Just Get Started Somewhere

I have heard so many of you this past few days say that you would love to or are planning to start doing more video with your news program.  If you have or are starting online, you can and should definitely do it.  Today's technology makes it easier than ever!  The kids can shoot and edit right on their iPads and even iPhones.

You don't have to spend a lot on expensive camera equipment!

All you really have to do is have some brave students that are willing to give it a try...

Here is some of my advice:

1.  Start small - take a brave reporter or two from your staff, give them some examples to watch, show them what you are looking for and then let them go to work!

2.  Keep good records of the process along the way so that you can refine it from story to story and from year to year.

3.  Be impressed with the talents of your students.  They will take to it like fish in water - a good journalist will instinctively understand what and how to put a story together just by watching other good high school students do the same thing.

Here are some of my favorite tools for teaching broadcast writing:

1.  Make it Memorable by Bob Dotson - the book copy that I got came with a DVD copy of the stories that he shows as examples in the book.  It is a great tool to have the students read portions of the book and then be able to watch the packages that give examples of the skills that he talks about in his book.

2.  Mervinblock.com - This is a great website that has a lot of tips and information that you can go through with the kids or tell them to check out and learn on their own.

3.  Storyboards - I swear by these!  It is a great visual way for students (especially new kiddos that are just starting) to see their story plan in visual format.  You can google story boards and find all sorts of graphic/printable options online - just find one that you like and start with that.  You can always tweak it later.

When I started broadcast news packages at my school, I started with PSA's.  I gave the kids the equipment, told them my vision and idea and let them go to work.  They created some great videos (we never posted any of them anywhere), but we all learned a lot about filming, writing stories and jumping in to try it.  I decided to start at the end of the school year when the kids are done with publications and there is that awkward down time where they don't have anything to do.  It gave them a fun new challenge and it provided me with some things to tweak and work on over the summer in order to launch a more serious news broadcast program in the Fall of the next year.

I have been doing it for about 6 years and I would have to say that it is FINALLY in a place where I feel like we are not new anymore.  I am pretty proud of my kids (although there is always room for improvement), and I am proud of our news format.   Some stories are better than others but that is not different than when I printed a 16-page tabloid on glorified newspaper!

Check it out if you are interested:  www.davishighnews.com

Now, I need to work on increasing my readership and using social media to feed my publications, but one challenge at a time!