The national TV talk show “Politically Incorrect” may be doomed on ABC, but its new Student Senate off shoot – “Friendly Fire” – is just starting on TV10.

On Thursday a four-person panel taped the first production of the show, which will air during the 15-minute filler spaces between movies shown on the campus television channel.

“The TV station is a great way to get issues out into the open,” said senior Dan Meyer, the host of the show.

Meyer created the idea for the show while on Senate’s Public Relations Commission earlier this semester. He based its format on comedian Bill Maher’s show “Politically Incorrect.” New “Friendly Fire” shows will be taped every two weeks for the rest of the semester, Meyer said.

The first show focused on differential tuition, which is a $50-per-semester fee UW-Eau Claire students pay for campus programs, such as internships, capstone and service-learning.

Senate decides the amount of differential funding each program receives and is looking at how the programs are doing due to requests to raise the differential fee level.

The shows’ panelists, Senate Finance Commission director Nate Otto, Academic Affairs Commission director Craig Smith and The Spectator managing editor Jess Mortwedt, varied on the issue. The panel disagreed over whether the student fee should fund certain programs to whether a fee increase is needed.

The difference of views is something Meyer is striving to bring to the program. Depending on the issue, the show will invite different student and faculty panelists, he said.

Meyer created the show because there is only one major form of campus media -the student newspaper – to reach students about issues, he said. Being an advertising major, Meyer said he works with all forms of media and thought an informative show on TV10 would be worthwhile for students.

“Hopefully it’s something that can become a regular feature,” said Student Senate Vice President Matt Flaten, who headed the Public Relations Commission last Senate session.

The TV10 format will make campus issues even more accessible to students and easier to present different views, Flaten said.

“(Senate) just needed to get the word out more with people,” he said.

Getting the actual words out in front of the camera, though, proved to take more of an effort for some peopleat first while apprearing on Thursday’s show..

“It’s really tough when you finally get on TV and see yourself,” Meyer said after the first taping. “It’s a lot harder than it looks.”