Marquette University Student Media
Marquette Wire is the official outlet of Marquette University's student media, supported by the university's Diederich College of Communication, which allows students to gain real-world experience in producing mainstream media. Students studying journalism, digital media and other related fields can gain experience through writing, editing, producing and publishing content relating to Marquette and the surrounding Milwaukee community.
The organization has won numerous awards, including ones from the Society of Professional Journalists, Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association, Milwaukee Press Club, Wisconsin Broadcasters Association, and Wisconsin Newspaper Association. The group has also won a collegiate Emmy.
Outlets
The Marquette Wire has four outlets:- Marquette Tribune, the student-run weekly newspaper
- Marquette Journal, the student-run semesterly magazine
- Marquette University Television, the student-run television station
- Marquette University Radio, the student-run radio station
History
The Marquette Wire was formed in 2014, the first time in the school's history that individual publication and broadcast outlets have united under one parent organization.
They have produced publications in both CMYK and black and white.
Staff
Each outlet of the Marquette Wire is headed by an undergraduate student. The College of Communication posts applications and hold interviews at the end of each academic year, during which the directors of the outlets are selected for the next academic year. The Wire's executive director and managers are hired by the school's Board of Student Media, while the rest of positions are filled internally. The director of student media, currently Mark Zoromski, is the faculty representative for the organization.Current staff
The management team for the current academic year is as follows:Outlet | Manager |
Marquette Tribune | Jenny Whidden |
Marquette Journal | Natallie St. Onge |
MUTV | Kennedy Coleman |
Marquette Radio | Mack Vogel |
For a list of past directors, see the individual outlet pages.
Location
The Marquette Wire is based on the second floor of Johnston Hall, home of the Diederich College of Communication. The college received a $3.5 million donation in 2014, which was ultimately used to build a new student media center. The Wire is now housed in that new center, which included an updated newsroom, a new radio booth, a new control room for the television station, improved offices, and a virtual reality green screen studio with a state-of-the art robotic camera and software for television broadcasts.The Marquette Wire was originally housed in the basement of Johnston Hall, where the newsroom, radio booth, and some offices were located.
Convergence
In 2006, the college began executing plans to converge all outlets of Student Media into a single location, instead of being spread all over the building. The basement of Johnston Hall was chosen as the location, and was partially remodeled during the summer of 2008.When Dr. John Pauly, formerly Dean of the College of Communication, was promoted to the position of university provost in April 2008, convergence plans came to a halt. The broadcasting outlets of Marquette Student Media did not move to the basement of Johnston Hall as originally intended. However, other plans of convergence continued, namely the addition of two conference rooms, the relocation of an unused computer lab, and the relocation of the Student Media Business office.
Notable alumni
- Steve Rushin, author and former sports reporter for Sports Illustrated
- Jen Lada, ESPN reporter and host of College Football Live
- Sophia Minnaert, digital content director for the Milwaukee Brewers
Marquette University Television
About
Marquette University Television was chartered by Marquette University in 1976 and is a registered student organization within the university. MUTV was formed through the work of Bob Turner, former head of the , students Steve Olson and George Wensel, and other students and Marquette faculty and staff. Kenneth Shuler, a former engineer, helped make MUTV possible by running the campus cable system. Many of the original engineers died in a plane crash in the 1970s that nearly crippled the program's success. , who later went on to be a major force in sports telecasts and has a Sports Emmy Award named in his honor, died in a drowning accident in 1995. The college keeps the memories of Ken, Bob, and George alive through annual scholarships awarded to creative and innovative broadcasting students.Since 2014, MUTV has been a part of the Marquette Wire, Marquette's student media organization, along with the Marquette Tribune, MUR, and Marquette Journal.
In 2017 a renovation of the second floor of Johnston Hall began and was completed in 2018. The new facilities include student media executive office spaces, a newsroom overlooking Wisconsin Avenue, a control room, television studio space, a virtual studio space, updated video switcher and other broadcast equipment, an on-air MUR radio studio, and an off-air podcasting studio. These facilities will be used by student media, but they are also available to the entire College of Communication.
Specials
MUTV occasionally runs special programs during the year.- Marquette University Student Government Election Show - The day of the annual MUSG election, MUTV produces a one-hour newscast featuring packages and live interviews with the President and EVP candidates.
- Marquette Presidential Address - MUTV broadcasts the annual Presidential Address.
- Election Night coverage - MUTV covers every U.S. federal election live, including midterm elections.
Staff
Production
MUTV production is based on the second floor of Johnston Hall at Marquette University.Studio 7
Studio 7 is a 2-story, 30' x 45' sound stage with fifteen mobile lighting grids for easy light placement and focusing.Studio 6
Studio 6 is a single-story, 20' x 25' studio with a stationary lighting grid. In the summer of 2017, a wrap-around green screen cyc wall was installed, preparing for the installation of Ross Video virtual set technology.Remotes
In the early days of MUTV, Big Fred and Little Fred were remote trucks that enabled MUTV to go shoot events such as Marquette men's basketball games. The trucks were hand-built by the engineers and students, one of them originally being a used bread truck. MUTV broadcast Men's Basketball on a tape delay since a microwave transmitter was not available. 3/4" tape was driven from the Milwaukee Arena to Johnston Hall. A microwave transmitter was eventually purchased, but it was almost immediately struck by lightning and rendered useless. In the late 1970s, live remotes were done from the Helfaer Sports complex, Wilson Park ice arena, and in front of LaLumiere Hall, the school's dedicated languages building.A remote fly-pack was built at the start of the 2006–2007 school year, utilizing equipment replaced during that summer's digital upgrade. The kit was a valuable tool for MUTV, allowing them to do remotes once again. The kit has traveled to the Al McGuire Center, Bradley Center, Weasler Auditorium, Varsity Theater, and Alumni Memorial Union to broadcast sporting events, political debates, and other events. The students utilized both the equipment in the fly-pack and equipment in the Johnston Hall control rooms to make the broadcasts successful. Video is sent to Johnston Hall over a network of fiber optic converters placed in key buildings on the Marquette campus. A telephone link between intercom systems allows seamless communication between the remote and Johnston Hall.
The remote fly-pack was eventually upgraded with a Blackmagic Design ATEM production switcher, enabling HD broadcasting remotely. As the facilities in Johnston Hall were still standard definition, remote broadcasts weren't able to utilize that equipment. In the fall of 2017, MUTV acquired a Comrex LiveShot to enable remote cameras as well as an easier way to route remote broadcasts back to Johnston Hall. With Johnston Hall's recent renovations, live remotes are now able to be routed directly to the control room, where MUTV staff are able to assist in live replays and on-screen graphics.
Programming/distribution
MUTV utilizes Public-access television cable TV channel 4.1 on the Time Warner Cable feed to the Marquette campus. MUTV operates on channel 4.1 Monday through Thursday, 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM. mtvU is aired on the channel during off-air hours.MUTV launched their first Video-on-Demand service in fall of 2003. Shortly after, the project was suspended due to workflow inefficiencies. The service was revived in spring of 2007, taking the form of a UFO-based Flash Video player. In February 2008, MUTV acquired access to one of the University's QuickTime Streaming Servers and thus converted their Video on Demand Service to QuickTime. An ongoing initiative to have all MUTV shows available in Video-on-Demand is continued by the Programming/Distribution Department. In 2008, MUTV purchased a Mac Pro to handle the duties of putting content online on the MUTV Website and YouTube. As of 2017, all video packages and shows are uploaded to YouTube and embedded on the Marquette Wire website.
A live stream of MUTV programming is available in the All-Access player at .