Media Mavens

The school community at Gainesville High School begins their day by listening to and watching the GHS TV News. It is "news you can use" says the GHS TV News staff. GHS TV News is staffed by Gainesville High School students who have chosen to take news production as an elective. It is an excellent way to gain the interest of those who might be contemplating going into the communications career field after graduation. Perhaps, these students will attend a college or university and major in communications and/or news production. Students can choose to take the news production course in 9th grade-12th grade. They begin by learning the basics of broadcasting and how to operate the machines and programs. They then learn about the different roles that it takes to bring a broadcast together. Once the basics have been learned and mastered, the teacher (i.e., news producer) determines the student groups. The groups are rotated at the end of every semester so that each group gets the opportunity to be a part of each production activity. Whether it is running the camera, adjusting volume levels, editing film, or being a news anchor--everyone gets a chance to participate. This is good because the students get to understand what each specific role encompasses. Students understand that each role is vital to the success of the overall final news production. One role helps to create the other role and so forth. Each part of the news production team is important to the success of GHS TV News. Without group work and participation, the production would not run smoothly and would most likely fail. Once students begin to understand the concept of group participation and reliance, they begin to appreciate each others respective roles in the news making process. Furthermore, student participation in the school's news station creates pride in their school and also enforces and enriches student's writing skills which are an important part of education. It can not be denied that the more students write, the better they become at it. Being part of the GHS news team requires a great amount of writing and rewriting. Editing, proofreading, and interviewing require communication skills and enhance this writing process. This is beneficial to the students participating in the news program. They learn to write more professionally and academically. Scripts are written during the student's elective class period time and are edited and rehearsed. The student news staff is composed of 4 news anchors, 2 camera persons, a student director, 4 writers, 4 editors, and 2 music/audio persons. At the end of each semester, the roles of each student changes. The teacher of the class has the final say as to what is broadcast. Digital video cameras and microphones are the necessary pieces of equipment used in the broadcast, as well as computer programs to add music to enhance the quality of the broadcast. The Gainesville High School media specialist is the faculty sponsor of the news broadcasting program at the school. She helps to make sure all equipment is connected and working properly. She also assists students in research and writing.

Once the GHS TV News has been successfully taped, it is time to broadcast to the school community. The GHS TV News is broadcast every morning at 8:15 to the school community through closed-circuit classroom televisions. The broadcast usually lasts between 5-7 minutes. During this time, students receive information such as the lunch menu for the day and any special announcements from the administration. Additionally, the Pledge of Allegiance is said and a moment of silence is respected. Then special interviews of teachers and students are shown, the various academic and sports events are discussed, game scores are given, times and dates of pep rallies are shown, and any awards received are given out and discussed. To end the newscast, a "thought of the day" is provided for students to ponder during their school day.

School newscasts like GHS TV help to foster a sense of pride in one's school and bring a group of students together to work toward a common goal--an excellent news broadcast. Because of the importance the students place on being seen on television by a group of their peers, the student news broadcasters (both behind the scenes and in front of the cameras) work very hard to write well and learn the skills needed to successfully produce the school news. They learn to work together, communicate, and write. The final result is SUCCESS!