The Nittany Newsline, a Penn State cable station just one month old, is a classic story of one door closing and another one opening.

When WRSC-AM radio station stopped putting out a campus news channel about two years ago, State College resident and former WRSC-AM employee Jerry Fisher realized an opportunity to start a new cable channel designed for Penn State and the surrounding community.

Fisher is now the owner of Nittany Newsline. The channel contains information, such as local and national news, sports and weather. It is available on two local cable carriers, Penn State cable and Telebeam, Inc. cable systems (TBI).

Nittany Newsline reaches the dorms, offices, the Nittany Lion Inn, The Bryce Jordan Center and other areas that are connected to the Penn State cable system. It is channel 23 on Penn State cable. On TBI cable it is channel four.

The Newsline is a sole proprietorship of Fisher's. Fisher approached Fred Fotis, director of housing and food services, about starting up the channel and the idea was chosen out of other offers.

"It looked like he was going to provide a station more toward Penn State then the other offers," Fotis said.

Fisher took out a loan from the bank, bought equipment and, with the help of his wife and others, started the Nittany Newsline in September.

"The goal is to continue to grow and find new ways to serve Penn State University," Fisher said. "It's a fun channel for the viewers."

One way of fulfilling his goal is to include entertainment sections, plus contests where the winners can win different prizes so the channel is not only for news purposes.

On Fridays, Fisher gives away pizza from Domino's Pizza. Viewers can e-mail Fisher their name that will then be drawn from a hat. Winners receive five pizzas from Domino's. In the future, he plans to have a "fitness tip of the day" or a "studying tip of the day," and also give away more Penn State-related prizes like souvenirs and other helpful items for students.

Another feature is a Campus Notes section, which lists news and notes for Penn State only. The sponsor of the segment is the Student Book Store, 330 E. College Ave.

Keeping news updated and new is a high priority for Fisher.

A student who wakes up in the morning does not expect to see the same news stories then what they saw the night before, and when they come home from class or work in the afternoon they don't expect to see the same news from that morning. They expect updated and new information, Fisher explained. The Newsline is updated two or three times daily.

While no students are involved with the Newsline now, in the future Fisher hopes to hire students and have interns to assist in work, such as writing and covering meetings and press conferences.

"It's a place where all Penn State can go to find something out," said Fisher. "We're trying to make it appealing and a way to go for information."

Fisher is looking for suggestions, ideas and comments to make the Newsline more acceptable to Penn State and the community. His e-mail address is jhf10@psu.edu.