Recognizing Roots and Building Bridges
During the era of linear editing, camcorders, video tapes, paper-fed teleprompters, cell phones with actual buttons that flipped open and had their own extendable antennas, I was fortunate to be part of the emergence of what is now one of the longest running affinity clubs at my alma mater, the University of Hartford.
The brainchild of an entrepreneurial graduate student looking to complete his thesis, he was working to optimize a brand-new television studio with hardly a speck of dust on its shiny new master control panel. After a lot of pitching, fundraising, headaches, phone calls, and corralling about a dozen undergraduate student volunteers, Channel 2 News, or what would later become known formally as the Student Television Network (STN), was born. I was immediately drawn into the mix after viewing Channel 2’s first newscast on the University’s closed circuit cable system. My professional trajectory would never be the same.
STN was hands-on from Day One. Thankfully, that hasn’t changed. I carried equipment, wrote, shot, did stand-ups, edited stories, TD’d, tried not to unplug important things, hung lights, operated studio cameras, ran that infamous paper-fed teleprompter, stood in as a weather reporter, ordered pizzas, carried trays of food back from the Commons, reviewed movies on air as Entertainment Editor, interviewed sports figures, rock stars and university officials, and spent my senior year at the anchor desk. Not only has STN inspired the confidence in me to create where there was nothing, and cooperate to improve existing or emerging projects, it gifted me lifelong friendships (and provided a seemingly bottomless well of go-to anecdotes). As a guilty pleasure, I know I will always have fond memories of that spectacular Hartford Whalers’ media pregame catering spread at the old Civic Center. [cue: Brass Bonanza]
Starting with our 10th back in the spring of 2003, STN has held regular 5-year anniversary celebrations. The latest was our 30th, just two (seemingly very short) years ago now. And while reunions, highlight reels, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and reminiscing with old friends are always fabulous, shaking hands with the undergrads and wishing them well didn’t seem like it was enough. 30 years on, and a reciprocal relationship between alumni and membership still didn’t exist. Then I did some research; STN has an untapped network of well over 400 former members. And we are scattered across the country, doing all sorts of things.
We have had a hand in Emmy-winning programming, operations, editing and sound, perfected the user interface for content platforms you’ve either tuned in to, subscribed to, or downloaded content from, elevated a trusted brand, created, improved or rebranded a media outlet you’ve always enjoyed, edited that electric college basketball package you may have just enjoyed, literally made the connections from sideline desk to broadcast uplink truck at countless games, did a stand-up, or held the camera during that hurricane, delivered Super Bowls, Olympic Games, World Series, Stanley Cup Playoffs, NBA Championships, The Masters, NCAA tournaments, household name late night shows, directed big-market and local newscasts. It was about time we found out how my fellow alumni could give back—regardless of where we ended up in our careers.
At last October’s homecoming weekend, a couple of us old heads inquired of a few current STN members what would be the most valuable way for alumni to extend a helping hand? On Friday, March 7, 2025—in what was a first for me, after sitting on many of them over my career—I served as moderator of a production panel of distinguished alumni from all walks of media; Ops and talent, including ESPN, Fox Sports, Spectrum Networks, NBC Sports, and A+E Networks, to name a few. Myself a longtime Discovery Networks and factual platform veteran.
This was the first time STN alumni had organized and returned to the university to provide constructive feedback of student-produced news packages. In examining five stories, over an hour was spent trading ideas and well-tested industry tips and tricks. The second half of the evening was an open-forum discussion, offering critical networking advice for rising students and pending graduates. This included recorded Q&A’s from accomplished alumni who couldn’t make it to campus but wanted to participate. And the evening spilled over into a lobby reception where the conversations continued well into the night. We met each other on common ground and valuable relationships were either rekindled or established for everyone in attendance.
As a wide-eyed, and admittedly at times, overconfident undergraduate, I would have killed to have had that kind of sounding board and grounding advice from fellow STN’ers who had actually gone out into the world, applied their skills, built experience, and found success in their careers. It was an uncensored and unscripted platform for feedback and direct professional guidance. 32 years in the making, and the evening felt like it had always been there. Just waiting to happen. One thing is certain, like STN itself, a new tradition was established, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s panel!
Thank you, STN. The legacy of our members and alumni continues to be written throughout the evolving media landscape. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without walking through those studio doors back in the spring of 1993. If anything, that evening proved that it’s never too late to make a lasting connection, and better if you do it in the moment. To paraphrase the late great, Warren Miller, “If you don’t do it this year, you’ll be one year older when you do.”
