When Colorado Mesa University hosted the Gubernational Debate on Oct. 6, the student run CMU-TV ended up broadcasting the event. It aired on Rocky Mountain PBS Live and later C-SPAN aired it nationally. 

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“President Tim Foster got in touch with our advisor, Greg Mikolai about the opportunity,” CMU-TV Audio Director Bryce Langley said. “Mikolai made sure it was our highest priority.”

The students worked with Rocky Mountain PBS leading up to the event. There was experience on the team since some students have been a part of live broadcasts working with the Grand Junction Rockies. 

“That experience really helped us to not get rattled or confused once the debate began,” Langley said. “There are always nerves, especially with such a large broadcast. You worry about things that could go wrong. But luckily we have a phenomenal crew of talented videographers. Once the broadcast started, all the nerves went away and we were able to execute our individual duties very well.”

Some of the crew members were Technical Director Quaid Hamilton, Graphics Operator Megan Garchar, Camera Operator Brian Kilman, Logan Mikolai, Brenna Rhiness and Production Assistant Tristan Carnes. 

“I think it is a huge deal,” Langley said. “Not many schools offer the type of real-world media opportunities that we are given at CMU. This big of a job wouldn’t typically be given to a student crew, and for that, I want to express the greatest appreciation and thanks to those who made the decision to give us a chance to cover it.”

Langley said that the live production went off perfectly and that each team member did exactly what they were needed to do. 

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“The best part about broadcasting the debate was after it was over,” Langley said. “Just due to the nerves and the nature of technology, I expected some type of issues to arise during the debate. Once the broadcast ended and nothing had caught fire or anything, I could finally take a breath and realize how well we had done as a team.”