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KFYR-TV grant moves Mystic Media studios closer to the action

KFYR-TV recently gave a $25,000 grant to BSC’s Mass Communications department. The donation made it possible to move the Mystic Media Studios from the National Energy Center of Excellence (NECE) building to the BSC Armory and to remodel that new studio space.
 
ThMM STUDIOe move brings students closer to the Mystic basketball and volleyball games they livestream online as part of their coursework. The livestream broadcasts are viewed by 800-1,000 people per game. To make it happen, students run the cameras, show replays and do the announcing and directing.
 
That’s not the only hands-on experience students receive while in the program. The KFYR-TV Mystic Media Studios in the Armory are headquarters for the robust production side of BSC’s Mass Communications program. Students create The Mystician, a print and online news magazine; MystiCast, a broadcast production; The MYX, a radio station; and Figments of Imagination, a literary arts magazine.
To have the studios in the high-traffic sports hub greatly increases visibility of the Mass Communications program. By Fall 2019, people entering the Armory will be able to see into the MM CONTROL ROOMstudios through a window cut into a wall as part of the remodeling effort. This grant came about thanks to an idea from a student.
 
While Hunter Andes, 2018 alumnus, was in the BSC Mass Communications program, he worked part-time at KFYR-TV. He recommended Monica Hannan, KFYR-TV managing editor/anchor, join the department’s advisory committee.
 
That led Barry Schumaier, vice president and general manager of KFYR-TV and West Dakota FOX; J.R. Havens, news director; and Hannan to take a tour of the Mystic Media Studios and Mass Communications classrooms. It was during their walk around campus that the idea to move the studios was discussed. That was also when Dustin Anderson, BSC production coordinator/MystiCast advisor, suggested putting a KFYR-TV Live SkyWatch Camera at the top of the NECE building. Schumaier said, “I’d do that tomorrow.” One was installed on the southwest corner of the building at the end of 2018. “There are great vantage points south over the river with the bridges, and it’s a cool shot of the capital. The benefit is for our viewers,” said Schumaier. The college benefits, as well as the camera location, are announced during KFYR-TV broadcasts.
 
Schumaier said they were impressed by how Anderson gives his students real-world experience through their MystiCast broadcast and livestreaming of games. “If they come to us with intern-like skills where they’ve already done live, whether it’s streaming audio or a telecast, it shows us whether or not they have the nerves for live broadcast. That’s something you can’t teach until you go through it. It also gives them video they can capture, record and put on YouTube to send out to perspective employers.”
 
KFYR-TV had previously invested in BSC’s program by donating a news set. The $25,000 grant will be given over four years and also gives KFYR-TV naming rights of the studios for 10 years. KFYR-TV has also offered to lend the help of their broadcast engineers as needed during the remodel.

MASS COMMUNICATIONS STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: JUSTINE EMILY SMITH

Originally from Havana, N.D., Justine Emily Smith has discovered that she wants to become a TV news director, thanks to the real-world experience she has received at BSC and at her part-time job as a KFYR-TV production assistant. “As soon as I got back into the control room, I really liked the organization and the quickness.”Justine Smith
 
The environment at BSC has been especially helpful for her since she has dyslexia, which can make reading and writing challenging. “BSC is a very hands-on school. You get a lot of attention. It’s not like a big university where you’re a number. You’re a name at BSC. Your professors care about you and want you to succeed. I love it. Everybody works at their own pace, and BSC is very accepting of that.”
 
One of the professors who has encouraged her along the way is karen Bauer, Assistant Professor of Journalism/Mystician Advisor. “She likes to involve the students. I told everyone to please be patient with me because reading out loud was one of my biggest fears. She’s really helped me and said, ‘Yeah, you’re dyslexic. Let people know that so you can conquer it.’ Karen knew how hard this was for me and wanted me to get this done.”Mass Comm Spotlight
 
After she graduates with her associate degree in the spring of 2019, Smith will attend the University of Mary, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast Communication.