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A SHORT HISTORY OF BCIT’S BROADCAST AND MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT Our programs were among the first established when BCIT opened its doors in 1964. There were only seven departments here in those days, and “Broadcast Communications” was one of them. The idea for a training program that would meet the needs of British Columbia’s broadcast industry had germinated a few years earlier. The concept for BCIT was on the drawing boards, and government approached the broadcast industry to see if it wanted to be involved in this new institution. The industry responded with a hearty “YES!”, and leading broadcasters like John Ansell from CKWX, Hal Davis from CKNW, and Hugh Palmer from the CBC established an ad-hoc advisory committee to decide just what this new animal should look like. Well-known British Columbia broadcaster Laurie Irvine was hired to lead the faculty team that would develop our programs, and he served as “Department Head” from 1963…long prior to the day the doors opened…through 1974. Only a couple of dozen students commenced studies in September of 1964. They were located in brand new radio and television training facilities on the fourth floor of what was then BCIT’s “main” building. A state of the art McCurdy audio console formed the core of radio training, and the television training area boasted western Canada’s first colour television camera, a Philips Norelco unit that was loaned to the CBC from time to time so they could do colour broadcasts! Students were enthusiastic and tackled this new “professional” training with great dedication. Proper business dress was the rule of the day at BCIT, so male students wore suits and ties, female students wore dresses or skirts. And when it came time for a “lab” exercise, out came the white lab coats! Early on, faculty members introduced the “Practicum” concept, where the last month of the school year was dedicated to practical training. First year students worked on practical projects for one month straight in the Broadcast labs, while second year students worked in industry positions for one month. This practical exposure to industry for second year students has been in place ever since, and has led to many a full time job at graduation time over the past forty years! After a few years…and with a rapidly established reputation for turning out first rate broadcasters…faculty moved to stream students into their preferred area of study. At first, students were allowed to decide which area they wanted to focus on in their fourth term, radio, television, or news. In the early 70’s, that focus was extended to the entire second year. In 1974, recognizing that different students had completely different interests and career goals, faculty moved to separate the operation into three different programs, Radio, Television and Broadcast Journalism, and from that time on, applicants have applied to their program of choice and spent a full two years studying in it. By 1974, student and industry demand had grown, and intakes were up to 60 students per year. 1974 saw Laurie Irvine retire, and faculty member Lundy Sanderson became the second Department Head in Broadcast. Lundy led the program through many changes, including expanding intake to more than 100 in 1977, and moving the programs to new training facilities. In 1978, the Radio and Broadcast Journalism programs moved to renovated facilities in the north wing of the BCIT Library. Campus radio station CFML began broadcasting on carrier current and at 104.5 on local cable in January 1982. New construction in the early 80’s added full television training facilities to the Library wing, and what we know today as “Broadcast Centre” came into being in January 1983, boasting more than 25,000 square feet of facilities purpose built for training Broadcast students. Lundy also led the founding of the Broadcast Educators Association of Canada in the late 70’s, an association representing over 20 programs across Canada that offer similar post-secondary training in broadcasting and media, and today, new media. Two other faculty members have been presidents of that association, and several others have served in various capacities on the BEAC board. In 1985, Brian Antonson moved into the Department Head position. (That position became known by the more academic moniker “Associate Dean” in 1986.) Robin Piercey replaced Brian from 1990 to 1992 while he was on industry leave, and Brian continues in the Associate Dean position to this day. In the mid-90’s, the department changed its name to “Broadcast and Media Communications” to reflect the changing broadcast industry environment. More focus has been put on new media training, reflecting the convergence of many types of media in the information technology age. In more recent years, Broadcast has grown to a yearly intake of 120 day school students in its three programs. Part time studies enrolment has grown from a low of 420 in the mid-90’s to more than 1200 yearly registrations in 2003, and many part time studies students move on to day school positions. Continual upgrading of our facilities has seen the addition of another 3000 square feet of instructional, class and office space, the introduction of digital equipment and infrastructure, and much renovation and renewal. Capital purchase needs are always top-of-mind in Broadcast, and much recent focus has been put on developing partnerships with broadcast industry corporations, and this has resulted in increasing industry support for our training ventures with significant direct donations for capital expenditures, facilities construction and scholarships and awards. Frequent advisory committee input and curriculum reviews have ensured that our training keeps pace with industry’s forward movement. Today, our placement rates continue to be high…every year, about 80% of our graduates move into employment in positions in industry for which their training prepared them. Today, the British Columbia broadcast landscape boasts many leading broadcasters who got their start at BCIT. More than 200 voices and faces heard and seen in the Greater Vancouver market got their start at BCIT. And many more former students work throughout British Columbia, across Canada and literally around the world. Australia, Hong Kong, India, Europe, England, the US…we hear from our gang from all over the world! Every two years, Broadcast Centre opens its doors to its family, and we invite everyone back for our “Reunion”! This is a great opportunity for grads to meet, greet, update each other, swap lies, share photos of family and friends, and reminisce about their days treading the hallowed halls of Broadcast Centre. Thousands of people have studied their craft here, and hundreds join us for our reunions every two years. It’s great to see people who work together run into each other at these events, surprised that they each got their start at BCIT…and then have worked together for years without realizing they shared a common heritage! Our students and grads are much awarded! Broadcast and Media Communications has one of the largest lists of scholarship and award support at BCIT. And beyond the internal support, our students regularly “bring home the hardware” from regional and national awards offerings. And once in industry, our folks again distinguish themselves as recipients of professional awards of one sort or another. We’re proud of them all! As for the future? While hindsight is always 20/20, the future is less certain. But we have a focus on moving our operation almost completely into the digital world…and we’re on that path now. Some analog will remain in place, of course, as long as it exists in industry. We will continue to develop relationships with industry partners that benefit both of us. We will continue our close involvement with our advisory committees, and with industry groups such as the British Columbia Association of Broadcasters, the Canadian Associations of Broadcasters, the Radio Television News Directors Association, Canadian Women in Communications, and the Broadcast Educators Association of Canada. A low power FM license for CFML, streaming audio and video on the web, more convergence of training between traditional broadcast technologies and new media technologies, curriculum improvements, film training, broadcast engineering training…these and more are moving into place on our radar screens these days. We see a bright and compelling future for our programs and for our graduates for many years ahead! Here are a few photos from our past:
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