Having a Ball Studying Media
One of those surprises is the innovative multimedia collaboration that is Newsok.com, found right here in Oklahoma City. This online newspaper is creatively miles ahead of my other hometown paper, The Los Angeles Times, or any other metro online daily for that matter.
But a real shocker is the groundbreaking work being done in creating new media models at Ball State University in the somewhat obscure town of Muncie, Indiana. Much of the funding for this venture comes from a not-so-obscure guy with a very familiar face.
Talk show host David Letterman is interviewed on the Ball State University campus radio station that he helped found as an undergraduate and later provided a large grant to build a communication and media building in 2007 which carries his name. (AP Photo/CBS, J.P. Filo)
The hub of activity is the state-of-the art, three-building complex housing the College of Communication, Information and Media, overseen by Dean Roger Lavery, a former advertising agency executive.
If you have any interest in the media, or in what it might look like in the future, you should find time to get over and see this place, anchored by the new David Letterman Communication and Media Building. It is funded by, and named for, you guessed it: the Indiana-raised late-night talk show host, himself a grad of Ball State. In many ways, it reminds you of the beautiful Gaylord Journalism and Mass Communication Building at OU, with an even broader focus.
Three in One
But the Letterman Building is only one of three huge structures designed and crafted in the recent past and joined together under one gigantic roof with plenty of glass and skylights that serve as a metaphor for bringing light to the world through more creative and transparent communications.
The other two buildings are the innovative Ball Communication Building (the genesis of this complex) and the equally impressive, and as-yet unnamed, Arts and Journalism Building. Each structure houses cutting-edge classrooms, labs, and student media operations that rival many (and surpass some) professional media facilities.
Best and Brightest
This innovative college is staffed by some of the best and the brightest academics and professional media people who believe in taking their students on a journey of immersive learning through the various media labs, programs, and publications available to them. And some 2,000 students — undergrads and grads — take advantage of this, making BSU’s communication college the seventh largest in the country.
Among the innovations taking place here: One of the first — if not the first — fully integrated print, online, and broadcast news curriculums in the world. It’s a product of three years of collaboration between faculty of the Journalism and Telecommunications Departments, two divisions normally entrenched in turf battles at other universities.
As Ball State promoters say, “To create the best, you need the best. Our college has some of the most high-tech equipment to help you with your many projects.”
The Facilities
Some of the creative and cutting-edge facilities and equipment housed in the three buildings are:
* Five surround-sound editing suites and two surround-sound recording studios for digital cinema and video sound as well as music acquisition and mixing.
* WCRD-FM, a student-run radio station, and IPR (Indiana Public Radio), an NPR affiliate.
The David Letterman Building of Communication and Media is one of three buildings joined under one roof to comprise the College of Communication, Information and Media. (Photo courtesy of Ball State).
* The Center for Information and Communication Sciences, partnering with communication companies to carry out applied research.
* The Center for Media Design (CMD), a research and development facility focused on the creation, testing and practical application of digital technologies for business, classroom, home, and community.
* Two Sony 900 HD cameras—the same kind used by George Lucas and major movie studios—and the same Sony PD-150 camcorders used on the Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch and in the field by A&E and CNN.
* The Ball State Daily News newsroom which houses both the print and online edition of the 14,000-circulation campus daily, and even has a platform studio reserved just for podcasts, and an area for its Newslink Indiana operation that provides online and video news feeds for Central Indiana.
* A newsroom and production studio for a full-color print and online magazine dubbed expo and Ball Bearings.
* A suite of offices for Cardinal Communication, the student-run public relations agency which takes on campus and professional clients.
* Offices for the American Advertising Federation, also student-run, in which students compete in national advertising competitions.
* Offices for J-Ideas that recruit and train aspiring high school journalists and which is part of a large, ongoing interaction the Journalism Department has with high school students nationwide.
* Photographic studios, digital graphics labs, and cabinets full of cameras and lenses.
* Eye-Track labs in which regular research studies are conducted on how readers and viewers process print and online pages.
* A visual animation lab, equipped with software and hardware to give students full access to the new field of interactivity.
* An array of audio and video editing software and equipment, including 30 Mac G5 work stations, each featuring Final Cut Pro and Adobe software products such as InDesign, Illustrator, and PhotoShop; three private post production suites; and one voice-over lab for additional/advanced dialogue replacement (ADR).
