Middle School Teacher Keeps His School’s Newscast Alive Remotely
Happy Valley Middle School’s Media Arts teacher Steve Oliver was quick to act when his school switched to the online model during the COVID-19 crisis. He runs the school newscast to help lift the spirits of his school’s community. With the help of teachers, he has successfully increased viewership, engaged fellow teachers and students, and provided a therapeutic outlet for himself and others. It is not too often that middle schools offer a media arts program let alone have a news cast. Stream Semester spoke with Steve about his unique middle school news cast.
Crafting Innovative Student News Stories During School Closures
Since the state mandated stay-at-home orders went into effect, the students have been broadcasting their weekly news show and comedy special while virtually collaborating on story ideas and production. We spoke with television production teacher Elisia Harkins-James to learn more about how her students are staying creative with their newscast.
The Package: Creating the Perfect Newscast
The foundation of any TV newscast is its packages. That's because, if they are done well, packages have all the elements that bring a story alive: good pictures, interesting sound bytes, and a well-written script. If any of these elements is weak, the story may be downgraded (to a VOSOT or even a VO) or kept short. In other words, the quality of the video and the sound bytes often determines the length of a package.