Entertainment
mg ■ |8|jj|p g ■■
The Battalion
Page 4 • Tuesday, February 10,200
Campus Invasion
MTV’s new channel mtvU exclusively targets college-age audiences
By Robert Saucedo
THE BATTALION
Ten years from now, Syracuse University Class of 2003 graduate
Maria Sansone hopes to be retired. Retirement at age 32 is a lofty
goal for any college student, but not many college students have
been working in television since they were 11 years old.
“Fve been doing television since I was a little kid,” said Sansone,
the newest VJ for the latest MTV affiliate, mtvU. “I did sports
reporting for the local news and hosted game shows.”
Sansone took a break from her television career to attend college.
After graduation, she learned of a new opportunity that would
change her life. With a train trip to New York City and an audition,
Sansone became a member of the MTV crew.
Two years ago, MTV acquired the previously named CTN:
College Television Network and set out to construct a new station
which would be aimed exclusively at college students. On Jan. 20,
2004, CTN channel was re-launched with a new name: mtvU.
“For about 10 years now, we’ve wanted to create a channel for
college students,” said Stephen Friedman, the general manager of
mtvU. “They (college students) are at an amazing moment in life
where anything is possible. There was a channel that existed and had
distribution, yet wasn’t speaking directly to them. We re-created that
channel from scratch. We hope to be a resource for students yet still
be a source of entertainment; a laboratory in which to
discover new talent.”.
Along with the musical talent promoted daily by
mtvU, the channel has also recruited a squad of hosts
and television personalities set to become the next generation of
“Video Jockeys.”
Sansone had never watched MTV growing up but when she went
to college, she discovered what would become her future employer.
“I lived in a sorority house so MTV was always on,” Sansone said.
Today, Sansone travels weekly across the country, stopping at
one campus after another bringing music videos to college students
with her show “The Freshman,” a program dedicated to showcasing
up-and-coming artists.
“We are on the road a lot,” Sansone said. “We travel to campus
es and work with kids to see what kind of music they like.”
Sansone said mtvU is a very different from MTV or MTV2.
“It’s all about the students and the music. You’re going to see a
lot of music videos and a lot of packages focusing on student life
and jobs after college,” Sansone said
Friedman said in its initial years, mtvU will utilize a different
format from its sister channels.
“All our programming will be short form,” he said. “We’ll have
segments on what’s going on in life. We want to present (material)
that MTV would never do.”
Friedman said the new network will try to specifically cater to its
streamlined audience.
“MTV has a much more broader audience,” Friedman said. “Our
programs will be about 90 to 99 percent original. We’ll have late-night
showings of vintage programming like ‘Beavis and Butthead,’ ‘Daria’
and ‘Celebrity Deathmatch.’ We’ll have hourly news programming
from CBS and MTV News that’s relative to college students.”
Lorie Noto, a junior political science major, said she would like
to check out the channel.
“I watch anything on MTV like ‘Total Request Live,”’ Noto said.
With a schedule that only allows her four hours a week to watch
television, Noto seems to be the student MTV executives are target
ing with their strategy of short programming.
“1 think I’d have to see the (channel first),” Noto said.
Patrick Barrett, a sophmore electrical engineering major does not
share Note’s love of the music channel.
“I think they (MTV) do a lot of things good and to my liking, but
they don’t air those (shows) all that much,” Barett said. “I’m sick of
how they market to the ‘drama queens and kings’ of high school. The
off-air stuff they do, like promoting unknown bands and festivals, is
really cool.”
While he thinks MTV should put a new chan
nel on the air, Barrett said hewould be skeptical
about their new college student targeted channel.
“I’m not sure it would be much different real
ly,” Barrett said. “Maybe they would have more ‘sophisticated and
adult’ oriented programming, but the same stuff would come on and
that wouldn’t be much better. I think that their bulk line-up could
really use a change and they need to stop airing some things 12
times a day. The college station could be cool only if they got a good
deal away from what the standard lineup is.”
One of mtvU’s goals is to put the college student in the driver’s
seat Friedman said.
“We want to keep it real, what college students are really
doing,” he said.
