Former Montgomery resident now runs college TV channel

Boston University operation is largest in New England

By: Jake Uitti
   MONTGOMERY — At the age of 20, Jason Marcus, a student at Boston University and former Montgomery Township resident, has already created and currently runs the largest college television channel in New England.
   "I made it my goal to create a student-run television station as soon as I decided to attend Boston University," said Mr. Marcus, who attended Montgomery High School until his junior year. "BU has one of the best communication programs in the country and I thought it was crazy that the school did not already have a television outlet for student work."
   When he arrived as a freshman in the fall of 2003, Mr. Marcus became involved with the university’s student television production organization — now called Growling Dog Productions.
   "I spoke to as many faculty members, administrators and student leaders as possible, in order to gain an understanding for what had — or had not — been accomplished with regard to a student channel," said Mr. Marcus, who now devotes over 40 hours per week to the station.
   "It turned out that, while there had been much talk over the years, certain administrative and financial restraints had made the creation of a student channel a far-off idea," he added.
   In the spring of 2004, due to his outspoken interest, he said, he was among five students asked to join the dean of student’s Cable Committee, along with several campus administrators. The group’s purpose, he said, was to determine the feasibility, interest, cost and timeline for the installation of "cable on campus."
   By January 2005, a television system was installed in most dorms and buildings at the university, Mr. Marcus said. Along with this system, a number of channels were set aside for university programming, including one for a student station.
   "At the same time, I co-created, along with three other students, ‘BU Tonight,’ a late-night comedy talk show, for Growling Dog Productions," Mr. Marcus said. "The program continues to produce a new show every week. Guests from this year include the pop trio Hanson, Olympian Mike Eruzione and comedian Pauly Shore."
   In the summer of 2005, Mr. Marcus began working with Professor Christopher Cavalieri, the then-untitled student station’s faculty adviser, to design the structure for the channel.
   "It was at that time that butv10: TerrierVision was born," Mr. Marcus said. "Between October 2005 and February 2006, we collected and packaged student materials; created new shows; designed programming guidelines and standards; created a programming schedule; formed a production crew and began filming campus events; created butv10’s identity, among many other tasks."
   But it wasn’t always a career in television production that was on his mind.
   In the fall of 2001, Mr. Marcus transferred from Montgomery High to the Professional Children’s School in Manhattan, where he graduated in May 2003.
   Throughout high school, he participated in musicals, including "Bye Bye Birdie," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "Peter Pan," where he played Captain Hook.
   Mr. Marcus has appeared in "A Christmas Carol" at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, as well as in "Lost in Yonkers" at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick.
   But, as he explained it, he decided to put his acting ambitions aside when he arrived at Boston University, where he majors in film and television at the university’s College of Communication.
   Upon graduation, Mr. Marcus plans to move to Los Angeles and pursue a career as a producer. But for now, it is the university’s student-run television station, butv10: TerrierVision, that is on his mind.
   The channel’s Web site is www.butv10.com.