The Electronic Journalism Arts Department of Lyndon State College has upgraded its Vermont Center for Community Journalism (VCCJ) broadcast facility, News7, to digital high-definition (HD) production to better serve the 14 Vermont towns surrounding the Lyndon campus, as well as online viewers. As part of the upgrade, Lyndon selected CueScript, the leading developer of professional prompting solutions, for its teleprompter and talent monitor needs.
Darlene Ballou, Director of Broadcast Operations for Lyndon State College, equipped two of the VCCJ's new Ikegami HC-HD300 cameras with EMC17 17-inch Teleprompter Monitors and CSTM19 19-inch Prompter Talent Monitors.
“Our broadcast facility began in 1979, with the last major upgrade occurring close to 20 years ago,” said Ballou. “This year, with an infusion of funding, we were able to go fully digital and upgrade to HD. As part of that upgrade, it was very important that our news production equipment and workflows resemble that of a commercial station’s for a real-world experience while staying within our budget. CueScript's teleprompter and talent monitors not only give us crisp, easy to read displays, but are well thought out and engineered, providing for more room in the studio and more mobility for us to get shots that used to be impossible.”
The student-operated VCCJ provides a real-world practicum laboratory for training would-be journalists with a 30-minute newscast each weekday. With faculty oversight, students at the sophomore level join News7 rotating between reporter, producer, photographer, and editor, and then go on to specialize in one area during their junior and senior years leading to a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic Journalism Arts at the public college.
CueScript’s EMC line is specifically designed for educational and corporate users where both budget and reliability are paramount concerns, with the same style and quality as the CSM broadcast line of products.
“It’s imperative that schools train the journalists, broadcasters, and media professionals of tomorrow in a way that makes them ready for a very competitive job market,” said Michael Accardi, President, CueScript. “Lyndon State College, with its Electronic Journalism Arts program and upgrade to digital HD in its Vermont Center for Community Journalism, means that its students will be prepared for the future once they graduate, having worked with the same equipment and processes found in broadcast operations around the world.”
“The entire experience with CueScript was just amazing,” added Ballou. “From the initial demo, to the installation, to making sure that the complete system – camera, pedestal, and promoter monitors – were all set up, balanced, and powered to work as one, CueScript went above and beyond what I had expected. That makes you feel very secure about the product.”
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ABOUT CUESCRIPT
CueScript was founded in 2014 with a remit to develop a range of exciting prompting solutions based on the needs of the customer. With over 50 years of collective prompting experience yet unfettered by legacy systems to support, CueScript is in the unique position to combine old-school values with the latest technology to create innovative prompting solutions for today’s broadcast environment.
