Brooklyn Park Student Learns How to Report the News
Like any profession, becoming well-versed in the art of broadcast storytelling takes time to develop.
Sometimes, the first step is the most important one, which is why a group of students made their way to the University of St. Thomas in late July for an introduction into the world of broadcast news.
“I learned a lot about being in front of the camera and doing interviews on tape this past week,” said Faaya Adem, a soon-to-be high school senior from Brooklyn Park who attends the FAIR High School for Arts in Minneapolis.
Adem is one of nine students who took part in a week-long TV broadcast camp offered by the nonprofit, ThreeSixty Journalism.
“This is our fourth year of TV broadcast camp in partnership with BlueCross Blue Shield Center for Prevention,” said Chad Caruthers, executive director of ThreeSixty Journalism. “What we do is we take some of our advanced ThreeSixty Journalism students, they have some skills and experience in reporting with us, we turn them loose to create two to three minute TV packages on health equity issues.”
Faaya Adem (right), works on a video at TV Broadcast camp. Photo Courtesy: University of St. Thomas/Liam Doyle
A Focus on Underrepresented Communities
During the course of the week, the students practice every component of TV news.
“We had our students go through anchor intros sitting on a desk, and I think for most of them, that was probably the most nerve-wracking part,” Caruthers said.
They also got to do some real journalism. The students were tasked with putting together stories focused on racism as a public health crisis. Adem’s assignment was to highlight St. Paul’s Family Tree Clinic.
“I did enjoy doing the interview,” she said. “I learned a lot about the clinic and it was something I’m actually interested in and wanted to learn more about.”
One of the goals of this camp is to give students from underrepresented communities a chance to tell stories that are important to them.
They may just be students now, but in the not-too-distant-future, they could be doing this work in a professional setting.
“I’m still not fully comfortable on camera but it’s been a really fun experience and I actually want to try it again,” Adem said.
