Cedars, September 2017

September 2017 7 COVER STORY the newsroom are some of the most excit- ing. “It’s not just a public relations initia- tive, it’s a campus-wide initiative that’s been bought in by a lot of people,” Weinstein said. The marketing and PR department’s major partner on the newsroom project was the Department of Communication. The newsroom will be both a PR production room and a learning lab for students. Derrick Green, chair of the Depart- ment of Communication, partnered with Dr. Janice Supplee, vice president for Mar- keting and Communications, on blending the marketing and academic aspects of the newsroom. Most of the videos produced will be used for the university’s PR, but student- workers will be doing the actual producing. “They are the production managers, they are the ones running the studio,” Sup- plee said. “If we go in there, there’s going to be a student there.” Green described how the room seemed like a “very natural partnership” between the two departments. “Our public relations courses will get an up-close and personal look at what it’s like to do PR from the University’s perspec- tive,” Green said. The newsroom offers key additions to a broadcasting and digital media or journal- ism major’s resumé. Green explained how the new room will provide opportunities for job experience, practicums, and possible in- ternships. Comm students will also have the ability to gain hands-on experience earlier in their program. These opportunities are more than just classroom projects, Green explained. “These are actual newsroom situations that are going to reflect Cedarville Universi- ty to an external audience,” he said. Green said his and the Comm. facul- ty’s main roles with the newsroom will be to help create practicum, internship and other opportunities that can offer academic credit for students and to identify students with the capability to be hired for various positions in the newsroom. Shawn Rifner, technical supervisor, manages the student workers. While the creation of the newsroomwas a joint effort, with starting concepts coming from a variety of departments, Rifner and Mark Tucker, campus videographer, recog- nized the need for a video studio on campus for the communication, marketing and PR departments to share. Before, communica- tion had a room where students could view already produced content but not a space where they could shoot videos. “We had a need for the videographer of the comm department to have a space, a dedicated space,” Rifner said. Tucker took the idea to the marketing and PR departments, who agreed to partner with the comm department. Other depart- ments on campus, including the Center for Political Studies and School of Business, participated financially. Supplee acted as facilitator for the project. Supplee wrote a proposal for the newsroom and took the plan to the university’s cabinet, which in- cludes President Dr. Thomas White. “[White] was totally on board from the beginning and has seen the value,” Supplee said. “Once he had the proposal, he actually said ‘I think we need to put some more re- sources toward it’ and we said, ‘thank you.’” Supplee was also involved in finding a space for the room. The Centennial Library was “wholeheartedly supportive,” Supplee said, offering the use of lower-level office space near the curriculum materials cen- ter. After the project was approved in May, construction began in August and the room opened August 29. When the studio begins regularly pro- ducing content, Rifner said the team hopes to produce daily content, including 30-60 second news commentaries by professors on recent events to send to local news sta- tions. Other content produced by the room could range from discussions with the Bereans at the Gate, live interviews of pro- fessors by CNN or local media, an intro to Dr. White’s sermon series, or perhaps a president’s podcast. Cedars, the school newspaper, will also have the opportunity to use the room for video or audio podcasts- for its website ReadCedars.com. Overall, the media produced by the room will have a content focus. “It’s not like the university video where we’re going to be out on campus and people are talking and we’re trying to get them in their scene. This is more of people sitting on a stool sitting at a desk, sharing informa- tion,” Supplee said. “This is going to be very information-focused, news-focused.” Supplee mentioned that students and faculty can offer content-based video suggestions to the marketing and PR de- partment. The idea would then move up through the department and an approval process headed up by Weinstein, who will be in charge of the newsroom overall. While the general student body will have limited to no access to the newsroom, the room demonstrates the academic qual- ity which is part of the school’s overall rep- utation, which benefits the student body as a whole. “If I’m a senior at Cedarville University, I want to be sure that my degree is worth something, and a big piece of that is aca- demic quality and the ability to get a job,” Supplee said. “This is going to be a big deal for the Department of Communication stu- dents.” Supplee also commented that the PR materials created in the room will get the word out about Cedarville and perhaps re- cruit more students, which helps the uni- versity stay healthy. The materials produced from the room will also have a Gospel im- pact, as each faculty member interviewed will ground their expertise in a biblical worl- dview. Overall, the newsroom opens a vari- ety of new avenues to promote Cedarville and promote Christ. “I’m excited about the impact for our students, excited about the impact for our university,” Green said. “I’m very anxious to get down there and get this off the ground.” Rebekah Erway is a senior Christian edu- cation major and Campus News editor for Cedars. She enjoys odd numbers, Oxford commas, and speaking in a British accent. Photo by Naomi Harward The new newsroom will allow student workers to conduct live recordings of interviews that can be carried live on local news programs.