Analysis: University TV Stations

It's not just those on media studies courses that are excelling in student TV. Jonathan Abraham picks out the top talent

LS:TV has grown from strength to strength since it started broadcasting in 2002. Take one broom cupboard, populate it with limited equipment and talented students, and you end up with an award-winning TV station. Its membership is largely made up of media and TV broadcasting students. It won NaSTA awards for best news and music programmes, andthe most prestigious award of all, Best Broadcaster 2005.

GUST

Glasgow University Student Television. Online at www.gust.tv and internal monitors

Everybody loves GUST. Founded in 1964 it has produced quality programming for more than 40 years. Its success is exemplified in the family spirit among its members and the consistency in its programming year in year out. Its members come from a range of different courses bringing together different skills and knowledge. Last year it won best drama and best documentary at the NaSTA awards.

LSUTV

Loughborough Students' Union TV. Online at www.lsutv.co.uk and SUBtv plasma screens

This station was born in 2001 out of a concerted effort by Loughborough Students Union to establish a media centre. LSUTV is perhaps a good indicator of what student TV can aspire to be. It is set up as an independent production company and works at a professional level. As well as its excellent news, sport and documentary programming, LSUTV has championed one of the best student programmes, Totty TV.

Bloomsbury TV

University College London Students' Union. www.btv.uclu.org and on SUBtv screens in UCL Union

Situated in the basement of the renowned Bloomsbury Theatre, this TV station first emerged in the mid-1980s. Plagued by problems for the past few years, this station tells a story typical of student media ­ cuts in funding, faulty equipment, lack of exposure, etc. But it has overcome these problems to emerge with a new website, an ambitious and competent team and a plasma screen network.

Demon TV

Demontfort Students' Union. www.demontv.co.uk , in University Halls and in DeMontfort Students' Union

Launched in 2003, Demon TV brims with energy and enthusiasm. All areas are covered at Demon ­ give them a call and you will soon find yourself engrossed in conversation with the UK's producers of the future, explaining to you in detail what they are producing and why they love it. Their range is impressive: extreme sports, news, documentaries, music, drama, comedy ­ "even student porn is a possibility" jokes a producer.

YSTV

York Student Television Station. http://ystv.york.ac.uk/ and on internal network around campus

YSTV has been bringing entertainment to students around York's campus since 1967 and it is a credit to student TV as a whole that it is still here and still going strong. The most exciting aspect to YSTV's output is that the majority of its programmes are broadcast live, and in this respect it wholeheartedly deserved the status of highly commended Best Broadcaster at last years NaSTA awards.

STOIC

Imperial College London. www.stoictv.com or on

probably the most sophisticated local network ever

STOIC's members are the most technically savvy bunch in the student TV solar plexus of stations. Visit their purpose built studio and you will find a hub of old and new technology sewn seamlessly together. But simply to represent this station in terms of technical ability would be an injustice to their talent. From twice weekly news shows to sketch shows, they always maintain integrity and intelligence in whatever they produce.

Nerve TV

Bournemouth University Students' Union. www.nervemedia.net/tv.asp and on screens in the Students' Union

NerveTV is part of the Nerve Media Group run by Bournemouth University Students' Union. Bournemouth has one of the best media courses in the country which means that it is not short of very talented members. Its programming is designed to hold the attention of its audience, which is based mainly in the bar. Popular programmes includes a messy 24-hour broadcast straight from the bar and footage of nights out.

LUST

Leicester University Student Television. www.leicesterstudent.org/lust and on SUBtv plasma screens

This station began broadcasting in 2003 after dedicated efforts to start up the station by Matt Capon and Adam Maidment who now run www.ukstudentfilms.co.uk. LUST first leapt to recognition among its peers when it covered the NUS march against top-up fees and blagged its way on to Nelson's Column where all the main speakers were. Since then its coverage of student news and events has made it the prime communication medium on campus.

XTV

University of Exeter Guild of Students. http://xtv.ex.ac.uk and on SUBtv plasma screens.

XTV has spent the past year preparing itself for a huge push to broadcast online. Its committed band of computer bods and techies lifted the station from a campus-based broadcaster to an online facing station. The challenge for them now is to produce the quality of programmes that keep people coming back to the site. This year they aim to attract 100 members.

Nexus UTV

University of East Anglia. www.uea.ac.uk/~sunexus/ and on internal network at UEA Students Union

This station was founded in 1968 and has maintained a large and varied output, including news, light entertainment, comedy, drama and music. Last year it picked up the award for best comedy at the NaSTA awards with its excellent sketch show 'Prozac'. Nexus UTV has great access to up-and-coming bands and this is reflected in its regular music programme 'Reverb'.

C4TV

Christchurch Students' Union. On SUBtv plasma screens in the students' Union

C4TV was joint runner-up in the Light Entertainments category at last year's NaSTA awards 2005. It did this with £4 ­ its total funding in the academic year 2004/2005. Pure grit and determination got this station to where it's at today. Its core members bore the cost of most of last year's production and did this from the comfort of a living room with one camera and one editing suite between them.