By Onke Ngcuka
Wits screens news, notices, and inspirational stories
Wits students will be informed and entertained by the new television screens that were launched at the university in January 2019.
There are three television units on the Wits Main Campus, with two stationed at the Matrix and one at the Solomon Mahlangu House concourse.
The television sets were launched in collaboration with alternative media company, BOO! Media, which also financed the project. The content aired, with subtitles, consists of notices and academic discoveries from the university as well as inspirational stories from sports players to artists breaking boundaries, supplied by Beautiful News South Africa, an independent media supplier.
Executive Producer of BOO! Media Waldi du Toit told Wits Vuvuzela that the purpose of the screens was for students to have a one-stop information and entertainment platform while also hearing an inspirational story for the day.
“BOO! has committed to ensuring that Campus TV is youth-relevant, engaging and entertaining, ultimately adding value to student’s lives. We believe that through partnering with leading local content producers we can ensure that Campus TV is something that students want to watch… [Beautiful News] videos focus on themes that we believe will resonate with Gen Z and drive a positive vision of South Africa,” Du Toit said.
Second-year BSc Ecology and Conservation student, Kagiso Mogajane, told Wits Vuvuzela that he often catches a glimpse of some of the clips on the TVs when waiting for friends or standing in a line at a store at the Matrix.
“I think that it’s well thought out because we already have [Wits] Vuvuzela. [The TV screen] has moving pictures so it gets your attention and [students] are more into that…it also gives visitors a glimpse of what Wits has to offer,” the 19 year old said.
Du Toit said that Wits was approached for the project as part of the company’s Media Transformation Project (MTP) to assist universities with a third stream of income, other than government funding and tuition fees.
“We realised that in order for the [MTP] project to be a success it needed to be expanded to a national student platform and we started contacting the leading universities in each province to sign up. Wits was, therefore, an obvious choice for Gauteng,” Du Toit said.
The Wits Communications office provides university related information for all the screens on campus.
FEATURED IMAGES: One of three TV screens on the Braamfontein campus airing notices and academic discoveries at Wits. Photo: Onke Ngcuka
