Alexis Friedman/The Hofstra Chronicle
This spring, Hofstra commemorates 20 years of the Hofstra Entertainment Access Television, also known as the HEAT Network. To celebrate two decades of production, the HEAT Network produced an hour-long special on March 13, commemorating its history and development over the years.
The HEAT Network is Hofstra University’s student-run television organization within the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. Open to all students on campus, the network provides members with a creative outlet to produce television content and showcase their talents.
What started out with a modest beginning has evolved into a complex and sophisticated network of student-produced shows. “It is the greatest network in all of Hempstead, New York,” said Mark Melton, a student host and sophomore drama major, when describing how far the network has come in the past 20 years. This special looks back on the early inspiration for and developments of the HEAT Network that have led it to become what it is today. It also focuses on the major impact the network has made on students over the years.
The twenty-year special was hosted by Melton and Caitlyn Moran, a senior film major. “This special is about promoting the great work accomplished here at the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication,” Moran said.
The event kicked off by introducing each of the five shows Hofstra students produce within the HEAT Network, which include “Thursday Nite Live,” “Director’s Cut,” “Sports Beat,” “Two Weeks’ Notice” and “Hofstra Today.”
The HEAT Network interviewed various alumni who were responsible for the creation and inspiration of the network twenty years ago.
Co-founders of the network, Samantha Lipman-Porter, class of 2002, and Rachel Avery, class of 2003, provided insight into the beginnings of the HEAT Network and how it originated.
“How can we make a studio with all the amazing talent we have at Hofstra?” Lipman-Porter said when recalling the inspiration behind the network. “It was honestly just a bunch of kids trying to figure out how to create a channel and how to create different shows … It was the start of many people’s careers,” she said.
The spark that drove the HEAT Network to where it is today is “Thursday Nite Live,” which was aimed to be a spinoff of late-night talk shows while also drawing inspiration from “Saturday Night Live.”
During the beginning stages of the network, the students didn’t have the framework or structure, according to Avery, and the development was like “building a plane as it was flying.” The group of students aimed to have fun and achieve the task they had given themselves.
After a year of production, the group desired to create more content that could be produced on a monthly, weekly and bi-weekly basis to expand the network. Creating more content and coming up with new ideas was an immediate challenge the students knew they had to explore.
But the real incentive to spend time on the network was “to just be at [the Lawrence Herbert School of Communication], with my friends, laughing, creating something amazing,” Lipman-Porter said.
“It is a huge accomplishment to be able to have something so significant that started 20 years ago that is still around today,” Avery said “I am really proud of what each class has done since then and the changes they’ve made. It truly is a testament to the education we receive.”
The special dives further into the creation, development and success of each show the HEAT Network produces and how they came to be. Many current and former students within the network credit faculty advisor of the HEAT Network, Peter Gershon, for his consistent support and guidance over the years.
“My job involves keeping an eye on the totality of what HEAT is,” Gershon said. He works with the producers of each show and helps resolve any issues during production. He has assisted with the student-run network since it first began and continues to do so.
“It was started by a bunch of really adventurous students … They were really an awesome bunch,” Gershon said. “It came as a real pleasant surprise that we had suddenly arrived at the 20th anniversary.” He said that he is blessed and lucky to have been a part of making the HEAT Network what it is today.
The HEAT Network’s pioneering segment, “Thursday Nite Live,” has continued to develop and even gain national recognition through its continued production over the years. In March 2020, the show won the national 2020 College Television Award for best variety show, presented by “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon. The honors are presented by the Television Academy Foundation, the charitable arm of the Television Academy, which produces the Emmy Awards each year.
The HEAT Network has had an impact on students throughout the 20 years of production that has led to lifelong friendships and industry experience. “I have learned more with my time at the HEAT Network than I have in any of my classes,” said Cassidy Slamin, a senior communications major.
Various alumni also agree that being a part of HEAT was the most influential and enjoyable part of their college career, as shown on the HEAT Network website. Along with the noteworthy experiences HEAT has provided students, it has also helped and continues to help many students with job opportunities through its esteem in the collegiate television network industry.
