UT TV Gives Students a Glimpse at Life Behind-the-Screen

The students behind the production of UT TV are taking what they learn in class and applying that immediately behind the camera. In some cases, they are learning techniques far before their appearance on a syllabus.

“It’s a great place to learn,” said Jamie Denko ’14, a film major and UT TV’s head writer. “We are collaborating on small teams but also with the greater team as a whole, just like we would at the professional level.”

Andrew Einhorn ’13, the general manager and producer of the show Campus Weekly, said they run the organization professionally so students can learn serious skills.

“Ambitious people who want to grow can make the first step here,” said Einhorn, who has taken some of what he’s learned at internships with WTVT Fox 13 and the Tampa Tribune and applied them to UT TV.

Started last fall, UT TV was created by a group of film students lead by Alex Rath ’12 to give students a platform to practice and get feedback. Einhorn said they’ve had support from UT’s communication department, among others, which has made getting off the ground a success.

While UT TV aired last semester, Denko said they are more organized now with around 35 members, and it should be obvious in the quality of the shows to come. Broadcasts will be on Wednesday nights beginning Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. on UT’s channel 95.

“Our collective goal is to deliver serious content that would appeal to someone of college age and would be funny, while also being informative,” said Robert Dimaio ’16, a film major and UT TV’s editor.

Because they are all students themselves, sharing in the experience of college life, laughing at the same jokes, studying in the same classrooms, they have relevance to UT students. Einhorn sees this as an advantage to connect the student body.

Staffers are soliciting requests for content from students through Facebook and Twitter. They are also looking for people to be involved — both in front of the screen and doing the editing behind it.

“We try to incorporate our views in a way to interact with the show,” Dimaio said. “We promote student groups on air and use student talent as the closing for our shows.”

To get in touch with UT TV, visit the website or watch some of their videos on YouTube.