Qunnipiac, Syracuse, and CMU Incorporate LiveU in Newsgathering Curriculum

The broadcast field isn’t easy to break into, but  journalism students at Qunnipiac University, Syracuse University, and Central Michigan University (CMU) are gaining an edge by working with the professional equipment that broadcasters around the globe are using to cover breaking news. All three schools have added LiveU technology to its curriculum, so students are able to capture live content and distribute it to audiences via social media and all around campus.

Quinnipiac University’s Ed McMahon Mass Communications Center, CitrusTV at Syracuse University and CMU has added LiveU to its curriculum last year to give its students a competitive edge and provide real-world experience with equipment they’d encounter during their careers in broadcasting. LiveU Partner, HB Communications, provided the solution that includes an LU200 portable transmission unit and an LU2000 server, which allows the students to capture live content, manage the content, add graphics and then distribute it to their audiences via Facebook Live and campus cable.

Live shot examples have included breaking news events, weather updates, sports hits from the stadium and last year’s State of the Student Body Address, which was put on by CMU’s Student Government Association.

“It is important to the faculty that they could give their students an edge in their education – an edge that included using real live broadcast newsgathering solutions. “What we’re training them on is what they’ll use in the real-world,” says Aaron Jones, Video Facilities Manager for Central Michigan University’s School of Broadcast & Cinematic Arts.

The student-run Quinnipiac News Network (QNN) features live remote segments in its daily newscasts featuring campus events, breaking news, sports and weather reports.

“We introduced this to our students based on the popularity of LiveU with our local NBC, ABC, and CBS affiliates, and frankly the rest of the journalism community,” says Peter H. Sumby, Director of the Ed McMahon Mass Communications Center. “LiveU will likely be what our students will be exposed to when they get their first job in broadcasting so we want to make sure they are well-versed in the technology. So far it has been flawless.”

“Adding LiveU to our newsgathering toolkit has changed the way we cover breaking news on campus,” says Nick Ross, CitrusTV General Manager. “With emergencies and other news events happening on college campuses around the country, LiveU gives us the flexibility to cover these events quickly and from anywhere.” The senior Television, Radio, and Film and Information Management and Technology dual major also saw the value in LiveU for CitrusTV as a teaching tool.

The studio produces a live nightly newscast Monday through Friday, as well as a weekly Spanish-language newscast, three sports shows including a live post-game show, and three entertainment shows. Content airs on the campus cable station – the Orange Television Network, the web, and on Spectrum Sports in the Syracuse area. The station has been using LiveU for about a year – starting with a LiveU server and LU-Smart app for their cell phones and tablets – to incorporate more live shots in to their 30-minute nightly newscasts and sports programs. This summer they added a portable LU200 field unit to round out their live productions.