The HAM Channel (HAM 64) is a student-operated closed-circuit Student television station channel offering a regular season schedule of original programming written by, starring, and produced by Fairfield University students under the direction of the Media Center.
Change in Format
To keep up with the changing times of the digital age - starting in the Fall of 2007 - the HAM Channel changed its primary media from analog cable TV to videos on the internet. The HAM Channel is now capable of reaching a global audience and viewers have the added convenience of choosing when and where to watch the programming. While the analog channel 64 still exists and is still in use, the new home for Ham Channel programming is their YouTube page.
In keeping with their new method of getting to their audience, the format of their programming has changed from the traditional half-hour shows on the campus CCTV channel to the new method of uploading segments to YouTube that are 3–10 minutes in length.
This new format has also given way to new programming which the Ham Channel is currently producing.
The only traditional analog show still on the CCTV channel is the Ham Channel's flagship program, Into It!, which has be re-vamped with a new host and a new format. The show features a new host,a monologue, various guests from the campus, and still allows fans to call in to the show. The show, which airs at 7:30 on Tuesday nights, aims at being a talk show and variety show loosely formatted on programs such as Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Daily Show.
Student Programming
New Shows
Let's Be Frank - The Ham Channel's Frank Romano tries out various jobs on campus. Frank as a sideline helper at a soccer game, Frank mowing lawns with the grounds crew are some of the jobs Frank tries out. This program aims at being similar to the current show Dirty Jobs.
Fairfield Cribs - MTV Cribs, but set at Fairfield University. The show features students' beach houses, townhouses, and dormrooms that stand-out in some way.
haMtv - This show highlights and interviews different bands, reviews CDs, and often shows performances from various concerts in the local area.
Barone Appetite - This show taches students, in a HAM Channel take on the Food Network, how to cook some basic meals with the stirfry stations located in the dining hall of Fairfield University.
News 64 - The long-running, college Emmy-nomiated news program that keeps students up-to-date on the campus happenings. It adapted to the new format of the Ham Channel with reporters uploading indivudial stories on the YouTube page.
Key Eats - This show exposes students to all the local places where they can get a good meal.
Bedtime Stories - This show features a James Lipton-esque host who reads the viewers a children's story whilte smoking a fake pipe and sitting in a smoking jacket next to a fireplace.
Previous Shows
At the Buzzer - This long running show features Fairfield University students giving sports recaps, interviews, and all sort of things for sports maniacs.
Into It! - This live show features guests from on campus, trivia, and a large fan base that calls in and offers their views.
News 64 - The news shows review of the big stories of the week, plus an occasional special campus feature.
The Cutting Room Floor - The HAM Channel's oldest show, this show reviews the movies that college students are most likely to see, whether in the theatre, about to be released, or new on DVD.
Sen. Lieberman Interview - In 2006, The HAM Channel in conjunction with The Fairfield Mirror and WVOF were granted an exclusive interview with United States Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT) in the midst of his highly contested re-election campaign.
Stagstock
Stagstock is an annual outdoor concert at Fairfield University each September to start off the year. It is produced by the HAM Channel with help from WVOF, the student radio station at Fairfield University.
The concert is popular and has showcased previous up-and-coming headlining musicians such as Howie Day, Matt Nathanson, Aloha, and The Alternate Routes.
Stagstock is also recorded and broadcast by the HAM Channel using their 32-foot (9.8 m) television production satellite uplink truck.
Notable Interview Subjects
The HAM Channel has been able to interview several "big-names" in recent years:
Cory Booker - Mayor of Newark, New Jersey
Mika Brzezinski - co-host of MSNBC's Morning Joe
Monica Crowley - Fox News TV anchor and conservative political commentator
Mia Farrow - Golden Globe Award-winning actress and humanitarian
Joseph Lieberman - United States Senator from Connecticut
Jon Meacham - editor of Newsweek and bestselling author
Mae - Indie Band
Brian Williams - news anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News
Diane Wilson - renowned environmentalist, co-founder of Code Pink and author of "An Unreasonable Woman"
Fareed Zakaria - host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS and editor of Newsweek International
Media Center
The Media Center is the 15,000-square-foot (1,400 m2) facility located on the ground floor of Xavier Hall that houses The HAM Channel along with the New Media: Film, Television, and Radio major and the Campus Television Network. It contains two fully functioning television studios with control rooms, editing bays, a head end and classrooms. In keeping the technological changes in the field, the Media Center has invested much into High Definition studio and field cameras and a Blu-ray projector.
The Media Center also operates a 32-foot (9.8 m) television production satellite uplink truck that can transmit and receive digitally encoded television signals from geostationary domestic satellites. Fairfield University is one of few colleges in the nation to have this technology allowing campus programming and international news organizations including CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and Bloomberg Television to be broadcast worldwide from the University.
The Media Center Staff has won national recognition for its Award-Winning Programs and production of Multimedia Presentations for the University. Some of the most recent honors have included the Crystal Award of Distinction from the Communicator Awards 2005 Print Competition; two Awards of Excellence from the Videographer 2005 Awards; and the Platinum BEST of Show from The Aurora 2005 Awards.
Fairfield Alumni in TV, radio, film, and other media
Sonia Baghdady - News Anchor, News Channel 8, WTNH, Emmy Award winner
Jeanne Begley ’84 - Producer/Director, AE's Biography, Emmy Award winner
Joe DeCamara '00 - Co-Host, Kruk and DeCamara Show, Sports Talk 950; Executive Producer, Jody Mac Show
Patricia E. Hutton '85 - Executive Vice President & CFO, NBC Universal Studios
Burt Kearns '78 - Founder, Frozen Television/Frozen Pictures, Author, Tabloid Baby, Producer, A Current Affair
Chris Miles '03 - Weekend Sports Anchor/Reporter, WDBJ
Robert J. Murphy, Jr. '71 - Senior Vice President, TV News Coverage, American Broadcasting Company
Donna Savarese - News Anchor, News 4 St. Louis, KMOV, Emmy Award & Edward R. Murrow Award winner
Cory Shields - Executive Vice President, Communications, NBC Universal; former reporter, producer & host, PM Magazine
Carmen Wong Ulrich - Host, CNBC's On the Money
Bill Watson - News Anchor/Reporter, WBZ Newsradio 1030
New Media Major
All members of The HAM Channel are not required to major in New Media: Film, Television, and Radio which is the first of its kind among Jesuit universities. The New Media major offers students three distinct track concentrations in film, television and radio. The program requirements include classes in history, theory and production, all taught at the Media Center, a which provides students full access to two well equipped studios, high definition television production equipment; the mobile television and satellite uplink truck, 14 editing suites, screening and digital imaging rooms and classrooms.