Radio-Television Services will now operate within The Media School as a formal partnership, according to a Media School press release published Thursday.
RTVS runs WFIU and WTIU, the public radio and television stations for south central Indiana, and a media productions unit that provides support for audio, video and event production. RTVS has been operated by the IU Bloomington Office of the Provost, but “operation within a media, journalism, or communications school is a common administrative structure for public media stations licensed by universities,” the release said.
According to the release, WFIU and WTIU’s mission to serve the public with quality production remains unchanged, and The Media School and RTVS will maintain distinct budgets. WFIU and WTIU will remain editorially independent.
IU fired WFIU/WTIU’s Executive Director Brad Kimmel and Chief Financial Officer Christina Lirot on Sept. 25. IU Provost Rahul Shrivastav told RTVS leaders the organization was headed in the wrong direction, according to WFIU/WTIU.
“The Media School and WFIU/WTIU both see editorial independence as core principles and we look forward to upholding these together,” Media School Dean David Tolchinsky said in the release.
The partnership will allow for more student engagement in news, radio, TV, digital and athletic content, the release said, which will help RTVS to expand programming and outreach across the state. The opportunities align with IU's 2030 strategic plan: “community engagement, experiential learning and interdisciplinary collaboration,” the release said.
Other opportunities could include collaboration between RTVS and Media School organizations, shared facilities and equipment, additional teaching support from RTVS staff for Media School courses and working together on business and production operations.
“By sharing our talents and resources, we will increase our capacity to create high-quality content in service of the mission of public media — while also providing greater service to the campus and our shared community,” Director of Content for RTVS Eric Bolstridge said in the release.
The change is effective immediately with organizational structural details to be released in the coming months.
