FOX 11 News & Content Center opens

ASHWAUBENON - WLUK-TV Vice President and General Manager Jay Zollar cut the ribbon on the new FOX 11 News & Content Center May 12, 2009.

"We are very excited to open our doors today to the general public. We are pleased that we are able to use this state of the art facility to serve the viewers of Northeast Wisconsin," Zollar said.

The modern design of the FOX 11 News and Content Center lends itself to the new digital technology that is sweeping the television industry. The building not only houses WLUK-TV's television news operations, but also the station's internet platform, fox11online.com. Visitors will enjoy the new lobby. It features a comfortable design of leather chairs and a sofa. Prominent in the reception area is an artistically styled coffee table, made from the locust tree that grew on WLUK-TV's front lawn, prior to construction.

Inside, the FOX 11 News and Content Center is home to more than 60 journalists and staff. The open architecture allows the different disciplines of news, weather and sports to communicate more effectively. The Assignment Desk is the focus of the room. It is where all incoming news information is collected and disseminated. The elegant design of the Assignment Desk includes a "rich" dark-stained birch desk and cabinets, on an elevated platform. All the technical controls for incoming video feeds are located here. As such, journalists do not need to walk to the engineering department to access material, such as a live remote broadcasts from news events.

News Director Juli Buehler explains the open concept of the building addition allows journalists to work on multiple platforms, simultaneously. "We are now better able to move our digital news content quickly to the online platform. And not only can we broadcast live from the News and Content Center, but we can stream that material directly to fox11online.com."

Adjacent to the Assignment Desk is the Ingest Center. FOX 11 journalists use the area to access computers and upload digital video and text. The Ingest Center links this material to the station's video servers. Journalists can then edit the material simultaneously for multiple platforms; online, mobile or broadcast.

"It will truly allow us to gather, produce and deliver more local content to all of our multimedia platforms," Zollar said.

The FOX 11 Severe Weather Lab is located near the Assignment Desk. New technology, that includes live cameras that actually drop down from the ceiling, allow meteorologists to "go live" at any time of day.

In another area of the News and Content Center, is a wall of HD monitors, the largest is 54 inches. The "monitor wall" as it is dubbed, is a presentation area where FOX 11's journalists can conduct live reports for the newscasts. Centered on the "monitor wall" are three large monitors which can be programmed to web sites, maps or any of the television stations many remote cameras. When news breaks, this area, like the FOX 11 Severe Weather Lab, can go on air with a "flick of the switch."

The Sports department attracts a great deal of attention with its four large HD television screens. Journalists are able to monitor and record sporting events from across Northeast Wisconsin and around the world. The sports staff is also able to write text, edit video, and upload the content to the web, all from the same space.

Inside the FOX 11 News and Content Center, journalists share ideas in two uniquely different conference rooms. One large room features a creative element of lounge-style theater seating with side arm tablets. This conference room includes state of the art HD technology and computer inter-connectivity. The space is designed to serve as a creative environment for story discussion. A smaller conference features a more traditional table and chair setting. It is designed for post-newscast and planning meetings.

The FOX 11 News and Content Center also houses the WLUK-TV Art Department, which provides graphics and videos for the station's multiple platforms.

WLUK-TV FOX 11 is owned by LIN Television which operates 27 television stations in 17 different markets nationwide. The company is based in Providence, Rhode Island.

The $2.2 million project broke ground last summer. It was constructed as an addition to the WLUK-TV studios at 787 Lombardi Avenue, in Ashwaubenon. Construction services were provided by The Selmer Group. Selmer's Senior Project Manager Tom Tennessen coordinated the nine month project, while Gary Huc provided on site construction supervision. Carl Winnekins of The Architects Group Limited, of Green Bay, designed the building. The Austin Company based in Ohio provided initial consulting services. VerHalen Commercial Interiors offered guidance on the building's interior design.