broadcast journalism.
An essential aspect of journalism is being able to translate the power of words onto the screen. As our world is becoming more digital, it’s important to be able to edit and curate audio and visual content; one way to do this is by broadcast journalism. While broadcasting is not my specialty, I have spent a year in Broadcasting & Production/Advanced Broadcasting & Production to hone and refine my multimedia skills.
During my sophomore year, I was part of our school’s Longhorn Sports Production and News (LSPN) network. While I was in this class, I learned how to edit videos, interview people over camera, and write scripts. I also served as a regular anchor.
In this class, we were required to write our own scripts and it was our responsibility to check the information log, where teachers and staff would submit any news they thought necessary to share with the student body. We were usually put into various groups, switching each week. This taught me how to combine my talents with others to collaborate on projects that had to be completed by a concrete deadline. Practicing this skill over and over again has helped me be better about my deadlines within the Pathfinder and to create routines so that the process would be easier to remember and follow.
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As an anchor for LSPN, I learned how to be concise about the news that was written in order to fit each story into about five minutes of content. In addition, I learned that it was important to commit to a stage presence that would not bore the audience. I would force inflections into my voice to keep the audience engaged, and as I grew more comfortable within the year, my eyes would not be as obvious when reading the teleprompter as well.
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As an editor for LSPN, I learned how to effectively use graphics to transition and elaborate on stories. Many of our videos use templates for our transitions, but it was up to me to ensure that the graphics, audio, and visuals transitioned smoothly for each video I partook in.
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I was also tasked with creating feature stories that would go inside of the overall news story, usually taking up less than three minutes. I created scripts and filmed B-roll as well as interviewed multiple sources.
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I was very intentional about which sources I used and how I presented them. For example, in some of the feature stories — the step one and the improv one — there weren’t any great backgrounds that were available, so I put them in front of a black curtain to put an emphasis on them and their words. I used different angles to switch up the perspective every once in a while; covering up jump cuts with the audio when necessary.
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In addition, I have also created tools to help other students succeed in creating and editing multimedia videos. In this video, I narrate a quick guide to creating a feature video by providing suggestions on basic content necessary as well as audio and graphic tips.
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For the Pathfinder, I am super encouraging of any multimedia content that our staff wants to cover. We have amazing multimedia pieces and our multimedia section has seen a particular resurge in the 2023-2024 school year, so it’s important to at least know the basics of broadcasting and multimedia production for any member of the Pathfinder staff.
