There were no space for mistakes, except, we did get a few chances.
The idea of being on camera was scary, but it all worked out at the end. Everyone had the chance to experience background work including working the cameras, operating the teleprompter, directing everyone, and manage the buttons for graphics. It was a very eye opening experience to actually live through a mock recording for television. Mannerisms, eye contact, posture, and facial expressions all played a big part. But it was a super cool adventure.
We also traveled to News12 and it was an impressive operation. Everything from computers to the building looked like we were living more than in the present. It was modern but high-tech. I learned a lot about the broad and all-encompassing field of journalism.
I woke up excited for the day. I brushed my teeth and put on my formal attire to get ready for the day. We walked towards breakfast where I ate some vanilla yogurt and granola. Then we headed to the newsroom to start our third day at the Robert W. Greene Summer Institute or High school Journalists with a pep talk.
The pep talk was from the Ditch Weekly, a newspaper created to cover the Hamptons from a different perspective by middle- and high-schoolers. We heard from Billy Stern and Harry Karousos. They explained how the paper was born.
After the pep talk we headed over to the broadcasting room. There we created a prompt of giving news. The Greene team received an experience of being on camera, having a script to read, holding the cameras, controlling the graphics, etc. It was a moment to learn what it’s like to broadcast.
Once we finished the prompt, we headed over to lunch around 12 p.m. We were then ready to head over the WUSB radio station as a group. Frank, Gavin, Shirley, Araya, and I walked around campus and enjoyed the scenery. A wall stood out to me. The wall had many words of reassurance and important powerful messages.
As we entered the radio studio, we saw where the magic was created. We met DJ Drew, who spoke to us about the importance of having a radio station. It was an opportunity to gain knowledge of the beauty of music and the history of it.
At the end of our interviewing with Drew, we began to walk to Mount Hall to meet up with the rest of the group for a field trip! In our matching Greene Team shirts we walked to get on the Wolfie bus to be on our way towards Nassau County for our trip.
We arrived at News12!! It was an unreal experience to see my childhood in front of my eyes. Something that I believed I would only see on television. To learn the fact on how they function, the behind the scenes work and visit where they record was a surreal experience I could have only dreamed about.
After learning about News12, we got on the bus to head back to the school. Once we arrived on campus, we headed towards the dining hall to eat dinner around 5:30 p.m. There I ate tater tots and water for a light dinner. To conclude the day we began to walk towards the dorms. My dorm mates and I took turns showering. Then I went to my bed to rest for the next day ahead.
Day 3 was so enjoyable and definitely the most interactive day by far!
I woke up in the morning so excited to learn something new, and I definitely did. We all strutted down to the TV room in our suits, blazers, and dress-to-impress wear.
First things first, we had an amazing conversation with Nicole Sganga, a former member of the Greene Team. Sganga is a CBS News homeland security and justice correspondent. She is based in Washington, D.C., and reports for all shows and platforms. She was an amazing person to hear from, and she really dove deep into the vulnerable parts of journalism, and interviewing people on their hardest days, and being able to connect, and to be authentic.
Next up we got straight into anchoring, reporting, camera work, tele-prompting, and more! The first thing I did was report, it was fun, but definitely a bit nerve racking as well. But I really enjoyed it! My favorite role was definitely directing the floor, being able to give direction, and having a voice meaningful enough that my suggestions, like moving the camera up a bit, or telling the anchor to sit up, are actually implemented because of the role I held. I enjoyed that because my true desire is to do everything I do in perfection; not meaning everything is perfect, but to do my best to get it to as close to perfection as possible. I’m very thankful to Anjali for mentoring me through this process.
After the TV room and a melancholy lunch, we headed to News 12! We learned a lot about the process of how everything gets on air, and the editing, and graphics. It was a really interesting experience! We also got an exclusive view of the broadcast room that I see on my TV every day, which was really cool!
Then we headed back. When we got back we had dinner, and then we headed to the dorms and played some card games with our chaperones, Melanie and Anjali, which was so fun!
Now, I am TIRED!!! And tomorrow is a long day of work and editing, talk to you then.
