While Loyola continues to hammer out a deal to host the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance, plans are being made for the other space that is available for use on the fourth floor of the Communication/Music Complex.
While the institute will give students a chance to see the likes of famed producer Quincy Jones and Grammy winner Terrance Blanchard walking around campus, some other new faces may be using the remaining space.
One of the first new tenants will be housed in the long-vacant radio studio. Interim director of the School of Mass Communication Robert Thomas said the green light has been given to start the long-awaited Loyola radio station.
The station, which is now produced off-campus under the Web site neworleansradio.com, will move to the fourth floor. Once on campus, music industries director John Snyder plans “to make the station one of the best campus radio stations in the country.” The station will still be on the Internet, but will enjoy more marketing and student involvement, he said.
Snyder has many ideas for the station once it comes to campus. Snyder said he would like to collaborate with the Monk Institute to produce shows, and there are also plans to broadcast basketball games and other campus events. Production and participation in shows will be open to all students and faculty.
The Loyola University Ministry is also considering using some studio space – in this instance, TV studios – for taping distance-learning programs. These programs allow students from around the world to watch pre-taped classes.
Making use of the space on the fourth floor “is a joint effort all the way,” Thomas said. “We are open to collaboration from other colleagues and departments as well.”
Open space on a college campus is rare and many parties are competing to use it, he said.
One of those parties is one of the city’s PBS affiliates.
Loyola is in negotiations with WYES-Channel 12 to produce the shows “Steppin’ Out” and “Informed Sources” in studios that are being used by Loyola’s broadcast classes. “Steppin Out” and “Informed Sources” air back-to-back at 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. Fridays.
“Steppin Out” is hosted by Peggy Scott Laborde and highlights local entertainment, dining and movies, while “Informed Sources” is hosted by Larry Lorenz, interim dean of the College of Social Sciences, and Errol Laborde who, along with other local media professionals, analyze local stories.
Cole Adams can be reached at [email protected].
