GWTV doesn’t want to be just another college station.
With an ambitious staff and a fresh new website, GWTV hopes to widen the scope of its broadcasts by covering more off-campus news.
Anna Flickinger, associate director of content development, said a major goal of GWTV is to be more visible both within and outside the GW community.
“Right now [GWTV] is something that’s definitely in the public sphere, but we’re trying to make the brand more recognizable,” she said.
Freshman John Torrisi, the director of publicity, said although the station does not have the capability to measure ratings, it has gained a larger presence online this year with easily accessible scheduling information, blogs, live broadcasts and social media integration.
“What you’re seeing here with all our new programming and all the new shows that are in pre-production, we’re just going to have that much stronger of a channel,” he said.
GWTV currently has three new shows in production. “Colonial Crossfire,” produced by Torrisi, is a non-partisan political debate show. “Frat Talk,” hosted by junior Adam Pistel, looks to put a comedic twist on Greek life at GW. GWTV also introduced its first reality TV show, “Interns.”
The station jump-started its renovation with a revamped website that the staff hopes will serve as a source for constant news updates about GW and consistent communication with viewers.
“It’s always been one of our main goals at GWTV to increase membership and involvement, so the website has been incredible for us to reach out to more people,” Co-General Manager Tess Leibowitz said.
In the past, Torrisi said GWTV’s audience was limited because the station is on a closed loop that is only accessible to students and faculty. The current system only allows for about 18 hours of footage, but Torrisi said GWTV hopes to upgrade to a new system to allow for 24 hours of scheduled footage.
He said the station also wants to use online streaming to get this footage onto the website.
GWTV is also working to involve more viewers in the production process. The appropriately named feature of the site, “Get Involved,” allows viewers to electronically submit a pitch for a new show.
Torrisi said “Get Involved” reflects GWTV’s ultimate goal to teach others about the world of broadcast and to prepare them for a possible career in the field.??
“I made a ton of mistakes, but people were understanding, they taught me and now I’m able to produce my own show,” Torrisi said.
Torrisi said he has not only been given the opportunity to learn, but also to teach.
“I’m trying to definitely become a better teacher,” he said. “I’ve had to take a step back and realize it’s one thing to teach yourself, but it’s another to be able to teach other people.”
Torrisi said GWTV plans to upgrade its equipment in the coming year to keep up with the constant technological advances of the news industry. GWTV will most likely pull funds from the operating budget to purchase wireless microphones for the upcoming school year.
Torrisi said GWTV also hopes to receive new cameras from the School of Media and Public Affairs, as one of its Sony 2100 models is damaged.
“It’s all about electronic news gathering – that’s the future,” Torrisi said. “I’ve learned so much in this short amount of time, and I think that GWTV is positioning itself for future success.”
