WMJF-LP
Encyclopedia
WMJF-LP is low powered terrestrial
Student television station
broadcasting on channel 16 UHF
in the Baltimore, Maryland area. Although it bears the legal -LP suffix in its call letters, it is a Class A television station, a slight upgrade from low-power status. The station is owned and operated by Towson University
. It became the last station in Baltimore
to sign on, when it did in 1991.
In the mid-1990s the station served as the local affiliate for The WB, until its move to WNUV
in January 1998. After a brief stint as an America One
affiliate, WMJF flipped to MTV2
in 2004. WMJF is also a CNN
student bureau and is one of only two in the country.
WMJF-produced programming is generally seen weekday evenings from 5PM to 6PM, and Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights from 9PM to 12 Midnight. Syndicated shows are seen weekdays from 5PM to 7:30PM, with the actual times pending on student-produced programs scheduled; syndicated programming includes a National Lampoon
hour block of programming three times a week, and federally-mandated Educational / Informational (E/I
) programming for children. All other times are filled with MTV2 programming, especially on weekends and student holidays. A full schedule is found on the station's website.
's Video feature to host the videos. WMJFNow is the creation of webmaster and station president, Christopher Taydus with help from many station members including Josh Eisenberg, Joe Achard, and Diego Torres. It was created to help find a new audience for the station. Taydus was quoted as saying, "I have a friend who goes to Northeastern who has been watching our sitcom 'Film School. We've even had guys from other countries watching." When asked about the numbers that some shows were receiving, Josh Eisenberg said, "In the college television market those are incredible numbers to be receiving. It used to be just a five-mile radius, and now anyone can see it."
Lambda Kappa Tau, Towson's Media Arts Fraternity, took over running the festival in Fall 2008.
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
Student television station
Student television station
A student television station is a television station run by university, high or middle school students that primarily airs school/university news and in many cases, student-produced soap operas, entertainment shows, and other programming....
broadcasting on channel 16 UHF
Ultra high frequency
Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...
in the Baltimore, Maryland area. Although it bears the legal -LP suffix in its call letters, it is a Class A television station, a slight upgrade from low-power status. The station is owned and operated by Towson University
Towson University
Towson University, often referred to as TU or simply Towson for short, is a public university located in Towson in Baltimore County, Maryland, U.S...
. It became the last station in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
to sign on, when it did in 1991.
In the mid-1990s the station served as the local affiliate for The WB, until its move to WNUV
WNUV
WNUV, digital channel 40, is an affiliate of the CW Television Network, located in Baltimore, Maryland. WNUV is owned by Cunningham Broadcasting, but is operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group through a local marketing agreement with Fox affiliate WBFF . However, WNUV is effectively owned by...
in January 1998. After a brief stint as an America One
America One
America One is an over-the-air television network in the United States. The network serves over 170 LPTV, Class A, Full Power, Cable and Satellite affiliate stations...
affiliate, WMJF flipped to MTV2
MTV2
MTV2 is a cable network that is widely available in the United States on digital cable and satellite television, and is progressively being added to analogue cable lineups across the nation...
in 2004. WMJF is also a CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
student bureau and is one of only two in the country.
WMJF-produced programming is generally seen weekday evenings from 5PM to 6PM, and Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights from 9PM to 12 Midnight. Syndicated shows are seen weekdays from 5PM to 7:30PM, with the actual times pending on student-produced programs scheduled; syndicated programming includes a National Lampoon
National Lampoon Inc
National Lampoon, Incorporated is a company formed in 2002 in order to use the brand name "National Lampoon" in comedy and entertainment. In the words of its prospectus, the role of the company is to "develop, produce, provide creative services and distribute National Lampoon branded comedic...
hour block of programming three times a week, and federally-mandated Educational / Informational (E/I
E/I
E/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every full-service Terrestrial television station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these television...
) programming for children. All other times are filled with MTV2 programming, especially on weekends and student holidays. A full schedule is found on the station's website.
On the Screen
WMJF currently runs a wide variety of programming. News, Sports, and Entertainment are the three main categories of WMJF programming.News
- 16News- WMJF's weekly news program bringing students campus, local, national, and international news that matters to them.
Sports
- Towson Sports Weekly- A weekly roundup of all things sports at Towson.
- Towson Gameday- A show focusing on the ins and outs of Towson football.
- Full Court Press- Basketball is the focus here with full analysis of every game and previews of the upcoming game.
- Face Off- Argument gets ugly as campus sports analyists debate local and national sport topics
- Heatin it Up- WMJF's own Daniel Abraham talks to Towson's sports' all stars and what is heatin him up.
Entertainment
- Towson Exposure- Student made film and video projects take center stage in this hour long program showcasing Towson's best and brightest
- News from the Fringe- "When news breaks, we blame the other guy" in this political and news satire show.
- Civil Disobedience- No one is safe from this brand of sketch comedy
- College Night- Leno, O'Brien, Letterman; They've got nothing Phil Kessell, Towson's own late night host.
- Film School - WMJF's first continuous sitcom about the lives of film students.
- Press Start - Video game review show for the new generation.
- At the Movies - Movie reviews for the college student.
- A.R.G. (Alternate Reality Game)- Narrative based show chronicling the mystery behind an ARG that is brought to campus. "It's more fun when it starts feeling realer than real."
Behind the Scenes
WMJF is a 90% student run organization. Under the tutelage of faculty advisors, Dr. John MacKerron and Dr. David Reiss, Towson University students experience not only the production aspects of a television station, but also the day-to-day experiences that running one brings with it.The Executive Board
The student leaders of WMJF are the people who are in charge of making station wide decisions to hopefully better the station as a whole. The executive board consists of five elected positions and any other appointed positions that the original five deem necessary to help run the station.Equipment Used
WMJF, while more of a student organization than an actual television, does have some equipment that might rival that of professional affiliate television stations.Editing Equipment
- Two iMac G5 computers each running a copy of Avid Express Pro
- One Mac G5 Tower running a copy of Avid Express Pro
- One Mac G3 Tower running a copy of Media100
Camera Equipment
- 2 Canon XL-1 Cameras equipped with professional audio (XLR) shoulder mounts
- 1 Panasonic DVX100A 24P Camera
- 2 Panasonic DVX100B 24P Cameras
- 2 JVC GY-DV500 Cameras
WMJFNow
WMJFNow was launched in August 2006, after a beta run the previous spring. The program is run using GoogleGoogle
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
's Video feature to host the videos. WMJFNow is the creation of webmaster and station president, Christopher Taydus with help from many station members including Josh Eisenberg, Joe Achard, and Diego Torres. It was created to help find a new audience for the station. Taydus was quoted as saying, "I have a friend who goes to Northeastern who has been watching our sitcom 'Film School. We've even had guys from other countries watching." When asked about the numbers that some shows were receiving, Josh Eisenberg said, "In the college television market those are incredible numbers to be receiving. It used to be just a five-mile radius, and now anyone can see it."
Half-Way There Festival
The Half-Way There Festival is an annual film festival sponsored and hosted by WMJF. It was created by Josh Eisenberg with help from Christopher Taydus and Professor Greg Faller. It is held December of every year and gets its name from the fact that it's held half way between the previous and the next Media Arts Festival (Towson University's Electronic Media and Film Department's Annual Film Festival). In a twist on traditional media festival formats, WMJF-TV lets the audience vote to choose the winners at the Half Way There Festival.Lambda Kappa Tau, Towson's Media Arts Fraternity, took over running the festival in Fall 2008.