Red Hawk Sports Network Students Set for Another ESPN-Style Broadcast
Posted in: School of Communication and Media News
For the fouth consecutive year, the Red Hawk Sports Network (RHSN) is partnering with the Broadcast and Media Operations (BMO) team to produce a live, multi-camera broadcast of Montclair sporting events. On Saturday, April 27, the RHSN team will broadcast the baseball team’s doubleheader from Yogi Berra Stadium, which will be preceded by an hour-long show of live interviews, feature stories and pre-packaged highlights.
The production is a true team effort of 40 students who will work in all Control Room positions, operate 12 cameras and set up and break down equipment to ensure a smooth broadcast and show. In addition, three student broadcasters will call the play-by-play action with assistance from two sideline reporters. “The goal of these productions is to give the students the most complete experience for what a live-sports production would be like to plan and run, very much in the ‘ESPN College GameDay’ style,” said Professor Stacy Gitlin, who worked at ESPN for 15 years, has produced hundreds of live shows and won an Emmy for her work at the 2022 Winter Olympics. “The entire operation includes weeks of preparation editing videos, conducting research and writing scripts. There is a full build the day before which includes the production team running cables and testing all cameras. Saturday will be a 14-hour day from set-up to breakdown after the games are over,” she said.
“This kind of experience is the closest that the crew can get to working a live sportsbroadcast at a professional level, said junior Sports Communication major Ryan Tullio. “One of the exciting aspects of the production is the addition of a new replay system called EVS that is used across the live sports industry. It is a long day that takes a huge crew to pull off, but one that will be fun and rewarding. For the crew, it’s another example how the RHSN and School of Communicaiton and Media is preparing us for our jobs in the the extremely competitive sports industry.”
The entire production will air live starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday, September 27 on Hawk+, Montclair’s streaming network.
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About the Red Hawk Sports Network: The Red Hawk Sports Network launched in the Fall of 2019 and is a joint venture between the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Montclair State University’s School of Communication and Media. The network covers all 18 varsity athletic teams at Montclair State, with live streams of all home contests on YouTube and select games on the University’s streaming channel Hawk+, with a color and play-by-play commentator calling the games.
About the School of Communication and Media: The School of Communication and Media offers a range of dynamic programs in communication and media to a talented and diverse student population of over 1,800. Offering degrees in film and television, social media and public relations, advertising, journalism and digital media, sports communication, communication and media studies, animation and visual effects, and an MA devoted to strategic communication, the School prepares the next generation of communication and media practitioners and leaders. The School houses award-winning student programs that include WMSC Radio, The Montclarion newspaper, Hawk Communications Agency, the Red Hawk Sports Network, Hawk+ OTT streaming platform, and News Lab, as well as the Center for Cooperative Media, which serves the public by working to grow and strengthen local journalism. Student projects and programs have recently received national recognition from PRSSA’s Bateman Competition, an Edward R Murrow Award, several Marconi Award nominations, and a College Television Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Story by Keith Green, SCM