Winter 2001
Volume 3, Number 2
  


Teen journalists turn Penn
State into their beat By Karen L. Trimbath

Fast thinking saved the day for the three broadcast journalists as they began an impromptu interview with Corky Potter, director of Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center, a Penn State facility that provides educational programs and experiences in the outdoors. Each year, more than 100,000 children and parents, students and educators, individuals and group members visit or take part in events sponsored by the center.

As Potter waited patiently by a picnic table in the center’s garden, the team discovered that their video camera’s microphone wasn't working. Fortunately, the broadcast team — Brandon Mihm of Pittsburgh, Michelle Manning of Stroudsburg and Tony Bartocci of Scranton — managed to fix the microphone, make up questions on the spot and wrap up the story.

None of these journalists were seasoned reporters covering the higher education beat. Instead, they were high school students who attended the Institute for High School Journalists, held at the University Park campus. Twenty-nine teens and one high school journalism teacher participated in the program.

The institute, conducted by the College of Communications, provided a wealth of information on good journalism practices and the latest software used by print and broadcast media. The participants gained skills that will help them improve the quality of their school publications and prepare them for journalism careers, said R. Thomas Berner, professor of journalism and American studies and director of the college’s Office of Continuing and Distance Education.

Berner, whose own journalism career began 40 years ago when he wrote for his high school newspaper, understands the teens’ enthusiasm for digging up stories and sharing them with an audience.

“Almost all of these students are already involved in high school publications, and most are likely to become the editor of their high school newspaper next year,” Berner said. “These students are very hard working and conscientious.”

The institute was co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania School Press Association (PSPA), the College of Communications and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

Nearly 10 years ago, PSPA, a group of advisers of high school publications, hosted similar institutes at Penn State. Berner, who had been a speaker at previous PSPA workshops, revived the program because it fits in perfectly with the college’s outreach efforts to both communications professionals and the public. The college’s Summer Institute for Editors, which has provided workshops on newsroom management for the last two years, is a successful example, according to Berner.

“Outreach is important to us because we are a professional college,” Berner said. “Our programs extend to not only the workforce, but also the school system.”

Many of the teens who attended the institute said they loved to write and hoped to become journalists one day, including the trio forced to quickly improvise at Shaver’s Creek when their microphone failed to work. Bartocci, a senior attending Bishop O’Hara High School, wants to be a television anchor, and he’s already made plans to observe an anchor in his region.

“I’m from a small school that doesn’t have a newsroom, so I like that we’re getting a lot of hands-on instruction here,” Bartocci said.

Institute participants enrolled in either print or television tracks, depending on their interest. The print track focused on the skills needed to produce an on-line newspaper, while the television track focused on broadcast writing and production. No matter which track participants chose, they were all taught by journalism, telecommunications, advertising and film faculty with years of professional experience.

Classroom sessions were combined with activities that challenged students to use their newfound skills — for instance, students put their interviewing skills to work during news conferences with Katie O'Toole, host of "What's in the News," a news program produced by Penn State Public Broadcasting and aired on WPSX-TV, and Patricia Best, superintendent of the State College Area School District.

The group’s training culminated in an evening at Shaver’s Creek, where institute participants interviewed the staff and explored the center’s raptor center, displays and nearby trails — with the goal of developing stories to publish on-line or edit into a news video. Once they gathered the necessary information, they produced their final pieces using on-campus labs and professional-level equipment and software.

“Almost all of these students are already involved in high school publications, and most are likely to become the editor of their high school newspaper next year. These students are very hard working and conscientious.”
R. Thomas Berner



From left, high school students Brandon Mihm of Pittsburgh, Michelle Manning of Stroudsburg and Tony Bartocci of Scranton use their newfound broadcasting skills to interview Corky Potter, director of Shaver's Creek Environmental Center at Penn State. They and other students spent an evening at Shaver's Creek - with the goal of developing stories to publish on-line or edit into a news video.
In these photos, Maria Cabrera Baukus (standing, photo at left), senior lecturer in communications at Penn State, helps high school students understand the basics of broadcast news during the Institute for High School Journalists held at Penn State.
  

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