Stanford Video links Stanford with networks worldwide

Chances are that when a Stanford scholar is being ed by CNN, ABC, NBC or CBS, he or she is actually sitting comfortably in a Stanford studio, even as images are being broadcast to millions of people worldwide.

You are sitting on your couch at home watching CNN when, all of a sudden, you see a Stanford scholar being ed on a critical subject by the television news anchor.

Chances are that scholar is actually sitting comfortably on the Stanford campus in a small television studio off of Pampas Lane, even as his or her image is being broadcast to millions of people.

That scene is repeated about 500 times annually for radio and television outlets worldwide, thanks to the on-campus studios of Stanford Video.

The studio facilities, built in 2003 with support from the provost’s office, are the university’s 24/7 link to the dozens of national and international television and radio networks that regularly seek out such noted university scholars as mathematician Keith Devlin, Professor Cliff Nass or bioethicist Hank Greely.

Getting the word out

Besides Stanford faculty and researchers, well-known campus visitors ranging from the Dalai Lama to Yoko Ono also frequent the studio. Football legend Steve Young used to host an ESPN "chalk talk" Sunday mornings before each Stanford football game. Talk show host Charlie Rose once used the studio to conduct an with President John Hennessy.

Making scholars and visitors easily available to the media is "a way of getting more of the university known, as well as all of the great minds that are here," said Ryan Roberts, the director of studio operations who staffs most of the network feeds.

"We play a huge role in getting Stanford’s message out to everybody and the rest of the world, especially with the television feeds we do. All the stuff we capture on campus, events, lectures – it’s invaluable."

Since news is happening constantly worldwide, the studio is available for use all day and night, 365 days a year.

"All of the networks have my cell phone number," said Roberts. "I am on call 24/7. It’s not strange for me to be at work at 3 a.m. I always have to be ready to put someone in the chair. When news happens, someone has to be around to get it."

In the past 12 years, Roberts said, Stanford Video has turned down only a handful of network requests – and then only because of a lack of space. Currently, there are two studios to facilitate two broadcasts simultaneously.

Recently, Roberts began collecting autographs from many of the prominent people ed at the studio, including business executive Meg Whitman, actor Danica Mae McKellar from The Wonder Years and author Gore Vidal. Roberts wishes he had had the book when he shared a burrito with President Bill Clinton during the 2001 Stanford graduation of the former president’s daughter.