Brownwood Intermediate School’s Gifted and Talented Program is looking toward the exciting field of journalism. When faced with the issue of daily announcements and spreading news around the campus, the team in charge of the approximately 60 students decided it just might be best to let the kids handle it.
In what will be an educational and collaborative challenge for the students, a “news station” is being created at the Intermediate School, where students will not only find the news, interview faculty and students, edit footage and post the resulting video, but will create commercials to create an entire broadcast of late-breaking news from BISD. These broadcasts will be posted on the website for the students, their families, and the community to watch.
But first, they have to learn how to do it.
In order to begin preparing the 5th and 6th graders for their new venture into the world of media and communications, KTAB reporters Josh Berry and Austin Kellerman spoke with the GT Program students on Wednesday, September 28th. Berry and Kellerman gave instruction, advice and a basic introduction to reporting.
While answering questions and giving applicable, real-world examples, Berry and Kellerman spent an hour explaining the fundamentals of planning, researching, and creating news. They explained the importance of ethics — if a story is right, fair, and reasonable to air — and how to pick a noteworthy piece of news. They emphasized teamwork, working together to produce a product, and how to pay attention and listen to what is going on in order to find a story. They also highlighted the importance of planning ahead, preparing research and questions, and how to act during an interview.
Berry and Kellerman gave examples of how to set up and record interviews and news stories, pulling students from the audience to illustrate. They informed the students of the on-screen “rule of thirds,” lighting and audio issues, and to be mindful of what is going on in each shot. And above all, “learn from what you’re doing,” Berry said, “and learn from your mistakes. Your job is to make it look professional.”
The GT students will be using Flip video cameras to record interviews and to film the news reports, and then will edit using iMovie on the campus MacBooks. BIS faculty hope to begin with weekly or bi-weekly broadcasts, and will possibly look into daily announcements further on as the program advances.
“We wanted to change the way we do the program,” said Christine Moore, a BIS teacher. “The students get a chance to work collaboratively, to find their strengths, and to have more opportunities. We want to start here at the Intermediate School and later get out into the community…but they have to learn how to do it all first.”
