A multi-decade veteran of the USC Annenberg community bid farewell to Wallis Annenberg Hall Thursday after a long career overseeing many innovations for students and faculty alike.
Charles “Chuck” Boyles, director of media technologies, has spent over 20 years as a member of the USC Annenberg staff. Boyles helped to develop numerous programs for the institution - Annenberg Radio News, Annenberg TV News and the current Media Center inside of Wallis Annenberg Hall all owe their inception to his efforts.
Boyles spoke to Annenberg Media about the early years of his career and discussed how he began his tenure with the University.
“I was going to radio-television school in Long Beach, and the head of the department was in touch with the head of the broadcast department at USC,” Boyles said. “They were looking for someone to help with video editing and studio production - I applied and got the job.”
The broadcast industry evolved rapidly during Boyles’ tenure with Annenberg, and keeping current with these changes was an important part of his duties.
“One of the reasons I’ve stayed here as long as I have… this is a great environment to keep up with all the different technologies as they were introduced,” Boyles said. “When I first came, we were editing tape-to-tape… we would physically have baskets of tape. Students would use their skateboards to race over from the ASC (Annenberg School of Communication) building to the studio to deliver them for the show.”
Boyles is responsible for many improvements to the Annenberg curriculum’s technology, and oversaw the implementation of non-linear editing, a change in the program.
“We had a weekly magazine show called ‘Impact’ when I first started, and around 1998 we started ATVN which was a nightly news program,” Boyles said. “I installed the Avid news cutters and worked on building the first studio for ATVN.”
The internet also became an important facet of journalism during Boyles’ career, and he helped to integrate this concept around the campus.
“I was also involved in building the Digital Lab, which was a training facility in the ASC building - after that, I built the first radio booth for Annenberg Radio News,” Boyles said.
The Media Center remains one of the biggest accomplishments of Boyles’ career, as he was directly involved with planning the construction of the Journalism program’s central hub.
“When they announced the donation for the building - they literally said it was going to house a state-of-the-art facility,” Boyles said. “I remember thinking, ‘As technology evolves… how in the world am I going to build state-of-the-art 10 years in the future?’”
The Media Center features multiple recording studios and a large newsroom for students to hone their craft - Boyles had a hand in deciding the layout and features of the facilities now used by hundreds of students each semester.
“Ten years ago I had a $10 million budget… It was a huge project. We spent about a year doing research and a year doing design,” Boyles said. “It was such a great experience working with the architect… you wouldn’t believe the time and energy that went into determining the exact size of the assignment desk (also known as the “halo”).”
Boyles attributes many of his positive experiences to the companionship and professionalism of his colleagues.
“I’m the most proud of the Media Center out of everything I’ve done here… one of the reasons Annenberg TV News has been so successful is because of the faculty,” Boyles said. “Serena Cha, Stacy Scholder… have taken the show so seriously. They treat the show like a major market.”
Cha and Scholder paid tribute to Boyles this week at events on campus.
Dean Willow Bay attended a cupcake send off for Boyles held in the Digital Lounge Wednesday. The room was decorated with archival photos and superhero characters as a nod to all Boyles has done for Annenberg. At the ceremony, Annenberg Associate Dean of Operations and Strategy James Vasquez thanked Boyles for all he’s done.
In an interview with Annenberg Media, Vasquez shared his thoughts on Boyles’ career accomplishments.
“I call Chuck our Annenberg ‘MacGyver’ - he had this uncanny ability to fix things and come up with mechanical or construction solutions to any issue,” Vasquez said. “Throughout his career, he accomplished a lot… from the design of the halo to the Studio C sets and the Studio A rotating set and lighting grid, Chuck’s legacy will remain in these spaces.”
The longtime technical supervisor is ending his career on a high note here and intends to pursue a career in the automotive field. Boyles reflected on his experiences before his farewell ceremony.
“There’s that expression, No regrets. There was a time when I first started here when I felt I should’ve moved onto other things,” Boyles said. “Right now, I’m grateful for my 28 years, and I wouldn’t give it up for anything.”