Pulse - Staff Standouts

The University of Oklahoma • Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Comunication

Staff Standouts
Techies, continued

GAYLORD TECHNOCRAT: Studio Engineer Monty Roberts uses his 30 years of technology experience, including time at Sony, to keep the college’s all-digital broadcast facilities operating smoothly year-round. Photo by Billy Adams

MONTY ROBERTS
The office of Monty Roberts in the broadcast wing of Gaylord Hall suggests that it is the work station of a busy man.

His tables and desks are covered with a jungle of tools, papers, hand sanitizer, writable CDs and a silver container reading, “Monty’s Thermos.” The latter suggests this man needs his coffee and wants it ever ready.

As the college’s only broadcast engineer, Roberts’ primary role is to provide maintenance and system support for all the broadcast equipment. That includes machines in the production studio – with state-of-the-art cameras and a green screen for productions and news – and a smaller studio in the convergence lab.He also oversees the servers, switchers, routers and other devices in the studio’s nerve center: the rack room.

He navigates the maze of 10 video-editing labs, the special graphics suite, the operational production control and audio control rooms with ease, identifying the dub racks, remote panels, studio cameras and tape machines as if they were old friends.

He says at least 18 rooms with some kind of technological element make up the broadcast area of the college.

With a background in broadcasting engineering, radio, digital television and broadcast sales – as well as 15 years of experience working at Sony Electronics – Roberts brings a wealth of experience and skill to his position.

Franklin, who works with Roberts daily, says his colleague is valuable in many ways.

“He is the sole source of tech support for the TV operation as well as the radio operation at TV4OU and The Wire,” Franklin says. “In terms of our day-to-day operation, he is really the go-to guy if we have a breakdown of some kind or a technical challenge of some sort.”

Keaton Fuchs, journalism junior and 2005-2006 production manager for TV4OU and The Wire, the college’s student-run radio programming broadcast via the Internet and cable audio channels, says Roberts has helped him with everything from television broadcast equipment to light bulbs.

“I’ve seen Monty work with all kind of students, whether it’s their first day on campus or they’re graduate students or they’re five- or six-year students,” Fuchs says. “He’s very easy to work with. It’s one of those things where we can go to Monty and three minutes later, it’s done. It’s never been any other way.”

Roberts says although he may not have an official teaching position, he enjoys working with students and employees to teach them as well as solve their equipment problems.

“I go from one fire to the next; whatever’s got the highest flame at the time is where I’m headed,” he says. “No two days are ever going to be alike in any sense. Over the long haul, probably 40 percent of my time is spent doing maintenance on individual pieces of equipment. Another 30 percent is spent on system-related problems. I don’t have a support staff. It’s just me.”

Roberts says working as Gaylord College’s broadcast engineer has been a dream come true. He started in 2003 when the studio was still just an idea. He worked with those who were building and equipping it to be sure it was the best facility possible.

“It just sounded like a lot of fun to me to build a new studio,” he says. “In my work at Sony, I was always on the other side of the business. I was in the position of coming in and advising and being a liaison between the customers and the integration engineers. Here, after we got the facility built, I got to stay and play with the toys. I’ve had this interest in technology for 30 years.”
Franklin says Roberts does a good job because he doesn’t speak technical “gobbledygook.”

“He can carry on a conversation in layman’s terms so that maybe someone who doesn’t have the tech speak can still communicate with us, whether it’s faculty or students,” Franklin says.

Almost every faculty and staff member and many students have stories of help, guidance and support from the two techies who keep the technology functioning in Gaylord Hall.

These two men understand that while technology is often cool in and of itself, if the machine doesn’t allow the user to accomplish his or her goal, it might as well not be plugged in.

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					The University of Oklahoma • Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Comunication
					Staff Standouts Techies, continued GAYLORD TECHNOCRAT: Studio Engineer Monty Roberts uses his 30 years of technology experience, including time at Sony, to keep the college’s all-digital broadcast facilities operating smoothly year-round. Photo by Billy Adams MONTY ROBERTS The office of Monty Roberts in the broadcast wing of Gaylord Hall suggests that it is the work station of a busy man. His tables and desks are covered with a jungle of tools, papers, hand sanitizer, writable CDs and a silver container reading, “Monty’s Thermos.” The latter suggests this man needs his coffee and wants it ever ready. As the college’s only broadcast engineer, Roberts’ primary role is to provide maintenance and system support for all the broadcast equipment. That includes machines in the production studio – with state-of-the-art cameras and a green screen for productions and news – and a smaller studio in the convergence lab.He also oversees the servers, switchers, routers and other devices in the studio’s nerve center: the rack room. He navigates the maze of 10 video-editing labs, the special graphics suite, the operational production control and audio control rooms with ease, identifying the dub racks, remote panels, studio cameras and tape machines as if they were old friends. He says at least 18 rooms with some kind of technological element make up the broadcast area of the college. With a background in broadcasting engineering, radio, digital television and broadcast sales – as well as 15 years of experience working at Sony Electronics – Roberts brings a wealth of experience and skill to his position. Franklin, who works with Roberts daily, says his colleague is valuable in many ways. “He is the sole source of tech support for the TV operation as well as the radio operation at TV4OU and The Wire,” Franklin says. “In terms of our day-to-day operation, he is really the go-to guy if we have a breakdown of some kind or a technical challenge of some sort.” Keaton Fuchs, journalism junior and 2005-2006 production manager for TV4OU and The Wire, the college’s student-run radio programming broadcast via the Internet and cable audio channels, says Roberts has helped him with everything from television broadcast equipment to light bulbs. “I’ve seen Monty work with all kind of students, whether it’s their first day on campus or they’re graduate students or they’re five- or six-year students,” Fuchs says. “He’s very easy to work with. It’s one of those things where we can go to Monty and three minutes later, it’s done. It’s never been any other way.” Roberts says although he may not have an official teaching position, he enjoys working with students and employees to teach them as well as solve their equipment problems. “I go from one fire to the next; whatever’s got the highest flame at the time is where I’m headed,” he says. “No two days are ever going to be alike in any sense. Over the long haul, probably 40 percent of my time is spent doing maintenance on individual pieces of equipment. Another 30 percent is spent on system-related problems. I don’t have a support staff. It’s just me.” Roberts says working as Gaylord College’s broadcast engineer has been a dream come true. He started in 2003 when the studio was still just an idea. He worked with those who were building and equipping it to be sure it was the best facility possible. “It just sounded like a lot of fun to me to build a new studio,” he says. “In my work at Sony, I was always on the other side of the business. I was in the position of coming in and advising and being a liaison between the customers and the integration engineers. Here, after we got the facility built, I got to stay and play with the toys. I’ve had this interest in technology for 30 years.” Franklin says Roberts does a good job because he doesn’t speak technical “gobbledygook.” “He can carry on a conversation in layman’s terms so that maybe someone who doesn’t have the tech speak can still communicate with us, whether it’s faculty or students,” Franklin says. Almost every faculty and staff member and many students have stories of help, guidance and support from the two techies who keep the technology functioning in Gaylord Hall. These two men understand that while technology is often cool in and of itself, if the machine doesn’t allow the user to accomplish his or her goal, it might as well not be plugged in. 1 • 2 Back to Top











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