This group is a great place to learn, meet new people, and have some fun! Whether you like to act, write, produce, direct, edit, or anything else... Telecasters is the place for you!
In the 1950s, a group called MSU Broadcasters was formed by a few students from the Department of Radio, Television, and Film in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. This group intended to provide themselves with an opportunity to enhance their experience in television by producing and directing their own programs. MSU Broadcasters, in cooperation with WKAR-TV, began operating out of WKAR's studios originally located in World War II vintage Quonset huts at the site of the Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Under the supervision of Channel 23's staff, the students of MSU Broadcasters gained first-hand knowledge in television production in an effort to supplement their academic experience. What they didn't know was that they were laying the groundwork for what would become the largest, most active student-run production company in the United States.
Previous Shows include: Giraffe House, MSU&U, Short Attention Span, Focal Point, Sixs Wild, Apt 6, Uplink, Face To Face, Zoorific, Profile, Upfront, On Line Lansing, The Green and White (Report), Videosynchrasies, Triv-Quest, Spartan Sports
In 1982, a new CAS building was opened and the Department of Radio, Television, and Film became the Department of Telecommunication. MSU Broadcasters moved across the hall from WKAR’s Studio C into the brand new TC Department Studios D and E. Finally, MSU Telecasters had a place to call its home, a home that was capable of supporting the production needs of an organization which at the time was over two-hundred members strong.
In the early eighties, MSU Broadcasters, with the desire to expand their programming and reflect the changing nature of electronic media, changed their name to MSU Telecasters and registered as a student organization under the umbrella of the ASMSU Programming Board. In 1982-83, MSU Telecasters created three regularly scheduled programs: Uplink, a bi-weekly magazine show for and about students; Zoorific, a children’s program produced with help from Lansing’s Potter Park Zoo; and Face to Face, a weekly news and current affairs program. Uplink later became MSU Profile, Zoorific proved impractical and Face to Face was renamed On Line Lansing. Both MSU Profile and On Line Lansing lasted well into the late 80’s and early 90’s, and both found their way into the Saturday morning on-air schedule of WKAR-TV. On Line Lansing was to be reformed as MSU Upfront in the early 2000’s with a base in current news, issues and student opinions created with an extra flair for entertainment.
In addition to these two stalwart programs, the students in Telecasters experimented with other program ideas. During the 1983-84 school year, the Promotions program was founded. They were responsible for producing programs for the university. In 1986, “Videosynchrasies”, a short lived music video program, was produced. In the late 80’s, “Promotions” changed their name to Special Projects, and became responsible for producing pilot programs for interested students within the Telecasters framework. In 1989-90, Special Projects produced two pilot programs, “Triv-Quest,” a trivia-game show, and “Spartan Sports.”
The 1988 school year led to the start of The Show created by Greg Harrison and Scott Grayson, which originally was to be a talk/comedy show but morphed into an in-studio comedy show set in a college dorm room. The Show continues today, as the nation’s longest continuously running college sitcom.
Reflecting the changing interests of the student producers and crew, during the 1989-90 season, MSU Profile was canceled. During the 1992-93 school year, The Green and White Report came to life. It was a revamping of Profile more oriented to news. In 1995 the name was changed to “Green and White”. It was to be resurrected with a new name and new energy in 2005 as MSU&U. MSU & U was an entirely student-produced magazine/news-style TV show that contains 4 segments, each focusing on a different event, place, organization or current issue that is a part of student life.
In 1994, Sideshow, a sketch comedy, began and is also still in production. Another program new to MSU Telecasters was Six's Wild, started during the 1996-97 school year.
From 1982 to the present, MSU Telecasters has drawn on the creativity and hard work of its members to constantly update and improve its ongoing programs and invent new ones. In 2008, Telecasters produced two long running programs and one more recent addition.
In the 2010s, Telecasters content began focusing on digital distribution through social media and YouTube. Programming expanded to six different show productions, focusing on a variety of types of content to include sitcom, sketch comedy, parody news, pop culture and trivia. Telecasters also began working in audio distribution with The Pop! podcast focusing on music and pop culture, and the drama show TURN began producing mystery/horror audio plays in this time.
Faculty Advisors
Jon Whiting
Advisor: 2021-Present
Zach Hall
Advisor: 2017-2021
Bob Albers
Advisor: 1982-2017
Awards, Festivals, & Honors
2025
Award: Michigan Emmy Award - Presented by National Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences
Show: SiDESHOW
Production: Parlay
Year: 2025
Description: Members of SideShow won a student Emmy for the production of "Parlay" in the Short Form Fiction category of the competition. Rachel Kozlowski, Producer.
2006
Award: Michigan Emmy Award - Presented by Michigan Association of Broadcasters
Show: MSU&U
Production: S-01, Ep-02
Year: 2006
Description: In its first season, MSU&U received a Michigan Emmy, accepted by Brian Murray (BA '06 TISM). The winning show featured an interview with Jay Leno, when he visited campus in 2005.
