By Maraithe Thomas, News Staff
Boston, with its wealth of college students and young professionals, is becoming increasingly savvy as a result of its young population. This demographic is eager to go out, have fun and explore the treasures of the big city.
And while there’s plenty of nightlife coverage to satisfy this lifestyle in magazines such as The Improper Bostonian and Lola, there isn’t really a market for it on television.
At least there wasn’t until former editor of Boston Common Magazine, Terri Stanley noticed this void and decided to do something about it, she said. Putting her magazine skills to work in a TV setting, Stanley created styleboston, which premiered on New England Cable News (NECN) two weeks ago.
‘They do a much better job in print than they do in television in Boston,’ said Stanley. ‘I think people are starving for it.’
Despite the show’s name, it’s not only about fashion. The half-hour show also covers arts, activities, leisure and music. And because it broadcasts on NECN, the crew can travel across New England looking for the freshest material.
‘You can do it, you can wear it, you can eat it, you can visit it,’ Stanley said. ‘That’s the point of styleboston.’
And for Northeastern students, they’ve already covered a lot of ground right around campus. A segment on the Sept. 9 show took the hosts to Berklee’s Cafe 939, a small music venue at 939 Boylston St. The segment included interviews with the musicians, the booking agent and patrons, providing an intimate view into the club that would have been impossible to convey the same way in print. Last night, they covered a new jazz club opening at 604 Columbus Ave. called Stork Club.’
Stanley said that during her three-year stint at Boston Common Magazine, there was so much lifestyle and arts news that didn’t make it to TV. When she tried unsuccessfully to pitch arts and entertainment news to local TV stations, she decided she would broadcast these events herself.’
Stanley said she recognized that Boston is a college town at its core and capitalized on that population.
‘If [college students] are attending a city college, they want to know what’s going on,’ said Stanley. ‘It’s not like they’re up in Vermont. They’re looking for things to do.’
The show makes its rounds with about five regular segments, each with its own personable host: ‘ ‘Detour,’ a segment about off-the-beaten-path activities, ‘Scene Spotter,’ covers hot venues and scenes, ‘Fashion Forward’ is the fashion segment and ‘Power Player’ focuses on an important figure in the Hub, like Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who was interviewed on the show last week.’
Stanley said that the value of styleboston is its takeaway. Students, young professionals and Boston residents should be able to watch the show and either gain useful knowledge (like how to find your correct bra size, ladies) or have a cool new idea about something to do in the city.
‘It’s one thing reading about fashion, but I would watch if it was short and sweet,’ said Audrey Bigham, a middler communication studies major. ‘And all the shows for college kids are on way later, so it wouldn’t conflict with anything.’
Styleboston airs Wednesday nights at 7:30 p.m. on NECN, channel 19 on HuskyCable.
