Smyrna High School news dept. keeps student body informed
Lights, camera, action! And with that the Smyrna High School News team is live on the air.
From producer to director to teleprompter operator, a student runs every job in this news organization.
Jordan Keen, a junior, plays an integral part, “I’m the producer. I’m in charge of making sure that the news team goes well.” Keen hopes the experience he gets here will help him in his future endeavors. “I would like to be a producer for a news station.”
Senior Reggie Ruff, who is one of the anchors, says he auditioned for the anchor position in hopes of following in the footsteps of a well-known sportscaster and writer, “Stephen A. Smith is kind of one of my role models so I kind of said this is something I want to do with my life.”
Multi-media teacher Joseph Fragale heads up the news program. He says his student staff is a representation of the student body. “They are a diverse array of kids anywhere from freshman to seniors. They all volunteer their time to be there. There is no credit involved,” Fragale said.
Associate Principal Marc Deisem, who attended Smyrna High, recalls the growth of the program. “We are using green screen technology now, and making this mobile to stream it. It’s available to the teachers to watch after work [or] record it. It’s not just a VCR cable that has a coaxial that runs to every TV in the building like it was when I first came here.”
Deisem adds the best part of his day is seeing the news staff live one the air.
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