MSG Varsity gives thousands to school for site programming

MSG Varsity, including its TV network, online destination and on-demand Cablevision channel, continues to fund the Shelter Island School media program, even though the numbers of those learning to use video equipment are small.

The goal for MSG Varsity, launched in September 2009, is “to showcase all the positive things happening in tri-state area high schools,” said Jennifer McIntosh, vice president of public relations for MSG Varsity.

In spite of being given over $2,000 worth of equipment and packages totaling at least $9,000 over three years, it’s been difficult for many Shelter Island students to film sporting events, Jack Reardon, the media studies teacher in charge of the program, said in an interview.

To find students who have time to work behind a camera, Mr. Reardon needs to look for those who “don’t participate in sports, don’t participate in another club, don’t do anything else,” he said.

The same opinion was presented by Student Council President Megan Mundy at the Board of Education meeting on September 19, when the board renewed the MSG Varsity contract for another year. Superintendent/Principal Michael Hynes said at that time that it was important for students to take advantage of the MSG Varsity opportunity for the sake of the school’s athletes and because “MSG Varsity is the new thing.”

The website, MSGVarsity.com, is intended for those who follow high school sports on the web, including students and parents of those featured in the photos and videos, Ms. McIntosh said.

MSG Varsity also has a high school sports program on Channel 614, where stories by students are featured. The programming helps build and retain a customer base among Cablevision subscribers, she said. Parents of children featured on Cablevision want to remain subscribers rather than moving to another cable provider. “We’re a retention tool,” Ms. McIntosh said. The website does not carry advertising.

Of approximately 600 high schools where MSG Varsity is available, over half provide media for MSG Varsity, Ms. McIntosh said.

For schools that already own equipment, “We take it up a notch. We tailor it to what the school needs,” she said.

Last year, equipment donated to the school through the program included “a camera, tripod, microphone and Final Cut software,” Mr. Reardon said. “Final Cut is the software used by movie studios to make digital films,” he said. It was Mr. Reardon’s goal three years ago to have a program such as this one at the school. When MSG Varsity brought its proposal to then-Superintendent/Principal Sharon Clifford, she gave Mr. Reardon the project. “I was in the right place at the right time,” he said.

For the 2010-11 school year, “They offered $3,000 for the purchase of two Mac computers and a teacher stipend to run the after-school club,” Mr. Reardon said. “They also gave the school $3,000 retroactively for the year before last because they weren’t able to get to us due to internal legal problems.”

MSG Varsity awarded a $1,500 scholarship in June 2011 to Morgan Anderson, a senior recognized as an accomplished photographer, “even though she was not in a media class,” Mr. Reardon said. “She worked on the yearbook,” he said. The award was presented by MSG Varsity representative Lisa Farrell.

Mr. Reardon listed several students who were in his media production class last year: Katy Binder, Alexis Gibbs, Megan Mundy and David Oliver. This year, Carter Brigham and Shane Corbett are in his class. Matthew BeltCappellino was among those learning the new media provided by MSG Varsity last year who did not take media studies. Mr. Reardon described extensive training that MSG Varsity provides to teachers. “It’s professional. This resource is invaluable to me,” he said.

Teachers and students are encouraged to use an online upload tool to post sports photos and videos to the MSG Varsity website, Ms. McIntosh said. “We can only be so many places in so many days,” she said, so the site relies on contributions from individual schools.

The media entity is not part of Madison Square Garden. Cablevision was owner and operator of Madison Square Garden and its properties from 1997 until February 2010, when it became a separate, public company now called the Madison Square Garden Company. Cablevision reaches three million households in New York.