Tuggle was hired in July of 1999 to team with Simpson in planning the program during the fall semester. The show began taping in February of 2000, shortly after the School of Journalism and Mass Communication moved to Carroll Hall. UNC did not have a weekly news show before the spring semester of 2000. Tuggle, now the news director, and Simpson, the production manager, advise a staff of more than 30 students and volunteers who meet weekly to produce the show. The staff is mostly a volunteer effort, although some students participate in it as a class that has several prerequisites.
Most participants are journalism majors or at least have a strong interest in broadcasting.
The technical and the reporting side. We have around thirteen reporters that do stories during the week and don't have a lot to do on Wednesdays. Other positions on the staff include one director, an assignment manager, several camera people and a managing editor. Several graduate students also work with the show editing the teleprompter and script. Tuggle, whose background is in TV news, estimates that the students and advisors collectively log close to 250 hours in the production of one show.