Broadcast journalism club established on campus

A broadcast journalism club, titled ArachnoMEDIA, has recently been created at the University of Richmond, giving students an outlet to learn the fundamentals and skills needed for this branch of journalism.

“It was a dream of mine to have something where students who are interested in broadcast journalism have that avenue,” said senior Tracee Carter, who is the communications director of ArachnoMEDIA, “since the school doesn’t have anything to offer regarding that type of journalism.”

Carter was encouraged to develop her idea into a club by Robert Hodierne, who is chairman of the journalism department and also the adviser of ArachnoMEDIA.

The club, which is in the process of becoming an established group, was created through the assistance of Tracee’s partner, senior Lauren Hall, and last April the two women started to put together and develop the bylaws, logo and social media, Carter said. This semester there have been interest meetings, as the organization prepares to get people on board for deciding how to make ArachnoMEDIA an established group on campus, she said.

There are currently 15 members, said junior Holly Speck, who is the news editor for ArachnoMEDIA, and within the group there is a board that is composed of 10 positions, such as faculty adviser, communications director, assistant director, lead producer, lead photojournalist, lead editor, news manager, sports director, secretary and treasurer. 

Along with the multiple positions for ArachnoMEDIA, there are seven branches, including news, sports, SpiderBytes, campus events, radio, entertainment and promotions.

For the news branch, ArachnoMEDIA and The Collegian will be partnering and Speck is the liaison between the two organizations. Speck would contact the paper if it wanted a video for its story or vice versa, and she would then decide if that story had potential for a video, Speck said.

Carter said if the story is deemed newsworthy for broadcasting, ArachnoMEDIA would then send a broadcast team to assist the reporter so there could be a video to that particular story or just a video.

“ArachnoMEDIA is making sure to connect and share ideas with The Collegian,” Speck said, “so we can work together and be a helping hand.”

The sports broadcasting branch will be partnering with SpiderTV, and the club will receive the correct training from Bob Black, who is the communications director for SpiderTV, Carter said. Black will be stepping in as an alternative adviser to assist with training elements, ranging from camera presence to preparation, she said.

The entertainment and events branch will be putting together promotional videos for any club or anything happening on campus, Carter said.

For instance, the club filmed its first event during Homecoming weekend, when Chiddy Bang and DJ Matt Purdy performed.

ArachnoMEDIA was contacted by SpiderBoard to cover this event and provide the board with a short promotional video, Carter said. A team was then put together to capture the concert and Carter had the opportunity to interview Chiddy Bang, she said.

Junior Katie Burke, who is the lead producer for ArachnoMEDIA said, “For the first event we filmed, I was on press, which meant I got a badge to stay there from the beginning to the very end of the concert. For DJ Matt Purdy and Chiddy Bang, I was able to stand in the front of the audience and record some video of the crowd and the artists.”

Carter said it was good to finally put the organization to use and have people realize that there was a group on campus that was willing to broadcast events.

ArachnoMEDIA is determined to also use its entertainment branch as a video aspect to produce skits or short films, Carter said.

For the SpiderBytes branch, which is still in the works, the club would report the information of SpiderBytes through video either once a week or once a month, Carter said.

The big picture for the organization is to have its own TV show, titled “ArachnoTV,” where the communications director would be the host and the show would focus on campus-based news, events, sports or student activities, Carter said.

But, with this goal have also come challenges that the club has been facing when working to become an established organization.

Carter said she would have to convince the board at her SOBAC funding meeting, which is set for Thursday, Nov. 19, that there is a separation between ArachnoMEDIA and The Collegian, and that that these two organizations do not fall under the same type of roof in regards to journalism and media.

“We are completely different branches with different training, techniques and equipment,” Carter said. “There is also different vocabulary and language that you use in broadcasting that you don’t use in other branches of journalism. For instance, journalistic writing is typically past tense and it’s just a completely different field.”

The organization, which hopes to receive funding, would then use that money toward equipment and constructing a room, Speck said.

“With the funding, we would like to make a broadcast studio or soundproof room to record since we have no elements of broadcast journalism in our department,” Speck said.

With high hopes for the future, Carter said, ArachnoMEDIA will continue to train for the remainder of the semester, so members are prepared and comfortable with their roles, assigning stories and getting out there starting spring semester. 

Contact reporter Catherine McTiernan at catherin.mctiernan@richmond.edu.