Monday, February 7, 2005
Dan Ryckert, Olathe junior, displays the “Beer Bong of Awesome” for his sketch comedy “Foghat Live” during a shoot last year. Ryckert directed and produced the sketch, which KUJH-TV recently pulled from its programming schedule.
An e-mail sent on Feb. 2 notified Dan Ryckert that his show, “Foghat Live,” would no longer have a home on KUJH-TV Channel 31.
Ryckert, Olathe junior and creator of the sketch comedy show, said his show was taken off the air because of offensive content.
“I’d be willing to budge on a few of the scenes, but they haven’t talked to me,” said Ryckert, theater and film major.
Offensive content is only half the story, said Dick Nelson, acting general manager of KUJH-TV.
Programs that were produced by non-journalism students were removed from the station’s programming just after the first of the year.
Changes within the station’s management and within the School of Journalism are other factors behind the reformatting.
“We’re concentrating on making our programming fit into our curriculum,” Nelson said.
Informational programming is the priority of the channel and the School of Journalism, and changes are helping to achieve that, Nelson said.
“KUJH-TV News” and “Sports Talk” are the only programs aired on the channel that are produced by KU students.
All other programming comes from a syndicated feed called the Research Channel, Nelson said.
New informational programs are planned for the channel. New faculty who specialize in science and medical journalism will produced these programs in conjunction with KUJH-TV, Nelson said.
The channel is like the C-SPAN of college television, said Ann Brill, dean of journalism.
But the new format eliminates the station as an outlet for film students.
This worried Josh Efron, co-creator of “Evil Kansas.” The Overland Park junior said actors would be harder to find for film school projects and as a result projects would suffer.
The shows weren’t canceled, but put on hold, Nelson said.
“Being put on hold is the equivalent of being canceled,” Efron said.
Efron is working to make his show and others available to students.
He said he was exploring options, such as placing shows online for download or on Channel 6.
Entertainment projects would be considered again for KUJH-TV sometime either this summer of fall, Nelson said.
Edited by Laura Francoviglia
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