The University of New Haven and FOX61, the Connecticut Fox affiliate, announced today that the television station will open a news bureau on the University’s main campus at 300 Boston Post Road.
The partnership between the University and FOX61 provides unprecedented opportunities for University of New Haven students, particularly in the Communications, Film, and Media Studies Department, and strengthens FOX61’s long-term commitment to New Haven and the surrounding cities and towns.
“We are excited about the advantages this relationship brings to our students, especially those majoring in communications,” said Steven H. Kaplan, president of the University of New Haven. “It will provide all of our students with an opportunity to observe closely — right on their own campus — how the news is gathered, edited, and broadcast.”
The FOX61 news bureau at the University of New Haven will offer easy access to the I-95 corridor, Southern Connecticut, and the Shoreline and reinforce the station’s commitment to statewide coverage. The FOX61 news team, including one of Connecticut’s most senior reporters and lifelong resident, Tony Terzi, will report daily from the bureau.
“FOX61 is very proud to be partnering with the University of New Haven,” said Jon Hitchcock, vice president and general manager of FOX61 and WCCT/CW Television. “Our partnership reinforces our commitment to our viewers in the southern tier of the state and provides an authentic learning experience for students pursuing an education in the field of journalism and communications.”
The partnership is especially advantageous for students in the University’s growing media studies department, which includes on its faculty Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Susan Campbell, longtime Connecticut broadcast media personalities Bruce Barber and Diane Smith, FOX61 Meteorologist Matt Scott, and ESPN veteran broadcaster Wayne Edwards.
FOX61 and WTIC-TV, are multi-platform statewide news organizations owned by Tribune Media. FOX61 features more than nine and a half hours of news coverage each weekday and more than four and a half hours of news coverage on the weekends, the most news coverage in the state.
“The more exposure our students have to the real world of 24-7 news, the better their preparation for jobs after graduation will be,” said Thomas Garrett, associate professor and head of the Communications, Film, and Media Studies Department. “The FOX61 partnership will offer many advantages not only to journalism students and students interested in the technical aspects of television and film but also to students in majors which rely on communications, such as political science, music, entrepreneurship, business, and more.”