From school cafeterias to home kitchens, the staff of Broadcast Journalism and Production proceeds to put hours of work into each episode as they post once a month.
The staff of the Mane has been working hard under different conditions than usual. Despite the difficulties arising from this school year, they have embraced the challenge and welcomed new opportunities.
“[Working remotely] has let us do some different stories that we wouldn’t have normally done, given being in a school environment,” senior Owen Harry said.
Although they are still producing content on their usual schedule, Harry finds more chances to work independently on his segments.
“For the most part, it’s been pretty similar because most of the stuff that we do, at least with editing and filming, can still be done in this environment,” Harry said. “We still get the opportunity to work together through Zoom, obviously. I know some groups choose to work together as a group, but I’ve done a lot of stuff individually and we still have the opportunity to work as a group.”
Even with the unique experience of filming remotely, the team also has to manage its team dynamic..
“A lot has changed,” senior Fiona Deloughery said. “Usually, when you’re in class, it’s a lot easier to brainstorm with everyone because you’re talking with everyone at once, and then you can break into groups and then do different projects. Now that it’s all on Zoom, it kind of takes that away, so you have to be more diligent and ask people what they’re doing.”
Logistically, getting student interviews and footage can be difficult, and makes the production process take longer.
“The toughest thing overall would be doing stuff that directly relates to the school,” Harry said. “Obviously we don’t have students to interview directly, and we have definitely done stuff with that, but it’s been tougher.”
Regardless of the obstacles in the way, the two still find joy in creating content.
“The ability to create anything is the best part of this class,” Deloughery said. “It’s just fun to be able to do something and then share it with the entire school.”
In December, the Mane was nominated for the 2020 National Student Production Awards in the Magazine Program category. They are one of four schools in this category from across the nation, surpassing the 2000 other entries for this recognition. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation grants this award yearly, and they will announce the final recipient from each category next month.
“It was kind of insane,” Harry said. “We didn’t really expect it to happen. This is the first time it’s happened at Metea, so we were really excited.”
Deloughery is assured of the quality of the work from the Mane, but she was still shocked about the recognition.
“I was very surprised,” Deloughery said. “Not surprised that we could get this award, because our team is awesome, but surprised at how hard we’ve worked in this really crazy year.”
In addition to the team’s work ethic, the national recognition personally provided Harry with a new confidence about the quality of the Mane.
“It really showed that we have a pretty strong show overall last year and that we can carry that on to this year,” Harry said.
The award also gives Deloughery confidence for her future endeavors.
“I was very happy about [the award], and I know that I won’t have a problem leaving the Mane into the hands of the underclassmen after I graduate,” Deloughery said.
