New show takes viewers ‘Inside ECU’
GREENVILLE, N.C. — Greenville has a new way to learn the latest accomplishments of faculty, staff and students at East Carolina University.
“Inside ECU” is a 15-minute news magazine airing on Suddenlink Cable Channel 99, also known as ECU-TV.
The first episode airs Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. Monthly episodes will air the fourth Monday of each month at 8 p.m. and be rebroadcast during the following weeks at various times.
Host Chris Stansbury and videographer Mike Myles film a segment for the new show “Inside ECU,” which debuts Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. on ECU-TV/Suddenlink cable Channel 99. Photo by Doug Boyd
The show’s host is Chris Stansbury, communications coordinator in the ECU College of Technology and Computer Science and an experienced broadcaster.
“This is a university-wide show with buy-in from both campuses, the academic deans and directors, the provost’s office and, of course, Chancellor Steve Ballard,” Stansbury said. “We have committee and subcommittee members from just about every unit at ECU submitting story ideas, setting up interviews and executing the project plan. This is a complete collaborative effort, and it’s wonderful to see this kind of interdisciplinary partnership.”
Stansbury, a 1993 ECU graduate, spent 11 years as an award-winning sports reporter for WNCT Channel 9 in Greenville and in Nashville, Tenn. He also hosts an ECU football postgame call-in show on WGHB-AM 1250.
Topics of the January show included an interview with Dr. Paul R.G. Cunningham, the new dean of the Brody School of Medicine, and a look at the new community policing program with the ECU Police Department. Future topics include heart research and care at ECU; Second Life, the virtual reality application being used at ECU; and the university’s economic development work in eastern North Carolina.
The show provides another avenue to make people aware of ECU’s successes on campus and across eastern North Carolina.
“‘Inside ECU’ will allow us to shine the spotlight on our students, university community and industry partners,” said Dr. Austin Bunch, associate provost at ECU who spearheaded the show’s development. “There are some unbelievable success stories occurring every day on our campuses, and they just need to be told. ‘Inside ECU’ is the perfect opportunity to do that.”
Bunch suggested the show last year, and a committee of communications professionals at ECU set to work in the fall developing the format and brainstorming story ideas.
“We’ve taken ‘Inside ECU’ from the drawing board to broadcast-ready in a matter of months thanks to efforts of the Division of Academic and Student Affairs, our communication and marketing members at ECU and, of course, student focus groups,” Bunch said.
The show will also be available on the ECU YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/ecu.
Comments and story ideas for “Inside ECU” can be e-mailed to insideecu@ecu.edu.