José F. Méndez Dr.hc

SistemaTV, the trans-media moniker for theAGMUS educational television station, bringsthe viewing public a lively and entertainingpackage of news and information. Its mission is touse the medium and its multiple platforms to inform,educate and provide tools to make a positive differencein the lives of television viewers.Since the university system broadcast its firsttelevised courses in 1978, it has been a pioneer ineducational television in Puerto Rico. AGMUS went onto establish WMTJ-TV Channel 40, the only educationalinstitution in Puerto Rico with a non-commercialbroadcast license, and became a member of thePublic Broadcasting System (PBS). Now, SistemaTVis spreading news of its programming on its ownwebpage linked to university system’s Internet site andcan also be found on youth-oriented social networkssuch as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Next year,the station expects to live-stream on the Internet, anevolution of its trans-media personality.During the school year, Channel 40 boostedintercollegiate sports throughout Puerto Rico, settinga record 54 hours of sports-event coverage. Thisincluded the volleyball and basketball finals of theInter-University Athletic League and live transmissionof competitive events in Las Justas, the island’s annualintercollegiate sports contest. Leading up to the weeklongcompetition, Sistema TV produced a series of sixhour-long programs highlighting the lives of universityathletes and recognizing the role played by trainers,professors and athletic directors in the triumphs ofthe athletes.Teamwork between the station and the threeuniversities has earned AGMUS recognition. Thisyear, the federal Environmental Protection Agencypresented SistemaTV with an award for its seriesAventura Científica (Scientific Adventure), filmed onlocation around Puerto Rico. The prize is a tributeto the collaboration of students and professors ofUniversidad Metropolitana’s School of EnvironmentalAffairs and SistemaTV, which contracts televisionindustry professionals to produce and direct theprograms.SistemaTV teamed up with Universidad del Este(UNE) to produce a new food series, Sí a la cocina(Yes to the kitchen). The half-hour shows are filmedin the demo kitchen of UNE’s José A. (Tony) SantanaInternational School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts ofUniversidad del Este and feature a pastry chef and achef, who is also a nutritionist, both UNE professors,and news anchor. Partnering with Universidad delTurabo (UT), the station produced 16 programs in theongoing arts and culture series Sí al Museo.With Mi triunfo… mi empresa (My triumph,my business), launched this year, the stationgives successful entrepreneurs an opportunity totell their stories. Collaborators in the series areAGMUS employment centers and the business andentrepreneurship schools of UNE, UT and UMET.Among the outstanding locally produced specialswas a captivating report entitled “Exploring theEvidence in the Middle East”, timed to coincide withHoly Week. News anchor Ariel Rivera Vázquez andphotojournalist Antonio Puchols traveled to Egypt,Jordan and Israel to give a multi-cultural view of theregion, its historical conflicts, myths and reality. Thecoverage culminated in a one-hour special, premieredon Good Friday and repeated on Easter Sunday.Through mobile technology and the Internet, Vázquezprovided viewers with daily capsules of his travels,starting with a report from London’s Heathrow Airport.Broadcasts of the Public Policy Institute (PPI) forumson issues and ideas has helped carve the station aniche as the island’s leading proponent of publicservice programming. Following up on one PPI forum,the station produced a four-part special investigationinto the solid waste crisis on the island which earnedan Emmy nomination from the Suncoast Chapter ofthe National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences(NATAS). And, for the first time, it transmitted live theGovernor’s Message on the budget and, afterwards,had experts provide analysis of the message.71