30 seconds to show. Queue open. Ready camera two. Counting down in 3…2…1…roll intro.
From the outside looking in, you may think you dropped into the production setup of a major daytime television show. The lights are shining bright, the teleprompter is queued up, and the professional-grade production cameras are in place. But the men and women behind the scenes of this show aren’t seasoned veterans. The crew running the audio board is doing it for the first time. And the “host” is making their on-camera debut. No, this isn’t a full-scale talk show; this is a television production class lead by 2004 Maine-Endwell grad, and SUNY Broome Professor Chris Keaty.
For Keaty, it’s hard to find a time over the past 20 years where he hasn’t been either behind a camera, directing a newscast, or in front of a classroom. Following his time at M-E, he’d attend SUNY Oswego, where he’d eventually land a job working for FOX-40, later acting as a director for full-scale newscasts. A short time later, while still working in news, Keaty found himself in the teaching field, as an adjunct professor at SUNY Broome. Fast forward to 2018, and the ’04 grad would become a full-time adjunct, culminating more recently with the official title of professor.
“This was never my original plan, but then you start doing it, and you realize you can make an impact,” said Keaty.
Over the years, Keaty has shared his knowledge of television production with hundreds of students through classes such as filmmaking, intro to mass media, writing for the media, TV and video production, and social media. Since his tenure began in 2011, dozens of his former students have gone onto careers at all four major news stations, in the Broome County area and beyond.
“You get students who go on to become famous reporters, especially in TV where you get to see the news all the time. It’s definitely rewarding. It’s what keeps you going. It’s not like I’m doing anything special. I just like seeing them succeed,” said Keaty.
Keaty’s love for video production and photography started at a young age. When he wasn’t spending time in the M-E photography dark room, he was making skateboard videos with friends, practicing for hours to show off his best tricks with all of the best cinematography behind it.
“That I think just started to open up my eyes. We used to skateboard, and anyone who had a video camera, we we’re trying to be skateboard rockstars, filming our tricks. Those classes developed a respect for image,” said Keaty.
The SUNY Broome professor says his time spent in the district was invaluable for getting him to where he is today.
“You don’t think about it at the time, because you’re in high school, but I am definitely grateful that I went to a school like Maine-Endwell. You don’t realize it at the time, but definitely later in life you realize what a great school that is specifically. The teachers were great. I had a teacher who later went onto become Teacher of the Year, Mrs. Murat. There’s a reason for that,” said Keaty.
Keaty has spent more than a decade championing the importance of local journalism. It’s a passion that extends to his students, and years later, that hard-work continues to pay off. The M-E alum was recently named a Center for Community News Faculty Champion, one of only 38 nominees across the nation.
“That was a big moment in my career. For so long, I’ve been trying to get the student newspaper and trying to reinforce the importance of journalism, because you can’t really have a responsible democracy without journalism, and what we always need is responsible students who are interested and want to be a part of journalism. We spent a lot of time trying to place students in TV news stations, or the paper, and it was definitely a cool thing because it kind of came out of nowhere,” said Keaty.
You can watch Keaty’s television production class's student-lead show Broome Up Front live here.
We’re so excited to continue celebrating alumni like Keaty and all of their successes!