School of Communication, Information and Library Studies is Newest Partner With Local News Station
The 16 students in the class make up the “XIP News” team.
They will report on breaking news, events, feature
stories, community news, college or high school sports, local reaction to major
events, stories exclusive to Rutgers University, or an assigned topic. Their
reports may be aired on any of PIX’s news programs or on the PIX website (http://www.wpix.com/news).
“The partnership between the Rutgers Department of Journalism and Media Studies and PIX News is a mutually beneficial relationship that will enable our students to participate with a professional television news organization and demonstrate their talents to the New York metropolitan area,” said Steve Miller, coordinator of undergraduate studies in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies and the instructor of Advanced Television Reporting.
“PIX is excited to expand our XIP News program into New Jersey, and we are pleased to help Rutgers University’s broadcast students gain hands-on experience in the industry,” said Karen Scott, WPIX News Director.
WPIX provided the students with Flip Video Ultra digital camcorders, small devices with a hideaway USB connector and built-in software that makes uploading videos to the web quick and simple. The camcorders can take up to 60 minutes of video footage. Erica Mapa, a senior majoring in journalism and media studies, already used her camera to take footage of a traffic jam on Route 18 in New Brunswick.
“It was so easy to use because all I had to do was turn it on and it caught everything,” Mapa said. The traffic jam turned out to be routine, but Mapa’s instincts are exactly what journalists at PIX were looking for in student participants.
XIP News teams have formed at other universities in the metropolitan tri-state area. Students post their video footage to a special website for their peers at other schools to view. “It motivates us to look for breaking news, so it’s a healthy form of competition,” Mapa said.
Students will receive an audio or visual attribution at the time the footage is published and all participating students will have the opportunity to visit PIX’s news studio at the end of the semester. They also will be able to apply for internships with PIX.
PIX produces 30 hours of local news each week including PIX Morning News, PIX News at Ten and 11 News Close-Up.
Media Contact: Ashanti M. Alvarez
732-932-7500, ext. 8012
E-mail: ashanti@rutgers.edu