Spartan News Now - May 2025 - ID# 518

Glenbrook North
News Program
Entry Description

Glenbrook North Broadcasting presents: Spartan News Now. SNN is made for students by students. In this episode, we cover the results of the April 1st election, a GBN senior who has plans to become a pilot, and the our new school resource police officer.

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

  • 4/30 9:40 pm - Are the lead anchors sitting down? They would have better posture and presence if standing. So cool to see the story about the pilot, great B roll in that and nice interviews, very cool story. Clean show, I like the community package in there to show what is going on around town as well.
  • 4/29 8:06 am - Why is Sam dressed with a tie and jacket but Olivia has jeans on? If you zoomed in a bit and cut the jeans out it would have been ok since she has a nicer top on. In the intro, Olivia, keep that nice smile going. Right when you are done talking you lose it and seem like you are done. You did better later in the show. Nice use of b-roll throughout. You keep repeating the same b-roll of the private jet. Does Asha fly a jet? Nice use of b-roll throughout.
  • 4/8 12:25 pm - Good teasers at the start and cool video opening showcasing your school. A little awkward pause after intro. Nice job with the student death story. Don't be afraid to keep ambient noise from the b-roll clips on your stories. Keep the volume low but use it to help tell the story. (like in the student government story). A few jump cuts in between interviews in that story. Lots of wind noise on the aviation intro. Flying story was well done with some great shots and a good lead in to the drama story. Overall show was well done- keep a close eye on audio so that ALL levels are the same, from anchors to interviews in clips.
Judge 1

Positives: 1. You had a good mix of stories and you placed them within your newscast in an efficient manner as well. An example of that was how you transitioned from the tragic passing of your classmate to the story about the SRO. While not exactly related, the topics were still a bit adjacent to each other in theme. That's the type of thinking a professional newscast producer would display. I also want to give you credit for mentioning the passing of your classmate. That was probably hard and a bit awkward, but it was still newsworthy and smart to include. 2. I also liked how you had a field anchor in the newscast as well. That shook things up so that it wasn't just the same two anchors pitching to a story the entire newscast. You have to do unique things to keep viewers interested and that was a way to do so.

Improvements: 1. There were a few awkward pauses at the beginning of the newscast that could have been edited out and covered with b-roll or transition graphics. Unfortunately, silence like that can become quite noticeable. 2. There was one comment made about the SRO at the end of the story featuring him that I thought was maybe a little to personable as in it could convey bias. I understand he's a person you all see everyday, and you want to recognize the good job he does everyday. However, your story did more than enough to convey that in a neutral manner. The ending comment kind of gave your newscast a tinge of bias.

Judge 2

Positives: Wow, what a tough story to tell at the top of the newscast, the passing of a student. It was handled with care and compassion. It's hard to segue from an energetic open to a heavy topic but the anchors handled it well. And good job including gun violence statistics to round out the story. Wide variety of topics showcasing the school and community.. great job with story selection! The "coming up" tease at the top of the newcast featuring video and graphics was especially effective to give viewers a sense of the wide scope of topics in the newscast.

Improvements: The anchor intro into the student aviator piece needed a reference to the reporter covering the story. It was a little jarring to segue from the female anchor to the male reporter without that introduction. Also, consider even more sound from Asha! Her story is so unique that I wanted to hear more from her. Consider having her tell her story in a first person narrative and saving some of the nuts and bolts (like where she's going to college) for the anchor intro or anchor tag. Look for opportunities to include even more student voices in all of the packages!

Judge 3

Positives: Wow. I'm impressed that the GNB team took on a students death. This isn't an easy assignment. And frankly, given all the sensitivities and raw emotion within the school. I admire your efforts to address this. Great visuals on the shifting nature of the Student Activities Board. That nailed the story for me. This was really well done. And a great profile on a student pilot. Nice job.

Improvements: Look at the studio / anchored segments versus the story production - there's a pretty distinct difference in those segments. Anchored segments move much more slowly than those pre-produced segments. Keep coaching high energy with the anchor and reporting teams. They all can do it. Some polish here is needed, but overall an excellent submission.

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