The Tennessee Association of Broadcasters sees its support of MTSU’s new media center as an investment in its own future.

A 2011 study by Woods & Poole Economics Inc. of Washington, D.C., found that $1.17 trillion of U.S. annual GDP (gross domestic product) originates in the commercial local radio and television industry. The study also found that 2.52 million jobs are attributable to the local radio and television industry annually. Direct employment is estimated at more than 300,000 jobs nationwide.

“That’s why MTSU’s new Center for Innovation in Media—and its students and graduates—have such a bright future ahead,” says Whit Adamson (‘71), president of the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters (TAB).

From its beginnings, TAB has also been a focal point for learning and teaching for the industry—a commitment evidenced once again through its generous Cornerstone donation to the MTSU media center project.

According to Adamson, MTSU students will benefit greatly from working in the center, given the ever-increasing demand for fluency across the digital broadcasting spectrum.

“The technology and consumer choices that are being created today, from multicasting to mobile TV to other high-quality programming, will be well served by these MTSU graduates,” Adamson says. “This center will provide the education and content development opportunities graduates will find necessary to serve America’s news innovations.”

Adamson also believes the new center, which houses MTSU’s television and radio enterprises under one roof, puts MTSU in a leadership role in the multidirectional broadcast news industry in Tennessee.

“MTSU students are educated in a real-world environment, employing all facets of electronic media and utilizing a skilled mix of professional and academic resources,” he says. “The cosmopolitan vibe of a major TV market like Nashville also exposes them to everything they are likely to encounter in their careers. It’s a perfect match.”