Torch News Briefs 09.21.11

Bulldog Hall of Fame tickets on sale

Tickets are now on sale for the Class of 2011 Induction Banquet of Ferris State Universitiy’s Bulldog Athletic Hall of Fame.

The Bulldog Athletics Hall of Fame was established in 2000 to honor athletes and coaches who have made exceptional contributions to athletics.

This year’s honorees are Anne Bentley of Wyoming, softball and women’s tennis (1997-2000); Gerald Busby of Lansing, men’s basketball (1980-83); Clarence Coleman of Miami, football (1998-2001); Robert Ewigleben of Albion and Elizabethtown, Ky., president emeritus (1971-84); Martin Krbec of Fort Collins, Colo., men’s tennis (1997-2001); and Wendy McCann of East Lansing, women’s volleyball (1984-87). The Bulldog Athletics Hall of Fame Selection Committee also selected long-time supporter and fan Bruce Jacobs as a recipient of an Athletics Special Service Award. The new inductees will join 95 honorees already enshrined.

The event will be held on Sept. 30th at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Room. Tickets are $50 each or a table of 10 for $450. The evening will begin with a reception in honor of this year’s inductees at 6 p.m. The dinner and induction ceremony will start at 7 p.m. and the program should conclude by 9 p.m. 

For sponsorships and information, please call Bulldog Athletics at ext. 2862.

Ferris students master new digital media

Ferris State University students are being given a chance to learn new ways to address the challenges of the digital information revolution. When Ferris’ television production program changed its name to television and digital media production in 2001, it was already responding to market forces that would give rise to everything from the explosion of “reality” TV shows to Internet-only musical tragicomedies. Where other schools specialize in one format, the TDMP program strives to create a base of skills students can take advantage of no matter what career path they choose.

Each week seniors in the program produce two shows – “Ferris State Live,” a studio program broadcasted in northern Michigan by Cadillac-based FOX 32, and “Ferris in Focus,” which is Internet-based. From the cameras being used to the deadline they meet to producing the show, students are subject to the same challenges they will face in the real world. 

“It’s a lot of work, a lot of hours you put in,” states Cassandra Tyler, a senior in the TDMP program. Today, Tyler and fellow television and digital media senior Adam Gregory are filming a segment for the magazine-style television program “Ferris in Focus.” They will shoot a couple hours of video and conduct half a dozen interviews to get enough content for a four-minute segment on Tot’s Place, Ferris’ on-campus child care center.

In addition to the classroom experience, students in the program must complete a six-month internship before receiving their degrees, and the real-world conditions of producing “Ferris State Live” and “Ferris in Focus” have allowed students to land internships that have helped launch their careers.

Students have interned with California-based Pilgrim Films, which produces the Discovery Channel show “Dirty Jobs.” A student who took the initiative to contact ESPN impressed the sports conglomerate enough that they hired the intern and contacted TDMP to offer other internships. Beyond entertainment, Ferris students have interned with corporate clients, public access stations and schools. n