Spartan News Now - Oct 2021 - ID# 84

Glenbrook North
News Program
Entry Description

This is Spartan News Now, Glenbrook North's broadcast news program. Students in the class produce, write, report and anchor this show. From ideation to final release of the show this is a student centered program that is made for our student body and the local community.

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

  • 4/27 9:00 pm - There are some solid elements to your newscast. Audio levels are good, shots are well composed, good interviews, story selection is interesting and fitting for your audience. I would piggy back on previous comments to make sure you have an attribution for all material that you didn't record or create. I believe the show just ends abruptly because you were 10 minutes into the show and that is the time limit for this entry. Anchors are professionally dressed and are clear in their delivery. Good job!
  • 4/19 2:48 pm - Good teasers at the start. Anchors do a nice job reading and having some flare in their voices. Sports gambling is a good story- very timely and covered well by your reporter. Attribution to footage that is not yours is needed- so make sure that is in the story even with a small graphic in the corner. The "conversation" portion of the anchors after the betting story got weak- did not sound authentic. Sports coverage was solid- good footage and interviews. The show just ends- there is no closing or wrap up from the anchors- it just abruptly ends. Leave time for credits and a closing in all shows. Besides that, there were good elements to the broadcast so keep it up.
  • 4/7 9:53 am - Nice teaser at the beginning. Josh - tighten your tie all the way. You got the opening shot of the sports betting story? You need to credit any outside footage. Actually, there is a lot of footage in this segment that does not have any attribution, which is required in the rules. “ALL ENTRIES MUST BE THE ORIGINAL WORK OF THE STUDENT PRODUCER including scripting, directing, VIDEOTAPING, editing, and graphics. The only exceptions would be…News Program…These categories allow copyrighted images or video for historical purposes, and may include content not produced by the student, AS LONG AS IT IS ATTRIBUTED TO THE ORIGINAL OWNER. “ It is better if we do not see the lav mic cable coming down across the person’s stomach and chest. Have the cable go under their shirt, or put in behind and have it go under their shirt collar and then back out in the front. I’m a little confused as to why you say there are two people bringing story but we only hear one (two would be confusing). You should only say who the reporter is. The show just ended. There needs to be some sort of closing. I went back twice just to make sure that my browser didn’t just kick me out.
Judge 1

Positives: I like that you start the show with headlines! Keeps the viewer's attention as they wait for a certain story that interests them. Sports betting story is super impactful. You were able to localize a complex, national issue and include opinions from people students relate to. Good use of natural sound. Same deal with the TikTok package-- you illustrated how a national issue is taking place here at home. Great sound bites from interviewees. Solid camera work and editing for all stories. Appreciate that you used video whenever possible, rather than pictures or graphics. Video is always the best choice. Anchors have a nice dynamic. The writing in this newscast is great. Keep up that attention to detail and outside-the-box thinking.

Improvements: Bar graph in sports betting is too blurry to read. Would have liked to see resources listed for students struggling with this issue. I know the cross-talk after the sports betting story was meant to develop rapport-- but it came off as opinion, which we don't want to do as journalists. Feel free to chat after a lighter story, because it is important for the viewer to get to know you better!

Judge 2

Positives: Kudos to you for tackling the hard news stories on betting and the devious licks Tic Tok trend. The hard news made for a well-rounded newscast. Not only did you tackle serious topics but you did so in an interesting way that kept my attention. I appreciated that your story on track was a feature on an individual runner and not just results from a track meet. That showed a high degree of professionalism.

Improvements: Your newscast could have been more neat and tighter with more production value. Graphics and music could’ve helped transition between stories. While the anchors were enthusiastic, the banter between stories wasn’t executed well. Remember, industry newscasts are slick packages. Make sure your audio levels are consistent and never distorted.

Judge 3

Positives: Great headlines to open the show. I wanted to know more about every story. The anchors started with high energy. I love how you promote yourself and tease the next show early. You've got so much important content that we had to do double the work. I love that! Great variety of topics. Everyone did a great job and I was interested the entire time.

Improvements: I love that you had chat time with the anchors, but it's okay to not be so scripted. It did feel forced as opposed to a conversation. Consider a different word than "crazy" to describe anything and everything. Mental health is such an important topic right now, so we need to be more considerate with our word choices. Do teachers not have first names? Your name banners did not include teachers first names.

Judge 4

Positives:

Improvements: