GlenOak High School’s Eagle TV is back, with the hope of delivering weekly recaps of school news, events, and student spotlights. This is done through a student-led broadcasting program that aims to keep students of GlenOak engaged.
“Eagle TV is a weekly and, soon, hopefully two times a week recap of the week and things going on in not only the school itself but the district as a whole. That would be anything from clubs to classrooms, individual student achievements, and activities in the community like the fall play or the musical, senior producer Drayden Chapman said.
The program divides students into two teams: the Beaks, led by Chapman and senior Brandon Hollinger, and the Talons, led by senior Nevaeh McCune and senior Alex Esway, with each handling alternating episodes. Teams include six to seven members, with the roles of anchors, camera operators, a floor director, a tech director, teleprompters, a motion graphics specialist, and sound technicians.
“Floor directors guide anchors on what cameras are recording. While the technical director cues them and switches between cameras,” McCune said.
Producers oversee decisions relating to content, such as scriptwriting and the coordination of their team.
“As a producer, I get a say in what upcoming projects we create. I also am able to take part in making those projects for others and speaking on those projects.” McCune said.
Production follows a structured weekly schedule: Mondays for brainstorming ideas, Tuesdays for lessons, Wednesdays and Thursdays for gathering footage and interviews and Fridays for filming, editing, and publishing.
Ideas come from student submissions via QR codes around the school, as well as suggestions from administrators or from topics the teams themselves have identified as undercovered.
“A media package is those segments on news networks where the main anchor will say, and we have so-and-so with so-and-so.” That cuts to someone talking about a specific thing, like the sea anemones that are being focused on in the AP biology teacher Dori Hess’s class. That’s just a tiny little package that shows you and explains to you what’s going on with that specific thing that can be placed in the news segment there,” Chapman said.
Scripts are basic, focusing on news delivery rather than intricate character-driven narratives found in movies or TV shows.
“We find topics that we want to talk about, and we make media packages out of them. We have a basic script that is welcome to Eagle TV., Here’s what’s going on. And then something plays,” Mcune said.
Video production teacher Matthew Patron oversees the class but emphasizes student leadership, drawing on the seniors’ experience to teach basics like camera handling using Panasonic and Blackmagic models, editing tools, animation graphics, studio roles, and teamwork in lab sessions.
” I just want to do a quality show that showcases the talents of kids in class and students in the building. That is what it means to me, being a part of something that might have gone away in spirit but has always been in the DNA of the program. I think it’s important to showcase the things that staff and students are doing,” Patron said.
While at the same time, Patron acknowledges that carrying out that vision comes with its own set of challenges.
“It’s hard for me because I haven’t taught this class before, to have these guys do it is challenging because I have to take my hands off the wheel. It’s hard for me to let other people come in and give their input and vision because it requires trust. The thing that is cool for me is to see them step into leadership roles and decide, this is what our show is going to have this week. These are the stories we’re going to do,” Patron said
Challenges include adapting to tight timelines each week, overlapping the planning of one episode and the filming and editing of another, and scaling back ambitious ideas, like incorporating props that disrupt camera setups.
Students have learned independence, leadership and cooperation through the process.
“I wasn’t used to having such a huge leadership role, but when I got into the class, I had to step in and be another adult in the team and lead the kids and tell them what to do instead of being told what to do. Independence. I learned how to be more independent, and I learned how to cooperate and build those leadership roles,” McCune said.
“Everyone who makes it is working really hard and trying their best always to make sure that we’re delivering the best news and the best media for you guys,” Chapman said.
Patron revived Eagle TV this year after discussions with administrators. Eagle TV episodes are available on the Eagle Television YouTube channel, through QR codes for viewing or story submissions, via teachers, or GOHS online through the multimedia section.
