For over 30 years, the television studio at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke has doubled as a classroom and laboratory, offering aspiring broadcast journalists like Asa Locklear a professional learning experience.

Locklear plans to leverage advanced technical skills as an audio engineer and student anchor to launch a sports talk show host career. Last week, Locklear joined fellow students, faculty and university leaders in a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the new broadcasting suite and podcasting lab equipped with a state-of-the-art lighting system, redesigned control room and new set.

“Having the opportunity to gain this experience while taking advantage of working with all new equipment will put me ahead of the game and prepare me for the professional world,” Locklear said in a press release.

Chancellor Robin Gary Cummings said the $450,000 upgrades and cutting-edge facilities will revolutionize media education at UNC Pembroke.

“The transformation is an investment in our students, their future and their ability to thrive in an increasingly digital world,” Cummings said in a press release. 

“This renovated studio, control room and podcasting space reflect our determination to give students the very best. And with this updated space, our mass communication students will gain a competitive edge. They’ll be learning in an advanced, modern facility that prepares them to compete upon graduation,” Cummings said in a press release.

Located in Old Main, the studio is home to a student-produced newscast, Carolina News Today, and a talk show, Comic Culture, the only student-run show in the UNC System being aired on PBS North Carolina. Mass Communication Department Chair Terence Dollard said the upgrades included installing robotic cameras in the podcasting lab and incorporating them into the control room and audio system. The facility was completely rewired, and new recording equipment was installed.

At UNCP, Dollard said students don’t have to wait to put theory into practice.

“It’s our philosophy that our students should have access to professional-level equipment,” Dollard said in a press release. “They shouldn’t have to wait until their senior year for the opportunity to use the equipment. We want students to use the equipment for the entire time they are at UNCP and build a resume that sets them apart from people who’ve gone to schools that cost three times as much as their education at UNCP would cost them.”

The TV studio has helped turn dreams into careers for former students like Newy Scruggs, a multiple Emmy-award-winning sportscaster for Dallas-Fort Worth’s NBC5. Other mass communication alumni have also found success, including Melina Savage, a Steadicam operator for Turner Sports and CNN, and Jeffrey Meunier, who has worked as an operator for ESPN for nearly 20 years.

Locklear hopes to join the department’s distinguished alumni rank upon graduation in spring 2026.

“Working on shows, like Comic Culture, has been a real eye-opening experience,” Locklear said in a press release. “UNCP is a golden nugget within the UNC System and across the state, regarding its high-quality mass communication department. As a student, I will take full advantage of this new technology because it is a blessing for our mass comm students and the entire student body.”