TCU News Now students met with Chancellor Victor Boschini on Monday to discuss the future of the three-year-old student-led news station threatened by next semester’s low enrollment.News Now volunteers Christina Durano and Hilary Whittier have begun a movement to try to improve student participation and funding for the news station that will have to be scaled down from its current weekly show because of low student enrollment for the upcoming fall semester. The station has only four students enrolled in the News Now class, Broadcast Newscast Production, said John Miller, who teaches the News Now class.

Durano, a freshman broadcast journalism major, and sophomore broadcast journalism major Whittier met with the chancellor Monday in an informal meeting to discuss with him what the program means to broadcast students.

The chancellor said he supports News Now and also wants to see the broadcast program expand.

“Broadcast students need an outlet just like other journalism students,” Whittier said. “We work really hard in the station, and we’re just trying to make the program grow.”

Providing that outlet is where the problem is, Miller said.

The Spring 2007 News Now class has only nine people and four volunteers, a decrease from the 15-member staff of its first year, Miller said. News Now reporters share seven cameras along with various other equipment.

“In the long-run, in order to be a competitive television station, we need a set, studio, control room and more equipment, which we don’t have,” Miller said. “Most schools that teach broadcast have these facilities.”

But the major issue that attracted Durano and Whittier is the low student enrollment, which they said is because of the many prerequisites to the News Now class.

“If students get involved earlier, we won’t have so many seniors leave each year and have to rebuild the program every year,” Durano said.

The News Now class is not a required course for broadcast majors but requires four prerequisite journalism classes. Media Writing I and II, Reporting as well as Broadcast Reporting are prerequisite classes that put most students who enroll in the class as seniors who have to prepare resume tapes for prospective employers.

Whittier said many students don’t know they can work at the station as volunteers such as Durano and herself. However, volunteers do not receive course credit. Durano and Whittier want to see the News Now class become a required course for broadcast majors.

The meeting with the chancellor was just one of several meetings Whittier and Durano have set up in order to encourage change in prerequisite classes and increasing the budget. Durano and Whittier are also planning to have tables set up in the Student Center to inform students of News Now programs.

“We just want to make a difference on campus and have an impact on the journalism school,” Durrano said.