Butler Creative Television (BC-TV) is the student-run video production unit of the college, broadcasting everything related to the institution and local community. From athletic events to board meetings, working with BC-TV gives staffers hands-on broadcasting experience while also offering them educational financing.
Matt Jacobs is Director of BC-TV.
“The mission is to put out the best content that we can possibly put out and then to help our BC-TV students learn the craft of live tv,” Jacobs said.
One of the most challenging aspects of the station is the quick turnover rate.
“We're training new people every semester,” Jacobs said.
“Sometimes the quality of our broadcast struggles a little bit because we have a brand-new camera operator who doesn't really know what [he’s] doing yet, but that's all part of what we do as a college. This is a learning experience, and as much as I want every production to be perfect, I have to keep in the back of my mind that these are students, and they're learning, and they'll get there.”
From hands-on experience to scholarships, BC-TV helps students achieve their educational goals.
“Some students want to work in live production, so they're gonna get great experience. Some students don't want to do that.”
“Whether they want to pursue this as a career or not, we give them an opportunity to pay for their schooling and learn some real-life lessons like problem solving and deadline pressure,”
Jacobs said.
Sophomore Will Trier works for BC-TV. (Photo Isaac Rich)
Butler sophomore William Trier has experienced personally the educational benefits of working for BC-TV. From childhood, Trier has had a fascination for sports. He also has an interest in media production. As a tv broadcaster, Trier realized he could pursue both things he is passionate about.
Prior to Butler, Trier had little broadcasting experience.
“I commentated [on] a students versus staff basketball game in high school one time. That was fun. [I] ran the PA for a powder puff football game. I also wrote the rule book for that game, but that's about the extent of my knowledge. I had run a camera before. I was told that I had a good announcer voice by people I talked to all the time, so that actually is what piqued my interest in [broadcasting],” Trier said.
“I have viewed BC-TV and sport production as my education. Of course, I'm going to college, so I am pursuing a degree and that will help me acquire work, but what I'm doing right now is work. It's sort of an apprenticeship, sort of a relationship,” Trier said.
Trier particularly enjoys how working for BC-TV is not only beneficial to his education but also important to the community.
“I have had people come up to me while I'm working and say, ‘you're doing great work’…My camera operators made plenty of mistakes and it wasn't my best product. But I think people see BC-TV as a whole product - not an individual screen,” Trier said.
“People in the community do care about Butler community college, and BC-TV is able to uniquely bring that into living rooms, onto people's devices, on the go [and] bring it to people's families.”
Although BC-TV is helping him fund his education, Trier realizes that there is more to the program than simply scholarships.
“You could be on your phone. You're just at work, you're getting your books, and your tuition paid. Doing this job, you go in, and you could leave, not really benefiting from the experience. I would rather take the active position and take everything that I can from this opportunity because it will and it has led me to be prepared for future opportunities,” Trier said
“My whole idea is to be one percent better every time I go to work [and] every time I practice this skill.”
Jacobs believes that regardless of their career path, students like Trier will benefit from the hard work ethic of BC-TV.
“I'm fairly confident they're going to come out as people who can handle work challenges in the future, no matter what career path they choose,” Jacobs said.
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