On Sunday, there was a column published in Technician’s opinion section where correspondent Jackson Dumas attempted to call out PackTV in a series of uninformed arguments from someone who clearly doesn’t see the value PackTV provides, especially for sports on campus.
Constructive criticism is one thing, but the recent article was far and beyond what would be a helpful opinion. Saying PackTV’s content, “should not be considered quality or worth watching in even the kindest of critiques, and it should not be allowed to serve as NC State’s excuse for a creative video outlet,” is a shallow and emotional thought process.
The creative process for video content is not a light task for anyone and the whole point of the organization is to help students learn more about how to make content. Of course there is always room for improvement, and expanding content is something we would support, but there is no reason to “send PackTV packing,” as opposed to improving the infrastructure already there.
PackTV is a 24/7 broadcast news outlet, a difficult feat for an organization of any size. Based on what is already done, they provide an opportunity to practice video production, news reporting, sports play-by-play analysis and much more.
Club sports are not covered by any mainstream media outlet in the area. Technician Sports has tried to pick up more coverage of club sports, but we quickly learned that it’s no easy task. Taking into consideration all of the gear needed for livestreaming, PackTV has a serious and major operation going, and we know club sports as a whole appreciates the effort.
In recent years, PackTV also had a few employees go directly into the professional field, building off the experience learned at PackTV. Most notably Abby Labar and Jasmine McKoy both made the jump to professional television after graduation. Labar is currently working as an NHL host for the Carolina Hurricanes and a sideline reporter on Fox Sports South, and McKoy is a sports reporter and anchor at WCBD News 2.
If anything, the criticism Dumas has might need to be aimed at students interested in video production, who should do more to get involved with PackTV and expand the organization’s focus. However, his claim that NC State sports is a niche subject is simply wrong, especially for an NC State student organization. NC State sports, whether that is club or varsity sports, do have large followings, and many outlets, including Technician, follow NC State sports as one of its most important topics.
On Twitter, Dumas said, “A column about there being more to a university than sports isn’t received well by die hard sports fans? Who could have seen this coming?” before deleting the statement.
There is certainly more to the University than sports, but the most important role of a university is to educate students, something PackTV does by offering students an opportunity to to learn how to broadcast by using sports. Sports are a good way for people to learn skills like broadcasting because there is a regularity to them and it is difficult to find other professional experience. By learning the basics, it allows its student employees to take what they have learned and apply it to other things.
Also, the column really has nothing to do with there being more to a university than sports. Obviously, even the most die-hard sports fans understand that point. Dumas’ column was specifically against PackTV and the type of content it produces.
Last year, we worked in collaboration with PackTV to cover the Ice Pack’s run in the national tournament, and our former staff writer Ryan Henkel appeared as a guest analyst on their broadcast, and the homecoming parade, broadcasted by PackTV, was put on Technician’s website.
We at TechSports are in support of PackTV and believe it fills an important role on campus. While the article we are responding to is just one person’s opinion, we feel it necessary to express that this opinion is not reflective of all at Technician. In fact, when sports make a huge return, we’d love to develop a better relationship with PackTV so we can help each other in the future.
Editor’s note: Assistant Sports Editor Tristan Tucker is currently an employee of PackTV and a number of other previous TechSports writers have also worked at PackTV. That being said, Tucker and others did not have any part in the writing of this letter.
