A new TV station will be broadcasting from Mississippi Valley State University by mid-March.
The 24-hour station, WVSD Channel 19, will broadcast a broad spectrum of events from the community and MVSU.
"We started thinking about this station four years ago. Before this station was built, we sent our broadcasting students to other local stations for practical experience. Now that we have this studio, it provides practical in-house experience," said Dr. Samuel Osunde, communications department chair.
The studio will be completely operated by students. Once the final equipment is in place, students will create a daily news broadcast.
Some planned events include live broadcasts of Itta Bena City Council meetings and Leflore County Board of Supervisors meetings.
Besides news broadcasting, the station will also be airing live coverage of graduations and honors ceremonies.
Tasha Matlock is a senior at MVSU. After she graduates she expects to pursue a master's degree at Mississippi College. Before she graduates she will be running the character generator that runs the words at the bottom of the screen. "It'll be very helpful having this hands-on experience, and I'll be more comfortable in the studio," said Matlock.
The air time was a gift from Galaxy Cable.
"I think there's a great partnership between Galaxy Cable and Mississippi Valley. It's a great thing when any community station can provide public service announcements and local news. I'm proud that we could provide the medium," said Mark Bookout, Galaxy Cable state manager.
Television studio coordinator Barbara Gosa is excited to get back in her element. For 25 years, she worked as the production lab assistant at WABG, and now she is supervising the broadcast students. "My favorite part of this project is getting back to the hustle and bustle of broadcast television. I've been doing this all my life and it's just a part of me," said Gosa.
