The newest, most exciting attempt to bring together the entire campus lies in the hands of the College TV Station, which premiered its show, "Lions Now" last week. "Lions Now" airs every day on the College's cable channel 20 at 6 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. ?As called by its director, Scott Pioli, this show is a "brand new television magazine that showcases student life here at (the College)."
Through the student perspective, "Lions Now" will present to campus the people, events and issues that define the College community. What better way to feature clubs, events, students, off-campus activities and sports than with merely a click of the remote? ?"Lions Now" will tape field packages on and around campus and studio segments right from Kendall Hall.
Formerly known as "The Journal," "Lions Now" has a fresh format, crew and outlook.?No longer a straightforward news program, this new and improved show involves more creativity.
Pioli said, "I would really like to stress the importance of getting the entire campus involved."
The almost entirely new crew is full of eager students who had been waiting on the edge of their seats for the big premiere day. Made up of communication studies and non-communication studies majors, the crew of "Lions Now" is a fairly extensive group. Roles include on-air hosting, editing, taping, writing and more. The crew encourages all students and faculty to send in ideas for stories and welcomes all to the meetings.
According to Pioli, "Both the field package shoots and the studio days are a ton of fun." The philosophy under which they operate is that the more who become involved, the better the show will be.
The crew hopes the show will boost the reputation of the communication studies department by revealing the talent of its students and faculty. Pioli emphasized how important this show is to the communication studies department.
As the show's director, Pioli works diligently and enthusiastically to lead the show's planning. His job is to organize the crew and manage ideas for each episode.?On studio days, he takes his position in the control room and focuses on ensuring everything runs smoothly and will turn out as exciting as possible.?For certain segments, he even works as a field reporter, a position he began for "The Journal" as a sophomore. He volunteered to take over as director when "The Journal" director stepped down last spring.
"I love every minute, from planning to shooting, and everything in between," Pioli said. "It keeps me, as well as everybody in the group, busy, yet we also have a lot of fun while we are doing it. I mean, it's television, and who doesn't love to be on TV or get behind the scenes of one of their favorite shows?"
What Pioli loves most about the show is going out and taping packages. "We are really trying to make a lasting impression on the campus, and by getting involved with as many students and clubs as possible, I feel like we are accomplishing something," Pioli said. Numerous faculty members and organizations have approached the "Lions Now" crew asking for a particular event to be covered even before the first episode of the semester aired.
Pioli concluded, "There isn't a thing I don't like. All I can say is that we are continually looking for interested and motivated students to come check us out."
Ultimately, Pioli wants "Lions Now" to be one of the most popular forms of communication on campus. He hopes to hear kids whisper to each other in class, "Hey did you see last week's episode of 'Lions Now?'" ?
Full of optimism, Pioli believes "Lions Now," by getting its name out, has the full potential to achieve this goal, and to turn a formerly stale show into a funny and informative program students will genuinely care about.
In the future, as the show progresses, the crew hopes to air on a regional Mercer County public access channel. "Lions Now" looks to get as many shows as possible while still remaining a high-quality and entertaining program.
From a cappella groups to club sports to governance organizations, every student organization, group, team and society has a voice, and has the opportunity to portray its members, purpose and ideas to the entire campus community on this show. Under a new name and with a fresh outlook, "Lions Now" anticipates more success than its forerunner.
