Of all the organizations on campus, SLU-TV might just be one of the most elusive. Tune in to Channel 22 and you’ll see programs running, but who’s responsible for making sure things run as they’re supposed to?
That falls largely to SLU-TV President David Koeller, Executive Vice President Matt Wesselschmidt and Technical Director Steve Massey.
These three, along with the help of the rest of the members of SLU-TV, coordinate everything that happens with the organization. They work closely with Residence Hall Association to bring you the monthly lineup of movies on Channel 22, and also are responsible for providing the Saint Louis University community with its weekly news, weather and coverage of Student Government Association meetings.
In addition to the expected broadcasts, SLU-TV also has an original series called Updog, which is a live talk show that airs Wednesday nights from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. started by Massey and his roommates.
“[We] showed up one day and turned on cameras,” he said.
Updog started out by airing old sci-fi movies, but is now essentially an open forum for its hosts to talk about anything they please.
Additionally, according to Koeller, the program “sometimes gets freebies to give out,” which means that Updog often features contests.
“We’ll do things like whoever gets to the studio first gets a free shirt. It’s funny to see who shows up, because sometimes they’re coherent and sometimes they’re not,” Massey said.
What many SLU students may not realize, though, is that SLU-TV is also an outlet for content created by anyone within the SLU community.
“We try to put out programs that students create. They just have to want to make something, come to the studio, and we’ll show them how to work everything,” Koeller said. Student groups can also advertise on SLU-TV, simply by sending in a video or PowerPoint for their organization.
As for the SLU-TV studio, it’s a tech lover’s dream. Computers, lights, cameras and soundboards are all linked together, allowing the broadcasts to occur without a hitch.
“What makes SLU-TV really unique is that there’s no one behind the camera,” Wesselschmidt said.
Everyone you see onscreen is involved with the behind-the-scenes aspects as well, which helps tie everything together.
While the studio may be easy to pass by, tucked off the main hall of the Busch Student Center’s first floor, a lot of time and effort is being put in by the members of SLU-TV.
Visit slutv.slu.edu for more information.
