The Times from Munster, Indiana • 80

"Times Sunday, April 17, 1977 7 I 4 in VILA I 1ZZZ I '1 a I r-'V' 'V. yt- 1 i Tin fjji Supervisor Henry Sichtcrm Sports Director John Barbar, and WCAE'TVs neuiy expanded sports format. Sprucing Channel 5.0 ilhiij.uhm.hii.wi lywi'" W'M t. i programming can be handled there while the main control room is being used to tape other programs. An audio recording room has been added by partitioning off a section of a second studio, and is used to record on audio tape announcements and station promos.

The master control room houses monitoring equipment supervised by station engineers. With the addition of the new transmitter in north Ham- mond, equipment housed in the room allows engineers to take any of 30 different readings by remote control. A red alarm light also notifies station personnel if any unauthorized entry has been made into the transmitter building in north Hammond. The station also has increased the number of viewing hours and is on the air from 7:50 a.m. to 11 p.m.

weekdays, 4 to 11 p.m. Saturdays, and 3 to 11 p.m. Sundays. Coverage of sports events has been expanded, and for the first time this year the station is televising the girls semi-state and state basketball tournaments. Semi-state tournaments in wrestling were also televised and the station presented the Gary Regional, semi-stale and state finals in boys basketball.

Since the weather this winter has played havoc with scheduled school sessions throughout the region, the station has developed a disaster emergency plan to take the classrooms to the students. "On the third day schools are closed," Program Director John Girrard said, "Lake Central "High School teachers will give instruction Story By Shirley Cearing of the day's news. tit an works master controls. AS 'i Y'i "ft free master control use. i 1 -r ii il TyJ i 4 dm If.

i i '1 I 1 -Tut ntf and assignments at 8 a.m.; Kahler Middle School at 9 a.m.; Grimmer Middle School at 10 a.m.; Protsman Elementary and Kahler Annex at 11 a.m.; Homan Elementary at noon; Peifer Elementary at 1 p.m.; and Rolling Elementary at 2 p.m. "Other school districts will be given the same opportunity. Teachers will notify students which books are to be taken home if there's advance notice of a closing. Taking into consideration what resource materials students have available at home, teachers will prepare work sheets and directions for parents and then use television time to give verbal instructions, visual demonstrations and assignments. "Building principals will have the responsibility to see that teachers are organized and prepared for the eventuality," Girrard said.

Girrard anticipates that more of the old equipment will be replaced in the not-too-distant future. "The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is exerting pressure on stations with equipment more than 10 years old to replace it and we expect this to be done on a matching funds basis with grants paying 60 per cent and raising the other 0 per cent locally," Girrard said. "It's frustrating for creative people trying to do quality work and being bogged down with obsolete equipment. A lot of color equipment is beginning to come down in cost and if we get the local support we need, we should be able to eventually produce in color." Pictures By Richard Rudzinski Sichlerman utilizes -J 1 ii I yy i '-lt Cameramen focus on They're ST. JOHN New equipment, revamping of facilities and color capabilities have increased efficiency and production at WCAE-TV in the past two years.

The control room has been remodeled with a stairstep arrangement for program directors and technicians, which has cut down on the amount of traffic and produced a more professional setting. A new Student Edward Troehler Bob Voss, director iss, director of npHWMMi Ft IL5 ld.iM:iteI switcher has been added to tne control room equipment replacing an antiquated version. With the new arrangement, control room personnel now face a vertical bank of monitoring equipment which is visible to all technicians in the control room. The equipment was previously mounted in a horizontal control board visible to only two or three people. An auxiliary control room has been equipped so that on-the-air tests new control device.

operation operations, prepares recording General Manager Lou laconctti checks video library. Y-- 2 auxiliary control equipment to V'- 4.A A. 4 A. Jgf A. i A A.

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