Andover Television’s first ever episode in a series of biweekly broadcasts aired Monday night. Anchors for each episode will broadcast from the Andover TV newsroom and discuss a broad range of stories, including news, sports and humor pieces. First episode anchors Allison Morrison ’12 and Omegar Zacarias ’12 presented the broadcast from the newsroom and cut to various reporters ‘on the field.’ Stories covered included the recent passage of the U.S. health care legislation, results for Andover’s athletic competitions, weather forecasts, an exposé on senior spring and a short film directed by Bijan Torabi ’10. Allan Grimm, Teaching Fellow in Theatre and Dance and Faculty Adviser to Andover TV, said, “Our original idea was that the episodes would be more of a spoof and our goal is to make it more satirical in the future. If it becomes more like the Daily Show or Saturday Night Live, its purpose will be more distinct from that of The Phillipian or WPAA.” “The show will only get better. Now that they have some experience under their belt and understand the process that they need to go through to produce a show, they have a potential to do great things,” he continued. Karl Hardin ’11, a reporter for Andover Television, said, “I’m not going to lie, the first thing that ran through my head was, ‘Well Karl, you are now officially a reporter, so basically, you’re the man and a half.’” “Then, I remembered all of the work that went into filming, the work the writers went through to write the program and the work that the heads of it all had to go through to edit [the episode]. It wasn’t just me who was the man; it was everyone who helped make it a reality,” he added. Going into the project, some Andover TV staff members felt uncertain about what to expect. Colton Dempsey ’12, Sports Anchor for Andover Television, said, “At first we had a rocky start and had to scrap our first week’s report, but we got [everything] up and running [by the end].” Hardin said, “I was expecting [the broadcast] to be pretty shaky. This is a whole new enterprise, and naturally there are going to be some hiccups. I expected communication errors, timing errors and even technical errors, just because of the fact that we had no idea how we were going to do this.” According to Grimm, the club ran into difficulty meeting deadlines. “Various segments were often late and it was difficult to integrate them into one final product when we didn’t even have all of them,” said Grimm. Reporters and anchors filled out an application and auditioned for the program by reading a mock script. Zacarias said, “I was really nervous because there were almost 30 people who were also reading. I didn’t know if I’d be chosen but I was lucky and am thrilled to be part of Andover Television.” Reisinger said, “We are excited to be able express Andover’s news in this newer medium. I personally think TV is so different then the radio or the newspaper because people’s faces can be seen, and their live emotions are expressed.” “[Andover Television] is not even near the level of the other news organizations on campus but we are hard-working, dedicated, and we set ambitious goals,” said Grimm. “I believe that his news medium has fertile ground to grow in.” Madeleine Kasper ’12, a writer for Andover Television, said, “Writing was a stressful yet fun process. We had to make sure that the show had all the essential elements of a broadcast while still making it interesting for the viewers.” Polk-Lillard Center provided equipment and assistance on the technical points of the production.
