Point TV Channel 23 Hires New Management

PRESS RELEASE

Point Loma Nazarene University

Contact: Julie McKibben

Point TV: Channel 23 Marketing & Promotions Mgr.

Advisor: Alan Hueth (619) 849-2358

Date: Sept. 16 2011

Written by: Julie McKibben

Point-TV Channel 23 Hires New Management

            PLNU’s Point-TV channel 23 has experienced many changes this 2011-2012 school year—from a new high definition television studio system to now a new management team.

            This new management team for channel 23 consists of four positions.  Station Manager with Leah Murphy, Productions Manager, Josh Vandermeer, Marketing and Promotions Manager, Julie McKibben and Coastline News Manager Christina Grijalva.

            Station Manager Murphy said, “I work with three other managers . . . [and] we work together to think of creative ways to keep the channel fresh and appealing and we also work on organizing events for the TV station.” Murphy said how she works with advisor, Dr. Alan Hueth, on organizing various events for people in the media-communications and broadcast journalism majors. Finally, Murphy works with the Media Board, where she keeps track of the station’s budget, communicates with producers of shows, and makes sure the shows that are being produced are “appealing programs.” Murphy said, “We are really making an effort to make all our programming look more professional.”

            For this year Murphy said, I’m really excited about getting more film-focused productions going…and I am so thrilled to get to really start putting my skills and passion to the test. I'm excited to see what gets produced!”

            Productions Manger Vandermeer said he is responsible for the production of TV shows and making sure they happen correctly. “In my job I deal a lot with production equipment, sets, and lighting,” said Vandermeer.

            Vandermeer is also in charge of programming for the station.  “I have an added responsibility of adding/scheduling content on channel 23 and to the Point-TV Vimeo account,” said Vandermeer. With this job, Vandermeer said, “I'm looking forward to having a more hands on role in which I can grow in experience and knowledge.” Vandermeer said this position is the most fitting for his interests. “I love working with gear and all the technical knowledge behind the scenes,” said Vandermeer.

            When it comes to challenges faced in this position, Vandermeer said he is expecting to face the challenge of “being under time constraints, and troubleshooting through situations in which I have to be resourceful in order to bring about the highest quality content with what I have to work with.”

            Coastline News Manager Grijalva said she had a “shadow" training last semester from the previous person in her position that, in itself, was considered a job, and also prepared her to be the Coastline News Manager this year.

            “As Coastline News manager, I oversee the entire operation of the newscast from start to finish, from preparation to completion,” said Grijalva.

            Grijalva is also in charge of organizing the rundown of the show and deciding which stories go where and what sort of graphics to put with them. Grijalva said during the day of the show, she has to make sure that everything runs smoothly and if it does not, she has to decide how to fix it. “I prepare for a show that week and the second its over, start planning for the next one. The job never ends because the news never sleeps, and I love that!” Said Grijalva.

            For this year, Grijalva said she is looking forward to working as a team with others who are passionate about honing they're craft. “This is my last year here at PLNU and I can't wait to fill it with as much knowledge, experience and memories to carry with me for the rest of my life.”

            Finally, Grijalva said that having the opportunity to run a college newscast is great experience for the future. “I really wanted to take on the challenge of Coastline and try to make my mark on it, just like everyone else has that came before me.”

            In order for these students to get these jobs they had to go through a process. Dr. Alan Hueth said the Station Manager has an application process for those who are interested to apply. “Basically that lays out why they want to do this, what they would like to do, ideas for how they can improve it, their background and any kind of leadership role,” said Hueth. The Media Board then interviews these applicants and decides whom to hire for the position. Then the other managers are sometimes suggested or self-selected for such positions. 

            Hueth said that when looking for students to fill these positions, he looks for requirements such as, “dependability, maturity, dedication to the program, being involved, and being good at what they do.”

            Finally, Hueth explains that this is a “transition year” with all the new high definition equipment, and he is looking forward to people getting “comfortable with thy system and confident with it, so they can really use it for the tool that it is.”