College television at German higher education institutions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

Higher education institutions (HEIs) create a range of media products. Among them are college media produced by students. Even though this heterogeneous media form exists throughout Germany and is therefore part of HEIs’ public visibility, it remains unnoticed in the field of higher education communication. This study aims to examine the specific type of college television (CTV) in terms of organizational and editorial structures and altered workflows due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study combines a two-wave online survey among all operating German CTV stations in 2017 and 2021 with a qualitative social media analysis of twelve stations. In 2017, intra-curricular CTV operations rated a higher satisfaction level than extra-curricular cases, whereby the explicit support and cooperation with the HEI scores better. The data shows that CTV operations with an intra-curricular linkage to the respective HEI enjoyed a more stable continuity than extra-curricular operations, some of which were forced to cease production over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has limited the CTV operations’ workflows in terms of access to equipment and social exchange but has also stimulated a shift in topic selection and distribution strategy.