Station Spotlight: University of Tennessee’s Volunteer Channel

Special thanks to Mike Wiseman for answering the questions!

Tell me a little history about your station and where your station is now?
The Volunteer Channel is in it’s 18th year at the University of Tennessee. The Volunteer Channel is the official television station of the University of Tennessee. Completely run by UT students, TVC offers student produced programming, movies and community events 24-7. TVC reaches over 12,000 UT students & staff on campus (UT campus cable 64) and over 180,000 residents in Knox and surrounding counties on Comcast Digital Channel 194.

TVC exists to create informative, entertaining, and inspiring broadcast-quality television for the University of Tennessee and Knoxville community, while at the same time giving students real-life experience in television production and related fields.

What sets your station apart from other college TV stations?
Our TV station lets students with little to no experience learn what it’s like to work in a professional broadcast environment. I don’t know of many college stations that let freshman walk in the door on their first day of class and start using thousands of dollars worth of equipment! Students who work at our station leave with invaluable experience that can compete in any market.

Why did you choose to work at the TV station?
I’ve always known that I wanted to work in TV, and the first time I walked into our studio, I was hooked. I looked up to the older students and did everything I could to learn from them and build a path for my own future with TVC. Working at TVC was the number one best way for me to get hands-on experience in journalism before I was eligible for internships.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done for your station?
Four years ago during my first semester with TVC, the seniors produced a show called “UT’s Got Talent.” This was a talent show open to all students that was broadcast in our studio and on our website, and other students could go online and vote for their favorites. There were all kinds of prizes and the campus really got into it.

We did a ton of promotional things for the event like fliers and info booths, but my favorite would have to be the flash mob. A group of twenty or so of us practiced a flash mob for weeks, then performed it randomly on one of the most high-traffic areas on campus. I’m not much of a dancer but it was a fun experience and definitely got the word out for us!

What’s the best part of college TV? And the hardest part?
The best part about college TV is the freedom to do what you want and the forum to make mistakes and learn from them. Rarely is an idea shot down, and most students are open to try anything new. I’ve produced a show about international life, game shows, crazy Greek life stunts, and thrown in just about any kind of content I wanted to while doing it.

We can also make mistakes on air and not have severe repercussions. After messing up audio levels a few times, cutting to black screens, and handling teleprompter snafus, you learn how to avoid those situations in the future and become a better producer because of it.

One of the hardest parts about working at TVC in particular is funding. It’s nearly impossible to sell ads for a channel that isn’t widely broadcasted, and the university doesn’t help much at all. We have a great group of enthusiastic students who create really amazing content, but if we don’t have the financial means to provide space and equipment, we can only do so much!