Jazz White, a cherub from New Orleans, came to National High School Institute to study broadcast. She came to experience the newsrooms, the anchor desks and the teleprompters in the broadcast workshops. The field trip to WMAQ, an NBC affiliate in Chicago, made it clear to White that journalism is what she wants to pursue.
“I have never seen such a big station,” she said. “My eyes got big like a kid in a candy shop.”
The second field trip of the five-week cherub program gave students the chance to experience the workplaces of different journalism outlets. Two groups went to CBS and NBC news stations, while others went to Newsweek and The Chicago Sun-Times. Cherubs were given the chance to meet reporters and see them in action.
“When I saw the expressions on the anchors faces I felt like I was home,” White said.
White interns at WGNO, the ABC affiliate in New Orleans. She wants to be a reporter and then a news anchor. The students at NBC toured around the two downtown studios. They explored the NBC anchor desks and the Telemundo set, the newsroom and the makeup room.
“I really wanted to see the Jerry Springer set because it’s taped in the same building,” said Nico Savidge, a cherub from Berkeley, Calif. “But the set was under construction.”
The cherubs got to see the Michigan Avenue newsrooms and watch an episode of Weekend Web being taped.
“It was a chance to see a live news taping,” said Linda Brozyna, a cherub from Lake Zurich, Ill. “If the anchors made a mistake they could just rerecord.”
Cherubs felt like real news anchors when they tried out the sound-proof booth. Anchors used the booth to practice their lines for newscasts. Cherubs entered and practiced their screaming and singing skills.
“I was flabbergasted,” White said. “I am a loud person and no one could hear me.”
The field trips enable students to step outside Fisk Hall and see the career world of journalism.
“I learned that anchors don’t write their own stories,” said Brozyna. “They just read what they are given.”
The NBC and CBS field trips were also interactive. Students could sit at the anchor desks and stand in front of the green screens used for the weather forecasts.
“The news outlet trip is an important part because the cherub program is mostly print writing,” White said. “I was able to see the reason why I’m here: to be the best news anchor I can be.” |
