Hands-on route to a TV career

Licences for new local TV stations are being welcomed by media academics and students, reports Gideon Burrows

Breaking the gloomy skyline above the student houses on the outskirts of Manchester, a huge transmitter pumps out a 24-hour programme of dynamic television to the undergraduates and young professionals living in and around Europe's largest campus.

Channel M is the sixth restricted service licence television station to go on air in the United Kingdom. The local television broadcast licence was tendered for on the basis that it would provide lively youth and student entertainment, with some serious "issue-based" airtime thrown in for good measure. The station is run by a specially formed consortium, including The Manchester Evening News and a local production company.

The faculty of media, music and performance at the University of Salford has been involved in Channel M from the start, with its students producing three regular programmes.

"Channel M gives our students a powerful learning experience," says Ron Cook, who founded Salford's media faculty in 1987. "We took the opportunities a real television station could give us and adapted the curriculum to take advantage. Our musicians compose the jingles and theme tunes, performing arts does the front-line presenting and technical students are behind the cameras or in the editing suite. And we are introducing a course in journalism that will become an important part of our programming."

Salford's contributions to Channel M include Gloves Off, a current affairs programme that seeks to explore issues affecting Manchester's undergraduates. On the day I visit, the production team is in deep discussions about next month's edition.

Rachel is wondering whether the programme on stalking should be shown before the one on student politics. Debbie is worried about certain aspects of the stalking programme. "There are lots of students who've been stalked in Manchester, but none of them will come on the show because their stalkers are still at large," she says.

Sarah suggests that with the new digital camera equipment, a production team could go out to people's homes and film interviews in silhouette. Richard adds that new research on stalking, due from Manchester Metropolitan University, will give the show more substance.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Cook is meeting with two other tutors to discuss how their students are getting on. Both John McManus and Bill McCoid joined the faculty as tutors after successful careers in broadcasting, and like Cook, they are keen to develop their work with Channel M.

Everything the students do on the channel can count towards their degree and they can be assessed on their performance on and off screen. "Our ambition is to broaden our work so that students from every area in the university can be involved as part of their course," Cook says. "There is the whole business, PR and marketing side of a TV station that isn't yet being tapped."

Salford's involvement with Channel M is fulfilling the government's hopes for more enterprise in higher education. The station provides vocational learning for students in a business where work-placements are difficult to find. And through the private company behind Channel M, on which media faculty representatives sit as board members, the university is building links with local businesses.

Gideon Burrows is regional editor of Fresh Direction: a lifestyle magazine for students: www.freshdirection.co.uk/. Channel M is available on channel 39 on terrestrial television in central and south Manchester. For help finding it, telephone 0161 211 2916.

STUDENTS ON AIR

* Bath University's Campus Television, founded in 1989, is entirely run by students. TV sets in the student union bars and nightclub feature CTV shows, including Plug Bits - silly vox-pops from the bar, documentary series Flash Point and Kwizz, a quiz show about student issues.

* Exeter University's XTV offers a broad mix, including entertainment magazine Mad for It and music video and chart show Pop Tarts.

* York University's York Student TV is run by students for students. Shows include cooking, computer gaming and a riveting eight-hour student union election special.

* University of East Anglia's Nexus is shown on monitors in campus bars and venues. Shows include Allegedly, a popular satirical comedy show, Juice, which features college gossip, and The Movie Show.

* Imperial College London's Stoic boasts music show SiC@the weekend.

* The University of Birmingham's Guild Television, established 26 years ago, has more than 100 members. Programming includes news, comedy, student election coverage and local interest.

* University College London's BTV is described as "a station going places" by Ewan Angus, commissioning editor at the BBC. Programmes include the occasional soap Gordon Square, and the drama series The College.