NU-Q students go ‘live’ at high-tech Newsroom

Students at NU-Q ran a live news programme in its state-of-the-artNewsroom before HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, vice-chairpersonand CEO of Qatar Foundation, and fellow members of the university’sjoint advisory board, along with invited guests, faculty, staff, andstudents as part of dedication ceremony held in the Newsroom. The newscast gave guests an immersive experience by running a livechoreographed show to demonstrate some of the Newsroom’s most impressivefeatures, including the use of robotic cameras, live-feeds fromdifferent locations, smart data visualisation, and modular reportingaround the newsroom. The demonstration portrayed how the Newsroom’s different areas work asone unit to run a complete show, while incorporating live feed fromreporters around Education City and displaying different graphics on thescreens.“The real story here is not simply the physical properties of thisextraordinary space, perhaps the most advanced newsroom of its kind inthe world today,” said Everette E Dennis, dean and CEO. “It is the workthat is and will occur here, the instruction that takes place, thepeople who are educated and trained — and what they do with theresources 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 andfeatures an interactive backdrop displaying a variety of content. Thesocial media set allows users to take feeds from multiple social-mediaplatforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, andconvert them into graphics or stream selected content on a live screen. The 18-screen multipurpose video wall can stream news channels, weatherreports, graphics, data visualisations, maps, and live feed coveragefrom events. And the talk show area serves as an informal area wherestudents can practice interviewing multiple guests in a contemporarysetting. NU-Q prof Miriam Berg is the first to teach in the Newsroom and herstudents have spent the last few weeks exploring the new technology andtesting the newsroom’s capabilities, “My students and I feel veryfortunate to teach and learn in a cutting-edge environment. Our studioand Newsroom is pioneering the adoption of a fast changing newsenvironment. We are not competing with other universities but with newsnetworks across the globe.”The Newsroom was designed by Lebanese architect, Ali Wazani, who is wellknown for his work with major news operations in the region. Inaddition to the faculty working with students, NU-Q also has a team ofprofessionals in production and digital media services who oversaw thedesign and construction of the Newsroom. To take advantage of the Newsroom, NU-Q will offer courses thatintegrate technology, broadcast, and production with journalism andstrategic communication, such as 360-degree video production, podcastcreation, and digital storytelling.