Say Yes To Travel!

The spring semester begins the start of News Reporting III for Broadcast & Digital Journalism students. This class is designed for long-form broadcast pieces. Long-form is a type of writing that focuses on a controversial topic or a unique story. As opposed to the short, one minute and 30 second news pieces I turned in last semester in News Reporting II, long-form is around three minutes. The piece has more detail, uses graphics and shows more of the personality of the reporter.

The stories are done with partners. This past weekend, my partner and I traveled to our story two hours away to East Meredith, New York. We reported on an ice harvest festival that was a tradition for the town. Traveling to a story taught myself a lot about my journalism skills. My partner and I use separate cameras, getting different angles to get the best material possible. I learned how to collaborate with another journalism student for the best way to tell the story. The town historically harvested ice to keep local dairy products cold while shipping them to New York City. Although East Meredith was full of historical facts, it was amazing to engage with the townspeople and get to know their stories.

While filming the story out of town, it was easy to clear my head and stay focused on the material we needed for our story. I recommend traveling not only for the adventure, but the knowledge you gain as well. I would have never learned how to cut ice blocks out of a pond or the history behind the practice, if I did not see the story as an adventure. As BDJ students travel throughout the semester to stories all over the country, you can check out their work at NCC News Online, Newhouse’s website dedicated to graduate student news stories.