Ryerson’s new Sports Media program is getting a broadcast centre, courtesy of Sportsnet.
The Rogers-owned company will donate $750,000 to the Mattamy Athletic Centre for a new state-of-the-art centre, which will expose students to the latest technology in field production, digital media training, student-driven media productions, media marketing and media management.
Ryerson’s RTA School of Media will launch in September 2014, and will only accept 60 applicants in the program’s first year.
“I think Conn Smythe would be thrilled to see a program for young sportscasters in the Gardens,” Ryerson President Sheldon Levy said in a press release. “Thanks to Sportsnet, we will have talented students at the hub of our traditional passion for sports, a great new focus on varsity athletics, and outstanding community teamwork advancing Canadian leadership.”
As part of the new partnership between Sportsnet and Ryerson, the RTA School of Media plans to broadcast a regular television series featuring university sports from across the country. Students from the program will produce the content, and up to four hours of coverage will be featured on Sportsnet 360 each year.
“This funding will help give our students access to professional broadcast equipment and work with some of the leading sport media professionals in the field,” said chair of the RTA School of Media Charles Falzon in a release. “RTA is also thrilled to be starting this premier program with such strong and tangible support from the industry it plans to serve.”
Falzon said to The Ryersonian on Wednesday that the centre’s installment was motivated by the success of graduates in the sports industry and the large number of current students who want to work in the field.
He said the Sports Media program will offer courses in sports theory and sports management. There are also plans to extend some courses to the journalism program, Falzon said.
The $750,000 gift will also fund student scholarships, digital media training, development and student-driven digital media productions.
“I think that one impact will be that it is just another feather in the cap of what Ryerson offers in terms of experiential learning,” Falzon said. “It’s a unique program and its going to be a presitgious one so it’s something for us all to be proud of.”
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