School Video News Magnolia High School

Tell us about your background and how you decided to start teaching TV/Video production?

I have a bachelor’s degree in speech communications with a minor in psychology. I started teaching at Magnolia High school in 1999. I taught the state required speech course and debate. I also ran the speech and debate team for 5 years. A good friend of mine, who also taught speech, Kathrina Martin, put together a proposal to start a broadcast journalism class about 5 years ago. She resigned due to personal issues about 2 ½ years ago and asked to take over the program. I have a lot of respect for her and wanted to ensure the programs future and success. I have a teaching certificate in speech and journalism, and I have done a lot of training for the video production portion of the class.

How did you obtain initial funding for your program? How do you fund the class now?

Initial funding was achieved from our very supportive school district. We currently fund the program through generous support from our Technology director Rob Miller and district provided budgets. We also do a lot of fundraising to help the kids attend various competitions, and training.

Did you have equipment available?

We started with a few cameras, tripods, a light kit, and basic PC’s with Pinnacle edition five and a classroom As of this year we have moved up to 6 I Macs with Final Cut Studio, we have about 10 cameras, 5 Prosumer quality and 5 basic consumer grade. We have several lights, mics, and more. We have 2 classrooms one for editing and one which serves as a studio. We are slowly growing and expanding the program.

How many kids are in the TV/Video Production classes? How is it broken down? Is it a multi-year program?

We have Broadcast Journalism 1,2,3 and 4. Each class is a year lon gand they build upon each other. In the past it was just for 10^th-12^th grades. Next year Freshman will be allowed to take the course. We currently have about 60 students involved in the program. I also have an editing lab period, which students can take for additional editing time.

Can you tell us a little more about the sessions: How long are the classes? How many students? What types of projects?

The classes are about 55 minutes long and I have 4 broadcast classes, 1 speech class, a planning period, and an edit lab period for a total of a seven period day. Each class has anywhere between 10-17 students in it. Students do a wide variety of projects depending on the year they are in. These projects include daily announcements, special Friday Shows, short 5-10 minute films, music videos, PSA’s, commercials, news stories, educational videos, projects for the district and many more.

How many kids to do the morning news broadcast? Do you also do a weekly broadcast? Special events coverage?

We do daily announcements 5 days a week. At the end of the announcements we showcase special reports or projects. On Fridays we have a Friday show that is prepared by our advance classes which airs after the announcements. Friday shows are generally 10 minute shows that are either like a news magazine, tv show, spoof or something of that sort. We also will do projects for the district filming and editing talent shows, senior video for awards shows, parent information videos. We also produce and air commercials for local businesses and school organizations.

What jobs do the kids do? Do the kids rotate through on-air talent and crew positions or are they “hired” for a specific task?

All kids participate in all of the activities of the program. They rotate through out the various duties and learn to do all aspects of our broadcasts

Do students audition for on-air positions?

No auditions are necessary since they all have to do it at some point

Do they write the content?

For all of their news stories, Friday shows and special projects, they write all of the content. For the daily announcements, they are sent to us pre written.

How long does the show run?

Our shows run from 5-15 minutes depending on the content for the day.

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