Fourth Estate
JACKSON TWP — The front corner of Seneca Valley Senior High School is home of the Seneca Scout, a weekly broadcast news show run completely by students.
A class of eight puts together the show from scratch each week, finding and writing stories, producing video packages, running the cameras and other equipment and getting in front of the camera to report the news.
The class is called video production 2b: broadcast news, said Dan McKosky, the video production teacher. It's a semester-long course teaching students everything about broadcast news.
Sarah Donaldson, a senior, said the class has helped her realize her passion for the news and broadcast journalism.
She likes that the Scout has allowed her to delve into different types of news and given her experience in anchoring, something she hopes to do at her college TV station.
“I love this class,” she said. “I think the news is really important. I've written international news stories, national news stories.”
Students each write a story for the weekly broadcast and take turns producing the show. McKosky said he also tries to rotate the students through the various on-camera and behind-the-scenes technical positions including camera, teleprompter, audio and graphics.
But the class does more than just teach them about putting on a news show, students say. Jack Reynolds, a senior, said he's also learned the importance of working together and leadership. He hopes to go to college and pursue sports broadcasting.
Jack noticed that producing the show takes a different leadership style than just telling people what to do. It takes a lot of planning and preparation to put the show together, in addition to working with other students to make changes and improvements to their individual stories.
“There's a lot more you'll learn than just video, how to write news, find good sources, how to work with other people,” Jack said.
McKosky said the students learn time management, communication skills and teamwork.
“They have a lot of individual responsibilities,” McKosky said. “But they would fail if one person didn't do his or her job.”
It takes a whole week to put together the broadcast. The first part is dedicated to planning, research and writing, McKosky said. The students cover both hard and soft news, reporting on international, national and local news stories.
Liz Koromaus, a senior, said the class starts by finding reputable news sites online and looks for stories that are not popular or mainstream.
By Wednesday, all stories should be done, so the producer can put together the script for the show.
On Thursday, students do a run-through to work out any kinks, and Friday is show day. They have the 40-minute class period to get set up and record the show, McKosky said. Some shows are 15 minutes long and done straight through.
“It's like live to tape,” he said. All shows and videos produced by the Seneca Scout can be found online at http://svtv3.webnode.com/seneca-scout/ or on the SenecaValleyTV YouTube channel.
Those who are not comfortable being in front of the camera don't have to anchor, McKosky said, but he encourages everyone to try it out.
Additionally, each student creates a more complex video package each nine weeks. Each student is in control of the content they create, McKosky said. Students can write about whatever they are interested in whether that be politics, sports, entertainment or history.
“Even with eight kids, all their interests are different,” he said. “It appeals to whatever you're interested in.”
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Sarah Donaldson, a senior, said the class has helped her realize her passion for the news and broadcast journalism.She likes that the Scout has allowed her to delve into different types of news and given her experience in anchoring, something she hopes to do at her college TV station.“I love this class,” she said. “I think the news is really important. I've written international news stories, national news stories.”Students each write a story for the weekly broadcast and take turns producing the show. McKosky said he also tries to rotate the students through the various on-camera and behind-the-scenes technical positions including camera, teleprompter, audio and graphics.But the class does more than just teach them about putting on a news show, students say. Jack Reynolds, a senior, said he's also learned the importance of working together and leadership. He hopes to go to college and pursue sports broadcasting.Jack noticed that producing the show takes a different leadership style than just telling people what to do. It takes a lot of planning and preparation to put the show together, in addition to working with other students to make changes and improvements to their individual stories.“There's a lot more you'll learn than just video, how to write news, find good sources, how to work with other people,” Jack said.McKosky said the students learn time management, communication skills and teamwork.“They have a lot of individual responsibilities,” McKosky said. “But they would fail if one person didn't do his or her job.”It takes a whole week to put together the broadcast. The first part is dedicated to planning, research and writing, McKosky said. The students cover both hard and soft news, reporting on international, national and local news stories.Liz Koromaus, a senior, said the class starts by finding reputable news sites online and looks for stories that are not popular or mainstream.By Wednesday, all stories should be done, so the producer can put together the script for the show.On Thursday, students do a run-through to work out any kinks, and Friday is show day. They have the 40-minute class period to get set up and record the show, McKosky said. Some shows are 15 minutes long and done straight through.“It's like live to tape,” he said. All shows and videos produced by the Seneca Scout can be found online at http://svtv3.webnode.com/seneca-scout/ or on the SenecaValleyTV YouTube channel.Those who are not comfortable being in front of the camera don't have to anchor, McKosky said, but he encourages everyone to try it out.Additionally, each student creates a more complex video package each nine weeks. Each student is in control of the content they create, McKosky said. Students can write about whatever they are interested in whether that be politics, sports, entertainment or history.“Even with eight kids, all their interests are different,” he said. “It appeals to whatever you're interested in.”
