The studio for TigerTV, Trinity’s campus television station, lies in room 425 of the Richardson Communications Center. Three times a week, TigerTV goes live with shows written and produced by students.
TigerTV has three live shows each week, “Studio 21,” “The Not So Late Show” and “Newswave.” Albert Salinas, staff advisor for TigerTV and operations manager for the communication department, described the shows.
“‘Studio 21’ is an arts and culture program, highlighting the latest gossip, local musicians and movie releases. Then we have ‘The Not So Late Show,’ which is more of a late night comedy meet sketch comedy show. ‘Newswave’ is our traditional news format that digs into not only national and international news, but they do local and hyperlocal here on campus,” Salinas said.
“Studio 21” starts at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, “The Not So Late Show” airs on Thursdays at 5 p.m. and “Newswave” starts at 3 p.m. on Fridays. All of the shows can be found on the campus channel 14.1, and TigerTV also posts on their Instagram page @trinitytigertv.
There are 16 official student positions on TigerTV with an additional 40-50 student volunteers. Parker Parent, senior communication major, is the station manager of TigerTV and oversees the production and team at TigerTV. To Parent, TigerTV provides opportunities for creative students to use professional equipment and express themselves.
“I like to describe it as a sandbox. You have all this stuff and you can go as big or as small as you want,” Parent said. “People have the chance to mess around, and I’m their boss, so there’s a lot of creative freedom because I’m not trying to limit what anyone wants to do.”
TigerTV began in 1996, and over the years the equipment and facilities have improved. According to Salinas, TigerTV has been growing in outreach recently.
“We have a significantly larger online viewership now than we’ve ever had before,” Salinas said. “The students themselves have been great, and they’ve done a great job in increasing the reach online.”
According to Parent, the goal of TigerTV isn’t necessarily to go viral, but outreach is still a priority. He wants to share the community with others and provide opportunities for more students.
“Outreach is our biggest issue, and it’s been our biggest issue in the past,” Parker said. “We really are an environment for fun and discovery, so we want people to find us and have fun with it.”
David Nilsen, sophomore political science and computer science double-major, is “The Not So Late Show’s” executive producer and works with student volunteers on writing and producing the show. To him, TigerTV provides an opportunity for students to see ideas happen in real life.
“It’s my favorite part of the week, and I would definitely say my favorite part of the campus because of the intersection of artistic creativity and practical work experience,” Nilsen said. “It’s a great way to see how your ideas happen in real life.”
Salinas encourages students interested in Tiger TV to come see the studio.
“The studio is open to all students to be a part of,” Salinas said. “If you’d like a tour or just like to learn more about Tiger TV … feel free to visit us on the fourth floor.”
