. According to

Esposito, the Windows devices preformed the worst.

After tackling the huge task of figuring out what technologies would work

best together to shoot the live field reports, Veillette, Esposito, and Parmalee put

together a “field-kit” for the reporters and camera crews.

The field kits consisted of five iphones, tripods, holders for the iphones, iRig

microphones, headsets, battery packs and the appropriate cables to plug everything

into.

The battery packs were needed after a discovery students made at the

technical rehearsal: the iphone4‟s battery was not going to last for an entire three-

hour time span because the continuous use of Skype drained the battery. The

University Computing team set out to buy a battery pack that would make sure the

phones would not die during the live broadcast. Veillette said that the battery packs

they bought contained six times the life of the built in iphone4 battery.

With all the details hashed out for the field kits, Veillette, Esposito, and

Parmalee continued to be aware and stay alert for any potential technical problems

that could have surfaced. They were stationed in the studio the night of the live

broadcast.

“It was nice to get out of the office and work with the students. I have never

been at a television studio before so that was interesting and exciting. There were a

lot of people, but everyone seemed to have a job to do,” said Esposito.

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He continued, “We [University Computing] did the physical connection, but

when it came time to produce the show that was all you guys.”

Blog 10

The Path of Information: From the iphone to the TriCaster

The University Computing team picked Verizon Wireless phone service for

the iphones because they believed it had the best coverage in the area versus AT&T

and Sprint did not offer an iphone at the time.

This post explains the path of information from each iphone out in the field to

the TriCaster in the studio. I wanted to write this post because, if you‟re like me, and

you are not the most technologically savvy, you may want a little help understanding

of how this worked for the students of COM 394.

The Skype call on the iphone went out virtually to the closest 3G cell phone

tower. The Verizon service took the video call to the internet and then it was

accessible through the internet connection at the Charter Communications Studio.

Each town had its own dedicated laptop in the studio, which made the Skype

connection to each of the phones out in the field. Plainly, there was a pair-up of phone

and laptop for each town. Using a push-button-switch they would switch from town

to town and that fed the audio and video into the TriCaster in the studio. The

TriCaster is the piece of equipment that would switch from the in-studio anchors to

the field crews stationed in the five towns.

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Fingers Crossed!

This was all done with a little bit of luck. Because of the cancelled dress

rehearsal, not all the exact locations were assessed for good cell phone service. The

week before, the night of the technical rehearsal, field crews were assigned to their

towns, but not their specific locations: Democratic Headquarters, Republican

Headquarters and Town Halls. It wasn‟t until the night of the live program that all of

the locations were put to the test. Luckily, they all passed.

In addition to that, the TriCaster also has a built-in streaming-processor which

pushed the whole broadcast out to the streaming-server so people could watch it on

the internet through a web browser.

Prior to this project, neither the students nor the University Computing team

had ever worked with a TriCaster. It took a little more than 2 months for students

Kevin Jones and Andrew Hopkins to learn how to work it.

Blog 11

Looking Back

On the first day of class, Professor Barone explained to his students all the

work he had to do to get the class approved by Western Connecticut State University.

He had created the class from scratch with only his original vision to go by. He knew

what he wanted to do and he fought for it.

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He told his students that he was a bulldog. He said that as soon as bulldogs

hold onto something with their teeth they never let it go and that as soon as he got the

idea for this class he too would not let it go. The analogy stuck with his students.

Barone fought as hard as he could to create this class, knowing that ultimately it

would be a significant opportunity for his students, and he was right. They have never

experienced another class like it.

This class assessed the abilities and dedication of everyone involved. No one

knew for sure what the outcome was going to be for the live broadcast. However, in

the end, we did achieve success and this class opened many doors for the students of

COM 394.

The students learned a great deal from a hands-on class that included working

behind the cameras, in front of the cameras, working with new equipment, and

working together as one team.

This class has also opened doors for the university and will now be offered

again next fall.

According to Stephen Veillette, the class was exceptional.

“I give JC [Barone] tremendous credit for wanting to do this and for pulling it

off.”

Blog 12

Plans for Next Year: What’s Changing?

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There are going to be new and exciting changes to next year‟s class, all of

which Barone has decided for a better broadcast. First and foremost, students will

take part in a five-hour class, which is twice as much time as last year‟s two and half

hour class. Students will also be receiving four credits instead of three for their work.

DSLR cameras and new HD cameras will be added to the equipment and will

be the key source for putting together better quality news packages.

Barone also said that the university will be refurbishing the TV studio in

White Hall so that the students may use it for practicing, building the set and

interviews. Students will also have the opportunity to go to Charter Communications

Access Studio more often so they can have more time to learn equipment there.

“More students will be able to learn more things,” said Barone.

More time, more learning, and the bar is being set even higher, he explained.

“The university and the community were watching to see if we could pull this

off, and we did. We established ourselves this year. We said we‟re here, we can do it,

and we‟re coming back and we‟re going to do it better,” said Barone.

About the Blogger

Hello! I am Laura Nicole Burgio, an aspiring broadcast journalist, who is

stuck at school and living with my parents, having not a dollar to my name. Not to

worry! I will be graduating from Western Connecticut State University this December

2011 with a Bachelor's Degree in Professional Writing with a concentration in

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journalism with a minor in communications with a concentration in broadcast

journalism. Mouthful? I'd say so, but I am getting used to the tongue twister of my

adult life.

After college I am looking to move out of Connecticut because I don‟t know if

I want to be taxed to death. I am 22 years old, a type A personality, and excited to get

out into the work force. That is, if I can even find a job in this awful economy blah

blah blah. My fingers are crossed. My ultimate goal is to find a job that conforms

with what I went to school for. I would like to write the news or read it off of a

teleprompter.

I am one of the lucky students enrolled in COM 394: Live News and Election

Broadcast. I am super excited to see how everything is going to work out for us and if

we are really going to pull through. I have no doubt that my classmates and I will

work as hard as we can to create a great and informative broadcast.

I can admit that I do not contain many hobbies. I like to read and write mostly.

I danced ballet and tap for 13 years and the passion for it will forever reside inside

me. I believe traveling would be my number one hobby if I could afford it. I consider

myself a mother to my two Italian Greyhounds Isabella and Sophia and spoil them

rotten.

I live by the quotes never say never and pain is just weakness leaving the

body. I hope you enjoy my writing, and if you do you can check out my other blog:

www.atthehotspot.blogspot.com.

Thanks for stopping by,

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Laura Nicole