Undergraduate broadcast students Nick Nightingale and Kathlynn Stone share a laugh on the set of VCU InSight, the School’s award-winning news show. (Photo by Dr. Tim Bajkiewicz.)

As the first VCU InSight shows for fall semester 2012 recently aired, they looked clearer and crisper than ever.

Students have new high definition, or HD, equipment to produce the show thanks to $125,000 from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Higher Education Equipment Trust Fund, or HEETF. High definition is the new broadcast TV standard that delivers sharp, detailed video and CD-quality sound.

Over the summer School broadcast engineer John Geerdes installed a new, top-of-the-line video switcher, cameras and monitors with help from VCU InSight faculty Dr. Tim Bajkiewicz and Gary Gillam.

“These types of investments give our students the tools and skill sets that will get them jobs in television. There is no more talk about ‘out there in the real world.’ This is the real world,” Gillam said.

VCU InSight is produced by undergraduate broadcast journalism students in MASC 465 Newscasting, a senior capstone course in the School’s broadcast journalism concentration, and airs on Richmond PBS station WCVW-TV.

The second show of the semester aired on Friday, Oct. 12 and included stories on a recent protest about sexual assault called a “slutwalk,” local Hispanic voters in the upcoming presidential election and the anticipated move of the Washington Redskins training camp to Richmond. It will air again on Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 7:00 p.m.

Dr. Bajkiewicz teaches the Newscasting class and is VCU InSight’s news director.

“They come up with the story ideas, do the reporting, shoot all the video and write the scripts. Plus they’re running studio cameras and anchoring the show. Our students work very hard to get every show out the door,” Bajkiewicz said. “Now producing the show in HD means our students will have the most up-to-date production experience.”

With the School’s TV studio now producing HD video, VCU InSight is delivered to Richmond PBS in full high definition. Prior to this update, students produced the studio portions of VCU InSight in regular, “standard definition” video quality on equipment installed in the early 1980s. The show’s faculty had students shooting stories out in the field in HD beginning in fall 2011.

VCU InSight faculty made the switch to high definition for the show shortly after Richmond PBS station WCVW-TV began broadcasting a second, HD channel in summer 2011. Janet Campbell, Director of Television Programming for Community Idea Stations, which includes WCVW-TV, said the student program adds to their lineup.

“We are quite excited to continue to offer our viewers the local perspective provided by VCU InSight and now we have the added bonus this season of having it available to broadcast in HD,” Campbell said.

Below are air dates for VCU InSight for the rest of the fall 2012 semester. Watch VCU InSight on WCVW-TV Richmond PBS: Ch. 24 Comcast and Verizon FiOS; Ch. 57 DirecTV; and over the air digital 44.1.Stories and full shows are available on VCU InSight’s YouTube channel.

Tuesday, Oct. 16
Friday, Oct. 26 and Tuesday Oct. 30
Friday, Nov. 9 and Tuesday, Nov. 9
Friday, Nov. 23 and Tuesday, Nov. 27
Friday, Dec. 7 and Tuesday, Dec. 11
Friday, Jan. 11 and Tuesday, Jan. 15 (with work from MASC 416 The Documentary)