Media convergence comes together on the Web, so computers are at the center of media training these days, and BSU has some of the best. (AP Photo/Ferdinand Ostrop)
* A media lab made up of nine individual suites, including a high-definition suite, for audio and video editing and postproduction. This lab has been used for the 2007 Summer HD movie and Academy Awards submissions. To add icing to the cake, the lab is open 24/7.
Following — and Setting — Trends
Much like the famed MIT Media Lab, the Ball State College of Communication, Information, and Media not only monitors and follows the trends in the various media; they are also setting trends and working on applied-research projects that produce demonstrative results. In the world of a media landscape that changes almost every week, facilities like these are needed to help shine a light through the chaos that often accompanies creativity.
The news and entertainment media are all asking the same kind of questions in today’s age of the virtual unknown. These questions come in different forms and may relate differrently to each media sector, but essentially they are the same: What are the killer applications that will make my media product so essential to the reader or viewer that they will choose it from the competition and support it through reading the ads as well as the editorial and entertainment content?
At a growing number of universities and research centers around the country, that question is being taken very seriously, and are the focus of much experimentation. Ball State University is one of the newest and most impressive of these centers.
And you thought Hoosiers cared only about basketball.
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Comments
Although, I am not a Communications Studies or Journalism major, I think that this is awesome! It is wonderful when Alumnus are able to go back and contribute to the advancement of their Alma Mater, whether it is technological advancement, medical advancement or just cash donations. Because of the new center, the students at BSU will be able to compete with those from MIT, when it comes to this field. In the wake of the marital troubles he found himself in, I’m not sure if this was done so he could look like a good guy or not but whatever the reason; it was a great thing to do!
I am amazed at how big their facilities are at Ball state and all of the top of the line things they have. I feel like if I were to go there that I would never set foot out side of one of those different facilities. I am so intrigued by each one of those state of the arc facilities that i would want to use everything that they have in each one before I moved on to the next. I feel like if I went to a school like that then it would make it a little easier to study because you have everything right there at your fingertips and you have so much access to everything that would make studying that much easier and more fun. I want to go to ball state just so I can say that I have visited the David Letterman Communication and Media Building because I am a fan of his show and like to watch it and two because I am communications major and I want to see what its like to have the best of the best at your fingertips when you are studying and writing papers.
I think that this is a wonderful way to give back to an Alma Mater University that has given so much to advance one’s career. As a communication major I am glad to see that there is a facility with so much to offer the students in terms of the communication department. In this major it is important to be surrounded by people that are ambitious and to have the resources available. I would have loved to attend a university with the resources and emphasis on the communication department. I think it is great that David Letterman has given so much to Ball University as he has gained so much and advanced in his career due to his education as well as connections.
I agree with Monica. I think that it is important to give back to the that has given you so much. David Letterman’s Contributions are similar to those of George Lucas’ at USC’s film school. The communication department at Azusa Pacific is strongly centered around interpersonal communication and face to face interaction. I think Ball University is utilizing all types of media outlets in order to help students understand all the types of communication that the world is currently using to communicate with each other.
It is so wonderful to see things like this. Hats off to David for giving back to a place he believes in. Through the means of the new communication facility that he supplied, students will truly be able to dig deep and learn what they are passionate about. Having a facility like that can only enhance the learning experience and truly take it to a new level. Unfortunately, not every university has these types of donors or facilities to make this possible. So what a gift that Ball received!
I have never been one to actually “surf” the web. However, I have recently been turned onto Stumble. When one of my friend caught me having this they actually said, “Oh you’re like actually surfing the internet like an old person.” No matter what they say this site allows me to find the coolest sites that I would otherwise have no idea existed. Back to the blog however, I think it is exciting yet nerve-racking to think of the new technological steps that are being taken at Universities such as Ball State. I agree that if you are going to try and create the best you need the best so let the best handle it. I would rather have something great available to everyone then something mediocre. Being a student at APU the internet is already so stinking slow that it is sometimes unbearable, but I think that the students here would really appreciate it if their own peers came up with actually solutions. They would not only appreciate the freedom more but the community more, which is what I think will happen at a place like Ball State. This was an interesting blog that opened up my eyes to all the creative possibilities that are available to and ever growing technological generation, and even at my home school APU.