By Press Times Staff
GREEN BAY – The future of local journalism got a little brighter this week with the unveiling of new state-of-the-art media facilities at UW-Green Bay which will begin hosting classes next spring and start filling the pipeline of future content creators soon after.
Chuck Rybak, Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, said the new Technology, Engineering and Media (TEAM) Labs comes at a perfect time to meet the needs of a growing community and a changing media environment.
“Media and journalism are changing at light speed,” Rybak said. “We have seen the shocks of these changes throughout the nation for a number of years.”
He said the media spaces within TEAM Laboratories will position students to obtain the technological training and diverse experience required in today’s media ecosystem, and it will also position the university to serve as a pipeline for talent as the world enters the “age of content.”
Rybak said the media lab will be a space for experimentation, where students can learn about and add to the multi-platform nature of media and content production and consumption.
“More than anything, we want this space to become a place where students think about what media and news will become, rather than what it currently is,” Rybak said. “That being said, we find it essential to also use this space to teach and convey the bedrock, timeless principles of journalism and reporting that demand training in ethics, research, accuracy, and truth.”
The $5.7 million renovation coincides with the rebirth of student-run media at UWGB — including radio, television and digital journalism platforms.
It was made possible through a combination of state funds and donations from local businesses and individuals including Multi Media Channels, parent company of the Press Times, and Sinclair Broadcasting, parent company of WLUK Fox 11.
Among the new spaces is the Frank Wood Media Newsroom, which will serve as the hub for journalism and reporting efforts.
Wood, who for many years published the daily Green Bay News-Chronicle, was enshrined in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association Hall of Fame in 2002.
His son Chris, who spoke at the event, said his father always held an altruistic vision of the role a newspaper could play in its community if run properly.
“Frank Wood’s legacy was all about providing Green Bay and the surrounding area with a second voice. This was his stock-in-trade before he passed on May 27, 2011,” Wood said.
The newsroom is also connected to a number of smaller spaces for video and audio production and editing.
Also unveiled Monday was a new broadcast studio named in honor of longtime WLUK-TV engineer and UWGB alum Harvey Arnold.
FOX 11 General Manager Jay Zollar surprised Arnold with the honor.
“We are proud to recognize Harvey with the naming of UW-Green Bay’s newly renovated TV studio,” he said. “Harvey has nearly five decades under his belt and is considered a pioneer in the broadcast industry.”
Other spaces included in the new media center include:
• WGBX Radio – this new radio station will be a streamed service and allow students to engage in a form of media with a long history in contemporary and future technological and content-driven contexts
• Media Live Equipment
• Video Recording
• Audio Production Booths
• Media Recording
• Center for Games and Interactive Media – on the cutting edge of media technology, including streaming, gaming, augmented reality and virtual reality