Bringing the dead back to life may not be as easy as it seems.
After four years of nonexistence, WesTV, the University’s own TV station, is in the process of revival. Last spring, Inslee Coddington ’10 heard of WesTV’s legacy on campus. Although she had no previous experience in television, she has since been working to recreate the program.
“The group existed in the past as a campus-wide TV station and a TV production class,” Coddington said. “We already have the channels, so there’s no reason not to have it.”
Students who work for the station will fill positions ranging from performance to production, such as news anchor, actor, screenwriter, cameraperson and lighting. Additionally, students will work behind the scenes during post-production, using computer programs for film editing.
So far, Coddington has a list of about 30 potential volunteers. She is organizing a mailing list for the group in order to provide more information for those interested.
“We would definitely train people on how to play their parts,” she said. “No experience is really necessary, but it would be a plus if someone knew how to work with the editing software on the computer.”
The commitment expected of members will also depend on their positions in the group.
“Obviously, if you’re a cameraman, you’ll have to be shooting and will have more of a commitment then, say, a news anchor, who might just have to do one show,” Coddington explained.
According to Coddington, the channel will be dedicated to providing a creative outlet for students on campus. The station will be a daily news program, providing updates on sports, shows from previous senior theses, events taking place in the CFA, and even screenings of shows from Film Studies students.
Technically, the station is not only dedicated to everything Wesleyan. Coddington mentioned the idea of a soap opera, and at the present moment, with so many ideas up in the air, potential members or even enthusiastic potential viewers could probably make suggestions for future prorams.
WesTV will not initially broadcast live, but Coddington hopes that this will change as the station obtains more advanced equipment.
“Currently, the greatest setback would be the lack of equipment,” she said, adding that most of the equipment that the station used previously is now broken or lost.
Additionally, not all students on campus own a TV set, and it isn’t guaranteed that those who do would tune in very often. The station would be able to air during limited hours, for example, from 7 p.m. to midnight.
Coddington said that she might seek funding from the Student Budgetary Committee (SBC) of the Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA).
As for now, the student group is still in the preliminary stages of creation. According to Professor of Physics Thomas Morgan—who, along with Heric Flores, manager of Instructional Media Services, is serving as an advisor to the group—there is a possibility of a class being offered next semester.
“I have been talking with…Flores about a General Education course for next semester that would overlap with the interests of a WesTV group, since the course would address topics related to telecommunication, including TV,” he said.
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