Behind the BNC makeover

Blair Network Communication (BNC) experienced a major makeover at the end of last year. Many Blazers have already noticed this year's changes to InfoFlow which include new intros and outros, faces and voices. However, many don't know the major changes BNC went through at the end of last year.

Luc Picone, the current co-executive, arrived at the end of last year to find that BNC needed a way to get its ideas off the ground. "[They had] a lot of ideas, but nothing concrete," Picone recounted. Picone sat down with Mayo and tried to see which ideas could develop more student interest in InfoFlow again. It was a slow process, but a confluence of factors gave BNC's makeover momentum. "The course was driven by the fact that there was a need for it to be started again and the right people came together at the right time," Picone stated. "Karuna, Mr. Mayo, and I organized and got the word out and built more ideas through a communal process."

Karuna Nandkumar, the other co-executive, walked into BNC with the intent of creating and proliferating solid ideas. "Before we actually started school, Luc, Trunk, Remzi, and I came in and wrote ideas on the board and sent out letters and contacted people to create a network of connections so that when we came in on the first day we knew we wanted to do," she said.

BNC's technical director, Nicholas Fechner-Mills, also played a critical role in remolding BNC. According to Picone, Fechner-Mills "single-handedly redesigned the entire studio." When it was clear that BNC did not have enough of a budget to buy new equipment and technical resources, Fechner-Mills stepped in and cleaned, restored and recreated the entire BNC studio.

BNC films a show each day for InfoFlow. Nandkumar, who directs the show live, explained that the new BNC is really centered on student expression. "Building a social media presence and building a platform that is for student expression is what BNC is about," Nandkumar stated.

As for long-term goals, BNC's co-executives want to build a community through film. "In the past decade, BNC has been a completely student-based independent group that has gained a lot of respect as a radio show," Picone said. "It's also a TV show that was just for Blair announcements. We're trying to learn and build from both of those aspects to create a student platform that's designed to completely represent and perform for both students and faculty."

BNC is working on new initiatives such a SilverStream, which showcases student talent and adds a personal and compelling angle to InfoFlow.