BLUE AND GOLD MEDIA & JOURNALISM

By JOHN POVEROMO

The Media and Journalism class of Washingtonville High School is an English and Art class dealing with multiple genres of news including: a news show called BGTV, a blog called The Washingtonville Wizard Weekly, and an iTunes channel for student podcasts.  This class has been running for three years now, and is taught by Mr. Leonard and Mrs. Connolly.  The course is limited to only 24 seats and is growing more and more popular each year.

JOHN POVEROMO FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY

For Mrs. Connolly, this was her first year being a part of Media Journalism and BGTV.  “It was very overwhelming,  but extremely rewarding. I learned a lot and I hope my students did too,” she expressed.  Senior, John Steinmann, said, “BGTV was a great class to learn and get used to work you don't usually do in your regular classes in the high school. You also get the opportunity to get to help and work with people you may have not talked to before. It's been a fun year.”

There are four branches of Media and Journalism and the students rotate through each one every six weeks. In studio, students get to be either a co-anchor with another classmate, a sports anchor or the coordinator producer of the entire show. 

Field Crew is where students must go out into Wizard Nation and find topics to cover for a segment on that week’s episode. All students receive a camera and tripod to get footage and interviews. Segments usually run three to five minutes long.  Students have to cover a segment every other week for field crew.

Podcasting is the third of the four branches of the class. In podcasting, students are required to talk about anything they want. In addition to recording the podcast, a script needs to written as well as an editorial dealing with the topic at hand.  These podcasts are put on iTunes for the world to hear.

Newsletter is the fourth and final branch of the class. There are four areas assigned for newsletter:  sports, community, school, and clubs.   Two student are assigned the prestigious roles of editor-in-chief and layout.  Students are required to find interesting stories that appeal to a wide range of readers.  An new addition to the newsletter was added this year:  a weekly advice column written by Alyssa Jin.

Throughout the year, students experience each one of the branches, until the final seven weeks of school. This final rotation has been dubbed the “all star round.” Here, students choose their favorite branch and interview for a position.  They create a resume, cover letter and portfolio that highlights their qualifications. The hard part is trying to persuade Mr. Leonard and Mrs. Connolly that you are the right person for the job. 

During the final week of the course, students are assigned their final project of the year: a farewell speech that will be presented in front of the class.   It will truly be an emotional week.

As we are putting together our final episode of the year, we are looking back with fond memories.  BGTV is truly a great class where students learn new things, and make friends new friends that will last a lifetime. Take this amazing opportunity and sign up next year!