GARY PREMIERES NEW TV STUDIO FOR COMMUNITY
POST-TRIBUNE
BY: JON SEIDEL
DECEMBER 24th, 2006

GARY, Flat-screen plasma televisions hang on the walls of freshly painted offices as cameras watch over a platform flanked with walls painted in hues of blue.

Gary's new public television studio was ready for its premiere when the city put it on display.

"Welcome to the Gary Access Center," said Darrell Harvey, an assistant program director for the city as he gave a tour of the facility.

The Access Center launched its main studio this week, which is ready for use by the city, local schools and community groups.

Chuck Sherwood, senior associate of TeleDimensions Inc. and part of the consulting team that helped the city build the center, said funding came from franchise and capital fees paid to the city by Comcast Cable.

"None of this comes out of the city's tax base or casino revenue," Sherwood said.

The primary studio is decorated with framed photographs of historical buildings in Gary and is suited for "talking head" programming, Sherwood said.

An adjacent performance studio, Sherwood said, will eventually be renovated and designed for a 60-person audience.

"All we have to do is renovate the space and get lights in there and cameras," Sherwood said.

The center, built under Broadway in the City Hall annex building, will be put to use soon by Indiana University Northwest.

"It's to be used as a learning tool," Michelle Searer, director of communications for IUN, said.

A team of 15 to 20 students, led by Taylor Lake, will begin using the studio next month to create an outreach program called "Dialogues in Diversity."

"They'll be working the cameras, doing their own reporting, putting the program together," Searer said. "It's a pretty exciting opportunity."

Lake, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication, said it's a project she's had in mind for a long time.

"We haven't had the facilities," Lake said. "We're just thrilled about that. Students are very excited."

The city also will be working with students from Purdue Calumet, Ivy Tech State College, Valparaiso University, Gary Art Works and the Gary Community School Corp. in the coming semester.

Meanwhile, Harvey said, the studio will be available to members of the public and community groups who make a proposal to the city.

There will be a training process in place for anyone who wants to be a volunteer technician.

But beyond all this, Harvey said the Access Center will also be useful during emergencies or inclement weather.

The city is able to go live, he said, on Channels 4, 21 and 22 whenever urgent information, such as school closings or something more serious, needs to be broadcast.

Sherwood said the city has licenses to initiate emergency crawls when necessary, but the equipment has not been activated yet.

Contact Jon Seidel at 881-3148 or jseidel@post-trib.com