Conceived in 1996 with a gift from Betsy Wood Knapp ’64, the Knapp Media Technology Center opened its doors on the ground floor of Clapp Library in 1997. The Center houses the College’s first (and only) TV studio and control room, two state-of-the-art digital editing suites, and a voice-over room. The two-camera studio has the capability of broadcasting live on Channel 8 to the Wellesley College Video Network (WCVN).
The first broadcast of WCTV, the news program By the Lake, was televised on March 12, 2000, and anchored by Christianne Klein ’00 and Sarah Korvitz ’01. After her graduation, Christianne became a primetime news anchor with KUTV in Salt Lake City, returning to Wellesley in 2003 to give a workshop to WCTV students. She subsequently became a New York-based anchor and correspondent for ABC News.
– Jarlath Waldron, Media and Technology Director at Wellesley College
The beginning (Early 2000’s)
Wellesley College TV started as a program with goals to bring “domestic and international video footage” to students around campus. At the time, this was done on TubeTVs in residence halls or around campus in common areas, and off campus content was brought into the Wellesley Bubble, courtesy of Mr. Waldron’s TV Network connections. During its first run, according to Mr. Waldron, the station’s goals surrounded the development of women and television. Wellesley College TV in the early 2000s was a professional endeavor for those who wanted to deepen their skills in news technology or public speaking. They were able to undergo “training… on TV studio equipment (including the Grass Valley switcher, audio board; graphics; studio cameras and post-production equipment), and… on developing their content, format, and delivery competencies”. At its peak Mr. Waldron shared with me that the station had about 30 students working together to make content, there were makeup artists, video editors, anchors and producers. The program was truly functioning as a small scale broadcasting studio.
Local professors were invited to offer expertise on different segments, a phone line was set up for live audience call-ins, and there were even workshops hosted by local television anchors. The program was broadening the perspectives of students on campus, a channel for and by Wellesley students.
“Blue news” (2010 – 2012)
Around about 2008 students slowed their streak with professional news content and began to back off the program. The program stopped for a couple of years, but after one student, Grace Cheng (C/O 2012), discovered the studio was still around, they decided to bring back programming. The final season of the self-titled program “WCTV” was technically 2010. Although the content created during this period was more suited under the umbrella of “BlueNews” content. Covering on campus concerts, updates with AVI Wellesley Fresh and the school’s plans for transportation. During my interview with Blue News Producer and anchor, Mary Kenefake, she shared with me the Blue News 2011 Mission Statement. Among other mentions of broadening the scope of on-campus journalism, the statement also includes mentions of how the program would be beneficial to the Wellesley community, “the video footage and interviews help students gain broader perspectives about on-campus issues and events they may have missed”.
Whether it was due to a larger, more accessible engagement with news through mobile devices and online services, or a lack of interest in global affairs, the scope of WCTV’s content was shrinking. Mary shared that their “target audience was primarily Wellesley students and administration”. BlueNews was characterized by on-campus related matters concerning topics such as health updates (a fascinating example was the coverage of a recent stomach virus that was spreading at the time), interviews concerning students’ opinions and current trends, and coverage of student activism initiatives.
“Boobtube” (2012 – 2019)
At the end of the fall semester 2011 A new wave of WCTV was on the horizon. Mary shared with me that “the majority of students involved in the club made the decision to shift the content away from news/features/sports to comedy/satire and change the name of the program (to begin in the spring semester of 2012)”. And so, Spring 2012 was the beginning of “BoobTube”.
The show lasted a whopping 13 seasons, which was about 6 and a half years, bringing content such as music video parodies that referenced local ice cream shop, J.P. Licks, and tax evading Harvard men. A regular for skits were usually mentions about Wellesley “Wandas” and “Wendys”, personas that symbolize two ends of the Wellesley student effort spectrum, one being an unmotivated procrastinator and the other an obnoxiously politically correct overachiever. This content was clearly meant for one audience: students.
The format of the show consisted of news anchor style reports similar to SNL’s “Weekend Update” skit–where anchors utilize current events but twist the narrative for a racy punchline–followed by various interjecting pre-recorded sketches. Another classic element of a BoobTube episode was the inclusion of offset impromptu interviews, where students would be asked questions ranging from “did you go to President Johnson’s inauguration?” to “can you explain asexuality?”, all usually taking place in Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center.
“Riot TV” and the end of WCTV -FOR now- (2019)
After 13 seasons of “BlueNews” students decided to opt for a more inclusive title, thus“RiotTV” was created. The content was overwhelmingly similar, although minor adjustments included a slight upgrade in sound and video quality. The most recent episode of RiotTV was posted on March 5th, 2020. The organization has not continued since COVID, and it’s unclear if it will make a comeback anytime soon.
The same network that was producing content comparable to local television began to make content involving student issues like the serial “madshatters” and reenactments of interpersonal drama with Harvard men. The Wellesley Bubble was extending onto virtual platforms.
For now, the studio resides in a post-apocalyptic state, waiting for a new wave of content to begin again. But until then, the space it is being used as additional storage for Media Services.