NewsLink Indiana will return in the fall with two faculty members and paid student positions, despite losing two faculty members because of a lack of money.
The television convergence program, which will start up again Sept. 5, secured enough money to continue even though the Lilly Endowment's $20 million iCommunications grant runs out June 30.
The money will provide for six paid veteran student employees and one graduate assistant. The employees will help run NewsLInk along with 12 immersion students in the fall.
The College of Communication, Information and Media, however, could not find the money to renew two of the faculty contracts, Nancy Carlson, chairwoman of the Department of Telecommunication, said.
Wright Bryan, former Web news editor for NewsLink, has already accepted a position in Washington, D.C., as Web editor for npr.org. Anchor Chris Bavender is still looking for a job but will her last day with the program is June 30. Terry Heifetz, NewsLink's managing editor and news director of Indiana Public Radio, and Tim Underhill, NewsLink's production manager, will remain on staff.
The college is still seeking money from foundations, corporations and private donors to keep NewsLink running after next year. Roger Lavery, CCIM's new dean, will also work with David Ferguson, director of the Center for Media Design, and department chairs to secure funding, Carlson said.
The staff will spend the summer deciding how the new version, which will involve student anchors and Web editors, will operate in the fall. Staff are also making plans for a joint journalism-telecommunications course involving interactive television design, which might start up in the spring, Heifetz said.
Although he expects success for the program in the future, Heifetz said Bryan and Bavender will be missed.
"It's unfortunate because we would like to keep Chris forever, as we would like to keep Wright forever," Heifetz said. "Unfortunately, the money's not there."
Heifetz said he is glad Bryan found a job that suited his interests and experience. NewsLink's loss will be NPR's gain, he said.
"It's a fantastic job, and it's right up his ally," Heifetz said. "Wright 's a guy that thinks on a global perspective, so that was great for him. It worked out really well."
Bavender, who has anchored at NewsLink since October 2003, hired an agent from New Jersey to assist her in her job search. Not knowing where she will work in two months and not being in charge of her own search is stressful, Bavender said.
Her dream, however, is to eventually work in one of the nation's top broadcast markets, such as Atlanta or New York City, even if only for a couple of years, she said.
"I'm very disappointed that they didn't have the money to keep me. No one likes to lose their job," Bavender said. "I would have liked to been able to continue on with my experience, but it didn't happen that way...I just have to take it a day at a time."
CCIM faculty and staff knew when they received the $20 million grant in 2001 it would run out this summer. Since 2001, Michael Holmes, interim dean of CCIM, worked with Provost Beverley Pitts and H. O'Neal Smitherman, vice president for information technology, to keep at least two professionals on staff.
With two professionals next year instead of four, NewsLink Indiana will be a scaled-down version of the program that began in fall 2003, Carlson said. The program will operate on the remainder of the iComm grant and on other resources from CCIM, the Department of Telecommunications and the Teleplex.
Junior Jennifer Cook, who has been a weather forecaster for NewsLink since the program began, looks forward to working at the station again next year, she said.
"I love working here and am excited to come back," Cook said, "but it will be different without all the faculty members around that we've gotten close to Wright and Chris."
Although students and staff will face challenges and extra work without the two other professionals, Cook expects the program to continue its success in East Central Indiana, she said.
"I hope it operates in the same way as it has been," Cook said. "I hope there are not a lot of changes and that we all keep doing what we love to do and want to do in the future."
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