Communications professor Christian Lee and upper level broadcasting and digital media design students are introducing a brand new game show, which will be featured on WLU-TV 14. The game show’s title is “Hope You Studied, Nerds.”

Due to WLU’s COVID-19 restrictions of having non-campus members on campus, “Hope You Studied, Nerds,” replaces a previously loved show, “Noise Violation,” which aired on WLU-TV 14 for 13 years prior to the pandemic.

The interesting part about the show is the fact that it is solely run by the students. Professor Lee’s COM 321: Television Production II class is in charge of creating the content for the live show and running all of the equipment during the broadcast. Each student is graded on their performance when it is their turn to direct the game show. The show’s time ranges anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes long. Junior broadcasting student Isaac Basinger is the host of the show each week.

The game show works like this: two contestants are selected and each have to answer as many trivia questions as they can during each round. Each trivia question has three clues that relate to the answer, whoever gets the trivia question right gets one point. There are six rounds, which includes topics like people, places, events, mixed and a speed round. Whoever has the most points after six rounds of trivia, wins the game. The winner gets bragging rights over the other contestant.

“I think this is a really smart and good idea by this class. This seems like it is going to be fun and I am excited to watch. I can’t wait,” said WLU sophomore, Baylee Nixon. “I love trivia shows and cannot wait to see how this one plays out. I really enjoy trying to guess the answers and get the question right, plus I get to see some of my classmates on TV,” said West Liberty junior Bryan Courts.

The show is recorded every Wednesday of the fall semester and will air its final episode Nov. 17.

Another show also made its debut in the beginning of November, “Newsline 14,” had its first live news broadcast since the spring semester. The COVID-19 pandemic changed the structure of the COM 325: Television Studio News Directing and Producing class, as the students had to research ways to put on a news broadcast during a worldwide pandemic. The students found news broadcasts from all over the country and figured out how to practice social distancing and get creative with news writing and packages.

The news stories are written each week by Professor Danielle Mehlman-Brightwell’s COM 232: Broadcast News Writing class and sent on the teleprompter for the news class to put over the air. Each student in the class is in charge of a position behind the scenes and broadcasting students Isaac Basinger and Heather Hale are the lead anchors. Each news broadcast lasts about 20 to 30 minutes. The show is separated into four segments which include national news, campus and local news, sports and weather updates.

The show is filmed every Thursday afternoon in November and will have its final broadcast Nov. 18.

Each class has had to make major changes to the way they run studio television shows. All students are required to wear gloves at all times and practice social distancing. Masks are required by all students, even the on-air talents. The changes are to keep everyone in the class safe and healthy, and also follow the guidelines that the university and the state have put into place.

“Hope You Studied, Nerds” and “Newsline 14” can be watched live on WLU-TV 14 and on-demand on TopperStation.com in the near future.