By TANNER MAWHIRTER
Tiger Media Network
Tiger Media Network is no stranger to broadcasting. From athletic competitions to campus events, TMN produces more than 100 live streams each year. However, they will add a new production to their slate on Thursday this week – Before The Blaze.
Similar to the college football pregame stage shows seen on major networks, Before The Blaze aims to engage students ahead of Thursday’s “bonfire” activities while also showcasing the talents of TMN’s student broadcast team.
Eli Blankinship, a junior broadcaster with TMN, is one of the students planning Before The Blaze. His roles include coordinating guests on the show and structuring the show as a whole.
“The idea behind the broadcast is to create an immersive experience for all students on campus that gets people excited to show up and support FHSU Football,” Blankinship said. “As a broadcaster myself, it is so much more fun to broadcast a game at a packed stadium, so the more people we can get excited about Saturday’s game the better.”
Blankinship also wants to shine a light on the students who make these broadcasts happen and doing so live in front of an audience, as opposed to fans watching the event on their screens, is a great way to make that happen.
“I really wanted to showcase the talented broadcast students that we have here on campus and what better way to do that than to have a live audience for a broadcast,” he said.
Before The Blaze was named in part because it was going to take place just before the annual FHSU Homecoming Bonfire. However, due to forecast rain on Thursday and sustained rain in the days leading up to it, the bonfire will not take place. However, Before The Blaze will still happen regardless of weather conditions.
The Pep Rally assembly and subsequent activities scheduled after Before The Blaze will still take place outside Gross Memorial Coliseum, in the VIP parking lot, weather permitting.
Blankinship knows Kansas weather can be unpredictable, but he and the team have contingency plans if the weather doesn’t cooperate.
“The weather is certainly going to be a challenge this week, but if it is raining, the show will still go on inside at Hammond Hall,” Blankinship said. “There will be live interviews with FHSU Football Head Coach Chris Brown, along with a couple of athletes.”
Before The Blaze will feature live game analysis from TMN’s student broadcasters, live interviews with football and campus personalities
In addition to a loaded live show, Before The Blaze will feature giveaways from Student Engagement and a competition to win a $1000 scholarship courtesy of FHSU Admissions.
“The big draw for this event is that we are having Student Engagement do some giveaways along with the Department of Admissions, which has donated a $1000 scholarship for us to give away in a student competition that will be broadcast live at the event,” Blankinship said. “The best part about this event is all you have to do to participate is show up. We have various student organizations showing up, including the marching band, cheer team, and more. It should be a fun-filled event that gets everyone buzzing for homecoming weekend.”
Before The Blaze will begin at 6:40 p.m. on Thursday in front of Hammond Hall. Should the weather force the event inside, the broadcast will take place inside Hammond Hall. For those unable to attend the event, it will be broadcast live on the TMN YouTube page.
You must be logged in to post a comment.