Friedman said mtvU will not only help out students in the pro
fessional world, but also help struggling artists find their audiences.
“College is where the next entrepreneurs and artists are,” Friedman
said. “A big part of the channel is getting the students to program the
channel with their choices. We want to discover great new musicians.
Most of the great bands come out of the college scene.”
He
TH
Picture Courtesy of • CABE PALACIO/ GETTY IMACL
Maria Sansone will host mtvU's program 'The Freshman," which will focusoi
up-and-coming college bands.
Sansone said the channel will be a helpful resource to studenls.
“I would have loved this channel my senior year. It deals with
lot of concerns in a way I would have loved to utilize,” she said.
Although the channel is not yet available in College Station
mtvU’s Web site, www.mtvu.com, has a spot available for studeoli ft(
Texas A&f
ac!) Mel I
ate on the
ce and bo
tt t
:r Natatc
seen ft
he i
vvl
i cai
ie in what
Iforthe past 2!
For a quarts
been builc
itn, that
one
Wrams in th
Nasi
[k University
surp
ilsure what t
y initially,
impressioi
When 1 ha
|iis year for a
i, we drovi
and all
I were th
iisnotall tha
After muc
tripled the jo
ta would eve
rcomplishmei
begar
itMonroevill
of Pittsburgh,
scfr
to request mtvU on their local cable lineup. In addition, theWebsitt !«ld medal
has links where students can have their own talent noticed andai
on mtvU. From a search for the latest animators to co-hosts, mtvl
is hoping to discover the latest talent in all forms of media.
Camp Day
Tuesday, February 10
9:30 am — 3:30 pm
MSC Flag Room and Hallway
50 Camps from California to New York and throughout
Texas interviewing for summer counselors & staff
Wanted: Counselors; wranglers; instructors in arts and crafts, sports,
lifesaving/water safety, small craft; individuals with nature and
outdoor education skills, people interested in working with youth in a
variety of outdoor settings throughout Texas and the nation.
Ail Majors Welcome
Sponsored by the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences,
the Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences Club, and the TAMU Career Center
was
Ifh School
beet
for
went
lietsity, wht
Better Ingredients • Better Pizza
Tuesday Special
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY
I LARGE
I-TOPPING
99
pu/only
$ 5. 5
2 MEDIUM
2-TOPPINGS
*12.99
I Medium
up to 3-Toppings or I
Specialty Pizza s 8.” j
Get a second
Medium I-Topping I
for only ‘S. 00
I LARGE
2-TOPPING
& Breadsticks
$|2.99
2 LARGE
2-TOPPINGS
& 2 liter drink
$ 20. 00
Wm§ 1
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
1 LARGE
1 LARGE
1-TOPPING
1-TOPPING
$ 8.99
$ 8.99
or up to 5 Toppings
or up to 5 Toppings
*11.99
>11.99
IMorthgate Post Oak Square Center
601 University Dr. 100 Harvey Rd„ Suite D
979-846-3600 979-764-7272
Rock Prairie
1700 Rock Prairie
979-680-0508
BUSINESS BOOT CAMP
For Non-Business Majors
Summer Business Institute
An Intensive Course in Business Essentials
for Non-Business Majors
The job market today is challenging, demanding new
employees be well versed in business concepts and practices.
The Summer Business Institute at SMU is designed for students
like you, with little or no business training or experience,
giving you an edge to compete for top positions in any field.
One month, intensive certificate program
Real-world business knowledge in: accounting, finance,
marketing, operations management, presentation skills
Career planning assistance
Exceptional faculty
Nationally-ranked business school in the heart of Dallas,
a major hub of business
Registering Now
Early Application Deadline
March 15, 2004
For more information:
214.768.9008
sbi.cox.smu.edu
Southern Methodist University will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or veteran status.
SMU's commitment to equal opportunity includes nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
SMU M COX
Aggie Bucks
Sunday: 11 a.m. - midnight
Monday - Wednesday: 11 a.m. - 1
Thursday: 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.
Friday & Saturday: 11 a.m. - 3 a.
S C H O O L OF B U S I N E S S