Academic broadcasting hubs - a call for participation

UPDATE: Deadline now extended to Fri 24th April

Academics are frequently called upon by broadcasters to provide expert comment on and analysis of news and current affairs. This invariably requires a cost in terms of time and travel, as experts often have to physically attend a studio in order to carry out an interview.

Right now at Jisc we are looking to select three Janet-connected UK education institutions to become broadcasting hubs, with direct access to all national and international broadcasters and news networks including the BBC, Sky, ITN, CNBC, Bloomberg and Al Jazeera. This will allow experts/academics from an institution to be able to film and stream their half of an interview live from their campus.

We will provide funding to assist with the procurement of equipment necessary for HD broadcast and streaming via the Janet-connected Globelynx network, enabling the sites to connect directly to broadcast studios quickly and easily.

The three selected broadcasting hubs will offer the facility to other research and education institutions, managing free access for interviews for the next three years on request. This will provide broadcasters with a wider range of experts that they can contact, and open opportunities for a larger number of Janet-connected sites to access the resource. A host site however can expect substantially more use of the equipment than others - leading to closer ties with broadcasters, a higher level of presence on television, and greater brand awareness as a result.

Find out more about this call for participation here.