Ten minutes until they’re live. Then, the students realized their microphones aren’t working. They scrambled to fix the problem and found one solution: going old school. The competitors on “College Crossfire,” a Texas Student Television production, had to pass around a microphone to at least get the audio through to the control room. 

That was a year ago. Still, the production team struggles with equipment failure, and as time goes on, more issues arise. 

“You just have to be able to put your best foot forward with the circumstances that are handed to you and still try to put out the best product you can,” said Justin Goosman, former sports director for TSTV and former director for College Crossfire. “It's not always going to turn out perfect, but for the most part, if you try really hard to make it look good, people are going to see that.”

TSTV is a student-run college television station that went on the air in 1987. They have multiple shows ranging from sports, morning news and entertainment. TSTV, which is housed under Texas Student Media (TSM), lacks sufficient funding because of resource allocation. TSM oversees nine entities, plus a production team, advertising and PR agency and student sales force.

Texas Student Media director Will Parchman said they do their best to raise money and support the students. Ultimately, he wants the students to gain hands-on experience and ensure a great experience at TSTV.

“We're always looking at, how do we improve?” Parchman said. “How do we make sure that the students have what they need? We always get there, but it's a process. It doesn't always happen as fast as the students would like, but we always get there. And ultimately, our goal from day one to today has always been to make sure that the students have an experience, that when they graduate, they feel like they have what they need to get a job at the next level doing what they want to do.”

Goosman joined TSTV his freshman year and slowly worked his way up the ladder in the sports department. As a sports reporter, he believes the University of Texas at Austin is a great place to be because of the powerhouse athletics.

“TSTV is in such a perfect place where they can really showcase what students are able to do in media,” Goosman said. “If they got the correct funding and used it to really prop up student voices, (UT) could be seen as a top school in this sector.”

“Sneak Peak”, the station’s longest-running show, faces similar challenges to “College Crossfire.”

Melody Jones, the executive producer of “Sneak Peak,” said funding impacts their production’s consistency. On a typical show night, the team arrives to set up around 6 p.m. for their 7:30 p.m. show, but it feels like they start from scratch every time. Their video board, TriCaster, won’t work properly. Microphones are missing. 

“If we had consistency, we'd be able to be more confident with our show every week, and hopefully be able to up the production value,” Jones said. “But since there's something always new, it sets us back down at phase one every time.”

Parchman said that TSTV and all of the other TSM branches have fundraisers to buy new equipment. He recognizes that conversations between students and staff need to happen more often to ensure the needs of TSTV are communicated. 

But, even when these conversations happen, Parchman said there are budget constraints.

“Media organizations nationwide are not flush with cash all the time,” Parchman said. “It's just a reality of the business, so we have to be judicious and smart with where our money goes, and unfortunately, sometimes that means that we don't always have the top-of-the-line equipment at any given time. However, we are constantly looking at ways to improve across the board.”

Jones said she thinks funding isn’t the only thing affecting production value. Because the staff is all volunteers, it’s difficult to keep people routinely engaged.

The only paid people are the people in leadership, which is application-based and currently consists of around 10 people. Goosman, formerly a sports director, said he received $100 a month when he was a producer, which means he couldn’t reinvest in TSTV. He used his check for simple things like rent or groceries.

Jones also said she isn’t able to do much with her check. She compared the payment system at the Daily Texan to TSTV, specifically because more people at the Texan were getting paid. She said the system at The Texan leads to more staff engagement and longevity in the organization because there is a clear structure to move your way up in leadership, unlike TSTV. 

“It's hard to up production value if you don't have a consistent crew on your team, and if you don't have that monetary motivation for students to be giving their all to the show that they're volunteering on, we'll have people come and go,” Jones said. “That's something that we kind of have to roll with.”

Because of the lack of student commitment, the current station manager is developing a strike system to hold the staff accountable for their commitments and to foster more structure. However, Jones said she worries this could discourage students who don’t have as much time to devote to TSTV. 

Through all of the funding and production adversities, both students said TSTV amplified their college experience as a whole. 

“Even if it's not the quality that we may want, it's still a blast,” Goosman said. “Every single day, I come into the studio ready to work, ready to talk about sports.”