WLOY-TV set to launch new programming Wednesday

Tucked away in Dorothy Day Hall, diagonal from the well-worn sand volleyball pit, is a state-of-the-art TV station, brimming with new technology and program ideas. WLOY-TV (a separate entity from the radio station) has a studio, control room and Mac technology as well as a surplus of studio equipment, such as HD cameras, green screens and tripods. The best part of it all is that students run the station.

This Wednesday, WLOY-TV will launch its programs, both old and new, to the Loyola College population. After Fr. Braden, the last faculty advisor for the station, left Loyola a few years ago, the station went through a period of inactivity. Last year, though, Jay Dunmore, the new advisor, recruited the help of Eric Strand, Station Manager, and Stephen Gallagher, General Manager. This year, the station has lost its "dead zone" and has revamped itself with new programs and ideas.

"The three of us really worked hard together and we hired a board. And we really got everything started from the ground up," says Gallagher. "We're getting really busy. So naturally, we want some programs to put on. I'm [having season two of] Between The Scenes, which is a Campus Ministry program, and it kind of talks about the Christian symbolism. And we've broadened it to morality and basic connections between campus life and spiritual life. But the thing is, it deals with symbolism behind popular movies. So for example, we did Lion King, Star Wars, Chronicles of Narnia, Matrix, The Da Vinci Code."

In addition to putting on programs and having weekly board meetings, the station acts as a resource for the Department of Communications. Most digital film and radio classes require projects outside the classroom for credit. WLOY-TV steps in at this point to graciously rent their equipment for these projects.

"There are so many communication classes, and everyone has projects to do, so we check [the equipment] out on a weekly basis for those people who need them," says Gallagher. "We help the students the best that we can."

The studio takes that help a step further by offering an internship program, implemented last year. As 30 percent of their grade, students in Digital Video I and Introduction to Video Production have to commit time to the studio. Fortunately for the students, it is not grunt work or fetching coffee.

"They do three hours a week here, and it's an educational experience where our supervisor Jay Dunmore and all of the executive board [all] kind of help teach them and give them a hands-on experience," says Gallagher.

"That's one thing that's really cool; they get to pick at the beginning what section of the studio they'd like to work with, and Steve gets to designate them," says Julia Gaspary, Director of Public Relations at the studio.

Besides Gallagher, Gaspary and Strand, the executive board is made up of Amy Choi, Promotions Director; Sal Mastrocola, Art Director; and Lindsay Ianna, Programming Manager. Each member has a unique role at the station.

"Lindsay's brand new, we just hired her this year, but she's in charge of all the different programs. Like if you wanted to make a program, you would come talk to her," says Gaspary. "[You'd] be like, 'Okay, this is what I want to do,' and then coordinate with her and make sure it works."

Mastrocola works to design the station's homepage and graphics for programs as well as blocks of promotion for the main Loyola website. This year, the WLOY-TV website got a revamp of layout, complete with a sleek interface. Mastrocola also designed an introduction animation for the TV station's launch on Wednesday.

"Amy, our promotions director, is really in charge with getting the word out with the flyers and stuff like that," says Gallagher.

Overall, the team at WLOY-TV work together to provide a solid backdrop for a wide variety of programs. Make sure to check out the launch this Wednesday, October 1, at 8 p.m.

"That's going to mark the big beginning of our year and our season," says Gaspary. "We're just going to start showing all of our shows. We're going to be airing a ton of stuff from last year."