Ball State moving educational programs on cable system
Written by Administrator
Tuesday, 04 June 2002
(6/4/2002) MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State University will shift some of its televised educational programs from one cable access channel to another starting July 1.
Under a new cable franchise agreement between the city of Muncie and Comcast, the number of public cable access channels is being reduced with WBSU, channel 5 on the local cable system, being discontinued.
WBSU's demise will result in the loss each week of about 160 hours of educational programming, said Thomas Beatty, director of programming services for Ball State.
The university plans to move "GED Connection" and other selected programming from WBSU to Channel 43, the educational public access cable channel for Burris Laboratory School. Burris is a K-12 public school operated by Ball State Teachers College.
Beatty said WBSU played a major role in meeting the community's educational needs.
"WBSU was also an avenue for faculty and students to create and broadcast programs that were informative and entertaining," Beatty said. "We've used the channel to showcase the university by airing commencements, special events and lectures, and even sports.
"Through our licensing agreements we were able to provide diverse and meaningful programming that touched every academic discipline and exposed audiences to cultures that they would never have experienced without our involvement," he said.
Beatty plans to meet with Burris officials to finalize the programming shift. Other programs to be considered for Channel
43 include broadcasts of special lectures and national teleconferences.
WBSU was created in 1993 to provide 24-hour broadcast service to about 30,000 households in east central Indiana. The operation is part of the Ball State's University Teleplex with offices located in room 230 of the Edmund F. Ball Building.
