It's always been hard to tune into Harvard-Radcliffe Television (HRTV). Those crazy fellows who run around the first-year activities fair with a camera and microphone usually disappear soon after.

And unless you happen to be hanging around Loker Commons on a Tuesday night, chances are you haven't seen any of the shows produced by the 60-member organization.

But if HRTV President Adam G. Kosberg '00 has his way, that's all about to change.

With the assistance of a wealthy benefactor, HRTV is embarking on a project that will beam its programming into every student dorm room via the Internet. This new technology, called multicasting, will allow students across the Harvard network to access HRTV programming at regularly scheduled times. HRTV executives hope that students will be watching "Ivory Tower" on their laptops by the end of April, if college administrators comply.

This would be, by all accounts, a tremendous accomplishment for an organization that has been struggling to find a regular audience among Harvard's cable-impaired student body.

The Loker Difference

HRTV was founded in 1990 as a way for undergraduates to get experience in television production, according to former vice president and HRTV mainstay Mandel N. Ilagan '99.

Its first few years, however, were marked by a paucity of productions, and the showing of HRTV programs was limited to House common rooms in the month of April. The audiences were about as slim as the offerings.

The creation of Loker is 1996 was a "boon" for the group, according to Murad S. Hussain '99, former HRTV president. With the introduction of a central location to show its work, HRTV kicked into a higher gear.

Two of the most popular shows were created during the Loker years. "Survey Says," a Family Feud-like game show filmed in the Science Center, was an early success and "TCR," a sketch comedy show, soon followed.

In addition, HRTV moved from its smaller offices into a new studio, housed in and funded by Pforzheimer (then North) House.

With their new digs and support from wealthy Cantabrigian Robert O. Doyle, a former affiliate of North House, the quality of HRTV productions couldn't help but improve.

But as long as shows have been confined to one screen in Loker, HRTV members have been disappointed with the audience turnout.

Ivory What?

It usually takes a few weeks to develop a script for the soap opera "Ivory Tower," and each episode takes about two weekends to film, according to producer and cast member Carrie-Ann Dedeo '00.