The rapidly changing world of media has affected the study of Communications, and therefore, all communications students.
In response to the changing field, Elizabethtown College took on the challenge of designing a converged media center, or media hub, that will connect the newspaper and the radio and TV stations in Steinman, in place of the outdated equipment that used to be housed there. Some of the goals of the renovations are to expose the students to the current media market, allow the three mediums to work together and better incorporate the technologies into the classes, according to Johnson.
“As we looked at what people were doing in the professional world,  we said that media no longer operates in these distinct bins,” Dr. Kirsten Johnson, communications department director, said. “You have got to be able to have skills that cross over into the different areas.”
A student lounge was constructed to encourage collaboration and community among the students. The lounge will continue to be expanded, but the current space is functional and available to all students and faculty. Students from each of the media programs have been inquiring about a space that facilitates cooperative work for years, according to Johnson.
The project was started in 2011 and is expected to be complete by 2013. The renovations are being conducted by Marshall Craft, but neither a cost expectation nor a proposed budget have been released. The previous facilities lacked much of the equipment that professors required to teach their courses. “It was very difficult to get a lot of the things that a lot of classes needed and now that [Steinman] is updated and renovated, they can work to their full potential,” Samantha Peters, senior communications major, said.
“I think the students involved in the department will definitely get a better idea of how things are run outside the College,” Peters said. “They will get more experience and with that experience comes better internships and more likelihood of getting into a field.”