HDS Media Studio
Divinity Hall, the oldest of HDS’s buildings, contains multitudes. Home to classrooms, offices, and the Emerson Chapel, Divinity Hall also houses one of HDS’s newer spaces, the media studio. The media studio was established in 2023 to enhance HDS’s digital storytelling capabilities and maximize the School’s reach to a global audience. Operated jointly by HDS Communications and HDS IT/Media Services, the space is a resource primarily for faculty projects and communications efforts to elevate the expertise and scholarship of the School.
The media studio enables direct connections with news agencies around the world; this is important technically and for getting HDS expertise out into the public more easily. When HDS faculty members are asked to appear on a news segment to offer their insights on a particular topic, the media relations team helps them do so from campus. HDS’s equipment streams directly into news agencies and allows for producers of segments and talent to have clear lines to each other as if they were in the same space, increasing the School’s visibility in line with industry standards.
The soundproof room’s video equipment, adjustable lighting, backdrops, and teleprompter also make it possible to professionally record leadership remarks, faculty features, and interviews with members of the HDS community such as Professor Francis X. Clooney, S.J. and Professor Monica Sanford. Faculty interviews are presented across social media channels, enabling prospective HDS students to view content that offers a window into the HDS experience.
Professional audio recording equipment supports HDS podcasts, including the student-run Praxis podcast and Hope Podcast, as well as Harvard Religion Beat and Faculty Focus. The audio equipment also enables faculty interviews, such as Professor Terrence Johnson’s conversation with Brown University Professor Corey Brettschneider.
HDS promotes intellectual excellence, educating scholars for a complex world. The media space helps to tell stories about this work, amplifying voices of faculty, leadership, and students to a variety of audiences around the globe.
—by Sarah Rubin