287 40 Years HU 16 2000-10s 2020s-Present The 2021 school year launched new apps that featured two live streams and video-ondemand programming on Amazon Fire, Android, AppleTV, iOS and Roku platforms. The following year, HU16 ended its longstanding channel on the White County Cable system. The 2022–2023 school year aired specials like “Double Dutch” and “Shock Talk,” and earned an honorable mention for the Mid-America Student Emmy Awards, and two student Emmys for political coverage in 2022. By the end of spring 2023, the TV studio said bittersweet goodbyes to Tim Hamilton and Ginger Blackstone. “This is really a legacy,” Blackstone said. “It’s something that we’re really proud of. It’s a smaller program, but that has actually worked to our benefit . . . it's amazing to see how things evolve over the years.” Noah Darnell took over as news and editorial director in fall 2023. In that semester, an all-new software system, the industry standard from the associated press, ENPS, was installed. This system brings HU16 production to the same class as all other national brands such as National CBS and The Washington Post. During spring 2000, Channel 16 came back on air after a semester-long break due to the upgrading of Harding’s system by White County Cable. The spring semester of 2007 brought new coverage of a student-run sports news program every Tuesday and Wednesday at 8 p.m. on TV-16. In 2010 Ginger Blackstone, a past student of Lou Butterfield and a TV-12 news anchor in the 1980’s, took the position of news director. “I really caught the TV bug,” Blackstone said, reflecting on her time as a student with TV-12. “I was actually involved in a social club my freshman year, and I went inactive my sophomore year because I really felt like I found a different tribe. It was all those crazy bunches of people that hung out in the TV studio, and I loved it; I absolutely loved it.” In 2012 Tim Hamilton was hired as a staff member, directing all sports production for Harding. Mark Prior, after involvement with the station for years, became director of the TV station after Ritchie’s departure. Between 2014 and 2019, Jim Miller served as chair of the Communication Department and oversaw many changes. “We recognized that if we were going to elevate our work and our students’ opportunities at the TV station, and give them the best realworld experience that we could, we were going to have to upgrade,” Miller said. During this time, there were renovations to the television station, expansions of sports production, and during the 2014–2015 school year, TV-16 was renamed HU16. In summer 2017, the TV studio was completely redone totaling expenses of $160,000 and was dedicated to Amy and Scott Sewell by spring 2018. Alumna Amy Sewell was a major contributor to the renovation which included tearing down and rebuilding the Reynolds Center TV studio, installing brand-new technology, and a change from standard definition broadcasting to high definition. Story by Randi Tubbs HU16 News Network Marks Milestone Anniversary Photo from The Bison, March 2, 2007 Photo from The Bison, Sept. 29, 2000 Photo from The Bison, Oct. 22, 2021 Photo from The Bison, Oct. 22, 2021
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