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Television Production & Broadcast Journalism
Visualize This
You see that there is a shoe drive scheduled for next month, but you’ve
never heard of a shoe drive. Bingo! If you’ve never heard of it, many other
students at your school probably have never heard of it either. Just the
name, “shoe drive,” sounds odd enough to make you curious to fi nd out
more. You note the event information and seek out the sponsors.
It turns out that the shoe drive is a request for students to bring in old
shoes they no longer wear. The shoes are collected and donated to a charity
that gives them to people who need shoes.
You could write a story that merely announces the upcoming drive. Or, you
could use your curiosity to create an interesting package that might actually
increase the number of shoes collected in the drive. Perhaps you can go to the
charity shoot on-camera interviews with those involved in the drive. Maybe you
can contact some people who have been helped by the charity—they may not
be willing to have their faces on camera, but the story is about donating shoes,
anyway. Get footage of feet of all sizes, both with and without shoes.
You can either simply make an announcement, or you can
develop a thought-provoking feature story. And remember, it
all started with two words on an activity calendar in an offi ce:
“shoe drive.”
Go into the community outside the school building to discover peo-
ple and events in the local area. Visit craft fairs where artists and craft-
ers sell their work. Read the local newspaper to fi nd stories about local
people, events, and retailers. A story from the newspaper may be further
researched and enhanced with video to make a compelling package.
There are innumerable stories that can be written based on interviews
and activities surrounding the sports, music, theater, and art programs at
your school. Competitions are almost always news story topics because
they contain the element of conflict. Competition stories may include
Mathletes, science fair and social studies projects (may also showcase stu-
dents for achievement), or the band preparing for a marching competition,
and a follow-up story with the results of the competition. Any course that
involves visual classroom or laboratory activities, such as career and tech-
nology classes, can provide compelling video.
As course registration time comes around, small features may be writ-
ten about the guidance department and the various elective classes offered.
Additionally, consider an in-depth interview with a teacher who has an
interesting, but little-known characteristic, pastime, or life experience.
• The English teacher who is a weekend paintball afi cionado.
• The drama teacher who was once in the New York cast of CATS.
• The math teacher who just returned from a tour of duty in the Middle East.
Student reporters may also be assigned different beats that cover all
areas of the school. Covering a beat involves developing a relationship
with people in that area of the school, knowing the purpose and responsi-
bilities of the group or department, and knowing their calendar of regular
and special events. The reporter should check-in on a regular basis to keep
up-to-date with any new or unusual changes or events. For example, a
new science credit is required for graduation. The student assigned to the
science department beat should be on top of the story. Which class is now
required? Who will be teaching it? What will the class cover? The student