By: Cara Langhauser
I interviewed the current General Manager, Florence Anderson, to talk more about the expansion and rebranding of SPTV, our campus TV station, into Pointer Studios.
Why was SPTV expanded and what is different from its original purpose?
“SPTV originally served to help students get experience in journalism and traditional broadcast television. Film Society and YouTube Society are two pre-existing organizations, though both lacked leadership. When I came to UWSP in 2019, Film Society hadn’t had a president in a year or two. YouTube Society had leadership in 2019 and 2020 but couldn’t maintain through the pandemic. While there is still value in learning broadcast and journalism skills, many of us at SPTV were interested in more than that. After talking to the media studies staff, they agreed that other student video groups would be valuable to the students.
SPTV still maintains its roots in news, sports, and non-scripted entertainment content. However, now it belongs to what we call Pointer Studios, all the student video groups in one place. It’s kind of like how Disney owns Marvel and Star Wars and the Disney Princesses but each has its own unique brand. We aren’t nearly as big or important as Disney, but this allows us to better share resources and maintain consistent leadership.”
What are your thoughts on the expansion?
“The expansion was my idea. I had wanted SPTV to expand into short films since I became General Manager in my sophomore year, but that was 2020 and the pandemic made that very difficult. Instead, during my junior year, I spent some time researching other student video clubs. At Marquette University, their media teams all belong to Marquette Wire. This allowed for shared resources and stronger crossover connections. I thought of applying that to SPTV and the other two video groups. It would be great for all three of us. After talking with other media studies faculty, they agreed. The summer of 2022 is when I started drafting guidelines for the whole thing. We were able to get Film Society fully off the ground in the fall of 2022 and finish launching Pointer Studios in January. YouTube Society will fully get off the ground by the end of this semester. “
What is it like as General Manager of SPTV?
“Being General Manager has been a weird journey for me. I started as a sophomore, mostly because the pandemic had shaken the organization and we needed someone to fill the role. For the 2020-21 year, it was just about keeping us afloat. It was very hectic; I was doing a little of everything since the staff was so limited. In 2021-2022, things started to get back to normal. More people started coming back and I was doing less producing, but still very involved with things that weren’t technically in my job description. This year has probably been my favorite. I’ve been able to step away from production and really focus on expanding the organization. It’s a difficult job, the managers of 90fm and the Pointer would tell you the same. It comes with a lot of stress and responsibilities. I’ve still had a really good time at this organization though! I’ve met really great people and made a lot of fun content. I’ve gotten a lot of opportunities because of my time at SPTV. “
What upcoming projects are there?
“I’m super excited about our upcoming Film Society projects. We will be filming three short films throughout April, a sci-fi short on April 7-8, a horror short on the 21-23, and another coming-of-age short, date to be determined. We are currently casting all three and looking for crew as well. Most of the projects will be submitted to CinePoint on May 15th.
SPTV is also busy, we are looking at ways to modernize our approach to news and looking at getting a speaker to come to talk to us about utilizing social media to distribute news. Watch for an extra special content drop on April 1st!”
Check out the Pointer Studip Facebook page for upcoming projects! https://www.facebook.com/PointerStudiosUWSP
