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From the Author
Television Production & Broadcast Journalism grew out of a need to provide
my students with an up-to-date high school textbook on the subject of television
production. After trying to fi nd such a textbook for several years, I fi nally decided
to write one myself. This text is fundamentally a written version of my lecture notes
combined with information from trade magazines, consultation with my coauthor
Gil Garcia, and over 45 years of my experiences as a videographer and instructor,
and interaction with other broadcasting, communications, and television produc-
tion instructors as a consultant, workshop leader, and convention speaker.
This book could not have been written without considerable help from many
people. I must thank all of my students for their ideas, suggestions, and consider-
ation, as they were the guinea pigs with my draft of the fi rst edition of this text.
Having retired from teaching in 2006, I realized that the longer I was away
from the day-to-day operations of my classroom/studio, the more distanced
I became from current technology. I no longer had daily access to top-of-the-
line gear and that was going to be a handicap with the creation of this third
edition. I am most fortunate to have developed a professional relationship
with Gil Garcia. He is an extremely qualifi ed television production/broadcast
journalism instructor who heads up a very successful and vibrant program in
Austin, Texas. Gil graciously agreed to spend an amazing amount of time in
coauthoring this new edition with me, making certain that all the information
is completely up-to-date.
Janet Kerby is an educational consultant/trainer for high school broadcast
journalism. Her extensive teaching experience includes high school and gradu-
ate-level courses for broadcast journalism teachers. She is my good friend and
partner in www.video-educator-training.com. She has had a profound impact
on this book and I can’t thank her enough. Eric Drucker, a lighting expert from
Lowell-Light, helped revamp Chapter 15, Lighting, to include the new genera-
tion of fl uorescent and LED lighting instruments and the technique of lighting
with these instruments.
Randy Jacobson (digital photography instructor at Fairfax Academy
for Communications and the Arts) and his students provided an enormous
amount of the photography work. Most of the rest of the photographs were
shot by Gil Garcia.
Adam Goldstein, Broadcast Attorney Advocate for the Student Press Law
Center, graciously donated an entire morning to my queries on everything in
Chapter 12, Legalities: Releases, Copyright, and Forums and Chapter 13, Music.
I compiled dozens of questions and scenarios posted by teachers on the Radio
Television Digital News Foundation and Student Television Network listservs.
Adam answered every question and agreed to review the material I wrote based
on the interview. We both wanted to be sure that all the material in these chap-
ters is correct.
Finally, I must thank all the equipment manufacturers who have so graciously
allowed me to include pictures of their gear in this text.
Phillip L. Harris