This Just In....Reporting Live from Schools

             The morning news show is recorded and broadcasted live each morning right after the 8:00 bell, which starts the school day at the elementary school where I currently teach.  There is a media cart located in one of the work rooms in the media center that the media specialist uses to upload and broadcast the news live using MediaCast.  Classes watch the news on their SMART Boards.  The shows are then uploaded to MediaCast for classes to view throughout the day as needed.  There are two news anchors for each show.  These students are fifth graders who have applied for the position and are selected by the media specialist.  There is a third fifth grader who is chosen to help run the PowerPoint and camera for the show.  The news crew works for two-week rotations.  According to the media specialist, all fifth graders who apply to be a part of the news crew have a chance to participate in at least one rotation. 

            The news shows follow the same basic format each day.  The news anchors begin by announcing the date, the specials week rotation number, as well as the lunch choices for the day.  Next, they invite members of a class to help recite the Pledge of Allegiance.  The media specialist keeps a list of classes and rotates through the list so that all classes have several opportunities to send a handful of students up to recite the Pledge.  After this, the anchors and all of the students in the school recite the Mission of our school system as well as the Vision of our school.  The rules of the cafeteria are then recited.  There are PowerPoint slides that are shown on the screens for students in the classrooms to read while reciting.  After this, student and staff birthdays are announced.  A segment of popular dance music is then played while all of the students in the school have a dance party for those students who have a birthday.  This lasts no more than a minute or two.  Next, the news anchors relay information about upcoming events and other news.  Members of the administration, leaders of clubs, or any other teachers who have announcements share information at this time as well.  Occasionally student sports teams will be featured or students who have completed a special project or accomplished a particular goal will have the opportunity to share their work.  Each news segment then ends with the news anchors reading aloud a trivia question of the week.  On Fridays, the media specialist announces the answer and a winner who has turned in a correct answer in the trivia box in the media center.  This student wins a special prize.  Each news segment ends with a positive closing related to the day of the week.  For example, the news anchors will end with “Have a Thunderous Thursday from the news crew,” on Thursdays.

            The media specialist types the information for the news each day on the news PowerPoint.  The news anchors read from this PowerPoint.  The only time the PowerPoint is shown in the broadcast is to show the Mission, Vision, and cafeteria rules. 

            One major issue with the news show that the media specialist identified is the issue of time.  There is not much time to rehearse with the fifth graders who are leading the show each morning.  The media specialist noted that she does encourage the news anchors to come to the media room as soon as they arrive at school and she works with them for as long as they can before they need to record the show.  Many teachers have also noted that they occasionally find it difficult to fit a news program into their schedule each day.  While many teachers show the news live each morning, some have schedules that will not permit this.  One solution to this has been to upload the videos immediately onto MediaCast so that they are viewable by teachers and students at any point during the day.

            While exploring the news shows on the Orenco Elementary and Eisenhower Middle School sites, I collected a number of ideas that I think would be great additions to a news show.  I love how the students at Orenco Elementary were featured in each episode and had the opportunity to share what they were learning in their classrooms.  They were well rehearsed and clearly proud of their work.  Allowing students to share this type of information provides them with an audience for their work besides their classmates, teachers, and parents.  I love that the Eisenhower Middle School news broadcasts included a note about events that occurred that particular day in history as well as current news events from around the world.  I also like the each news segment featured a different club or group from around the school.

            I think that news shows can be excellent additions to any school, particularly if they are created and presented by students.  I believe that it is important to have a structure for the show, but to be flexible enough to allow some variety in order to keep the show from becoming tedious and boring.  If students can generally predict what they will hear each and every morning, they are a lot less likely to listen to the show.  As a classroom teacher, I do see this as one flaw with the news show at my school.  Having students recite the Mission, Vision, and rules each morning does not seem to help with behavior or serve as any sort of motivation.  It bores the students and they often tune out at that point.  Other than this, I believe that our news show is exciting and engaging for students.  They especially love to see or hear themselves on the program.  It is a great way to provide a large number of students in the school an opportunity to shine.