Broadcast journalism
During my internship at WSB-TV, I got to learn from and collaborate with producers, writers, people at the assignment desk and more. I would help producers assemble their newscasts, then sit in the control room with them as the shows aired, speaking on headset to the anchors as it went on.
While working with producer Wendy Brunner, I helped on several days to produce National News Tonight, the station’s most-viewed broadcast, which is aired by sister stations around the country. I would watch reporter packages the sister stations produced and decide what had national relevance and was interesting enough to make the cut for the show. I also put in supers for the show, which are the words that appear at the bottom of the screen, indicating who is speaking and any necessary additional information.
One of my favorite memories was helping to write a breaking news story covering the Delta plane crash in Canada, researching context and new information while Wendy wrote. The story aired as the top of the 4 p.m. news thirty minutes after we heard about the crash. Through my internship, I learned how much I love the fast-paced environment of a professional newsroom, which solidified my commitment to pursuing journalism as a career.
In 2017, I visited the Channel 2 newsroom with one of my teachers. I met anchor Justin Farmer and other members of the WSB team, who showed me around their office space and let me sit in front of the camera. This experience inspired my current goal to be a political correspondent for CNN.
MARIA LYONS
Podcast
When the College Board announced changes to the document-based question for AP World History, a class that over 200 sophomores at my school were taking, I decided to make a podcast interviewing students about their opinions on the changes. I also interviewed an AP World History teacher to see how she was adapting her curriculum to prepare students for the new rubric.
Using Spotify's Anchor tool, I learned how to edit audio recordings and use music to create an engaging podcast. I used the musical clips provided by Anchor to avoid licensing issues. I look forward to recording more podcasts in the future and continuing to explore this popular medium.
Since this was a very impactful change for students, the podcast format was better than a traditional written story because listeners could hear students' direct reactions. For Southerner coverage, podcasts work best for many student life stories, where the audio of sources' voices can really strengthen the message.
City Council Debate
One of my biggest goals as a broadcast journalists has always been moderating a presidential debate. This year, I got a head start, independently organizing an moderating a debate for Atlanta's City Council District 2, a highly contested and controversial race. My experience reporting on politics from a local angle made it easy for me to come up with detailed questions on the fly, which I ended up doing for the last 90 minutes of the debate after my prepared questions ran out.