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 Creating Journalism in a New Way
Real World... Real Time
by Carl Filoreto
...Continued from Previous Page
“It’s a big learning experience for all of us,” explains Randy Wenner, instructor of broadcast journalism at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. “The students have a tremendous opportunity to learn what it’s like to be affiliated with a broadcast news network. To watch them immerse themselves and thrive in a network culture, and to get their video and their stories in a newscast or online, is a thrill”. Torie Wells, a senior at Newhouse and the bureau chief in Syracuse, is excited about the range of opportunities offered by the program. “The producers in New York give us a lot of freedom to pitch stories. They’ll help us tailor the story to the right platform and then say go ahead,” she explains.
With opportunity comes responsibility, and the students quickly learn about the demands of uncompromising deadlines. While some of the their stories can be categorized as timeless evergreens that don’t come with a strict deadline attached to them, the students do occasionally find themselves caught in the whirlwind of a breaking national news story. The bureau at Newhouse provided assistance to ABC News during a plane crash in nearby Buffalo, and a deadly shooting rampage in Binghamton. “It’s getting used to moving and working quickly, as we would in a real newsroom,” Wells adds.
“We’ve stopped calling them student journalists,” a news director of the ABC affiliate in Phoenix says, “they’re simply journalists. They may not be totally polished, but we’ve only had good feedback about their work.” The Cronkite School supplies a daily regional news feed, aptly called the Cronkite News Service, and the ABC News On Campus journalists regularly post their work on it. When the news director chooses one of their stories and places it in a show rundown, it will be viewed in the twelfth largest television market in the country. In addition, the five participating bureaus place the bulk of their stories on the ABC News On Campus web site. And at times, the students see their video reach the lofty heights of the network’s flagship news programs like Nightline, Good Morning America, and World News Tonight. “I’m watching my video on ABC News London,” Emily Graham says with a touch of awe in her voice. “I never imagined I’d be working for a network while still going to college.”
The On Campus program is approaching its first anniversary, and there have been some pleasant surprises along the way. “Sometimes we’re the instructors, telling the student journalists how to do it better,” John Green recounts, “and at other times we learn about content. We might think we know what twenty-five-year-olds want to see, but we don’t really. It’s an interesting hybrid.”
So while the producers and editors at the network file the rough edges and provide a layer of nuance to the skills of their prodigies, the unbridled enthusiasm and lack of bureaucratic cynicism expressed by the students can be refreshing. “I think they’re also learning from us,” Graham states enthusiastically. “We have newer and younger ideas, and we’re not afraid to take a risk in our story pitches.” Her mentor, Susan Green, concurs, “I think the folks at ABC News figured out it’s a blast working with students. It serves as a reaffirmation and re-energizes the career journalist, as well, so it works both ways.”
And in stark contrast to our times, the future looks very promising. The program will expand to a sixth campus in the fall, with the potential for further additions in the future. “In these economic times, it would be so easy to cut a program like this, but David Westin hasn’t,” Green relates. “He’s pleased with the message and I like that. We’re investing in the future of the students.
This article appeared in StudentFilmmakers Magazine, (May 2009 Edition, Page 10-13) and may not be reprinted in print or internet publications without express permission of StudentFilmmakers.com.
 About the Author
Carl Filoreto is an award-winning DP, and his company
is Elk Run Productions, Inc. (www.elkruntv.com), which has
a roster of clients that spans corporations, production houses,
crewing agencies, and broadcast and cable networks, including
Dateline NBC, The Food Network, and The Travel Channel.
Prior to starting his business, Carl won seven regional Emmy
awards, numerous national and regional National Press
Photographers awards, and multiple awards from Colorado Ski
Country and the National Snowsports Journalists Association,
while working at KMGH-TV in Denver, WTNH in New Haven,
and WGGB in Springfield, Massachusetts.
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