(KGTV) - 10News joined Carlsbad High School students to take part in National News Literacy Week, in a public awareness campaign launched by the News Literacy Project and E.W. Scripps. Reporter Amanda Brandeis shares her experience.
On day one I headed to Carlsbad High School with a team of my 10News colleagues. Usually I work alone, so this was a fun change for me. The team was tasked with shooting behind the scenes footage throughout the experience. I had to get used to a camera in my face, typically it’s the other way around! Starting out, I didn’t know how much broadcast experience the students had, or what to expect. I met students Linnea and Maddie, a junior and senior, and quickly learned they were more than capable to take on this challenge with me. They’re part of Carlsbad High’s award-winning journalism program, run by teacher Doug Green.
First we had to pick a topic for the story we’d tell together. One idea was the clear winner: social media use. It was an issue we could all relate to.
"Almost pressure to be checking all of them when you wake up, what did I miss,” said Maddie during our planning discussion.
The students said social media is how younger generations get their news. We talked about how they’ve seen false information spread on social media and that one of the most important things they’ve learned in class is not to spread news they’re not 100 percent sure is correct. I learned a lot during this discussion, including why apps like TikTok are so popular among teens right now.
PHOTOS: 10News and Carlsbad High students team up for National News Literacy Week
Our first interview was in the Carlsbad High School studio. I was impressed by their professionalism and the class equipment used to put together a daily newscast.
Next, I shot some footage to help tell our story. During this time I was able to learn more about the students, asking what their favorite stories were during their time in the journalism program.
At the end of day we each left with an assignment -- to log our interviews and get more footage for the story.
A few weeks later I regrouped with the students so we could put our piece together. We have different styles of selecting sound bites from our interviews and writing a news story, so we had to figure out how to do it as a team.
For our final assignment, we each edited our own version of the story. We later watched each other’s stories and compared notes over Skype. I thought the students put a great piece together and I offered some tips and suggestions for next time.
Then the story aired live on CHS TV and 10News.
Watch Amanda's story here.
