Students at NU-Q ran a live news programme in its state-of-the-art
Newsroom before HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, vice-chairperson
and CEO of Qatar Foundation, and fellow members of the university’s
joint advisory board, along with invited guests, faculty, staff, and
students as part of dedication ceremony held in the Newsroom.
The newscast gave guests an immersive experience by running a live
choreographed show to demonstrate some of the Newsroom’s most impressive
features, including the use of robotic cameras, live-feeds from
different locations, smart data visualisation, and modular reporting
around the newsroom.
The demonstration portrayed how the Newsroom’s different areas work as
one unit to run a complete show, while incorporating live feed from
reporters around Education City and displaying different graphics on the
screens.
“The real story here is not simply the physical properties of this
extraordinary space, perhaps the most advanced newsroom of its kind in
the world today,” said Everette E Dennis, dean and CEO. “It is the work
that is and will occur here, the instruction that takes place, the
people who are educated and trained — and what they do with the
resources here in their future careers.”
The Newsroom features four main areas – news desk, social media set, modular video wall, and an area for a talk show.
The news desk is a glass table that can fit up to three presenters and
features an interactive backdrop displaying a variety of content. The
social media set allows users to take feeds from multiple social-media
platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, and
convert them into graphics or stream selected content on a live screen.
The 18-screen multipurpose video wall can stream news channels, weather
reports, graphics, data visualisations, maps, and live feed coverage
from events. And the talk show area serves as an informal area where
students can practice interviewing multiple guests in a contemporary
setting.
NU-Q prof Miriam Berg is the first to teach in the Newsroom and her
students have spent the last few weeks exploring the new technology and
testing the newsroom’s capabilities, “My students and I feel very
fortunate to teach and learn in a cutting-edge environment. Our studio
and Newsroom is pioneering the adoption of a fast changing news
environment. We are not competing with other universities but with news
networks across the globe.”
The Newsroom was designed by Lebanese architect, Ali Wazani, who is well
known for his work with major news operations in the region. In
addition to the faculty working with students, NU-Q also has a team of
professionals in production and digital media services who oversaw the
design and construction of the Newsroom.
To take advantage of the Newsroom, NU-Q will offer courses that
integrate technology, broadcast, and production with journalism and
strategic communication, such as 360-degree video production, podcast
creation, and digital storytelling.
