KAITLIN REYNOLDS
student journalist
BROADCAST JOURNALISM
Broadcast journalism is an area that I was relatively foreign to before this school year. To be honest, I was terrified to do a broadcast my first week on the MWHS Wildcat News staff because my background is so strongly based in writing. However, it didn't take long for me to realize that broadcasting is one of my favorite ways to be a storyteller. Adding visual elements to stories has made such a large impact on what I am able to convey to my audience. I have seen myself improve rapidly as a broadcast journalist — starting off with no clue where to begin and just a few months down the line winning a JEA Winter Contest Superior for a News Broadcast Story. In just a matter of a few semesters I have learned to tackle the challenges of microphone issues, frame shots and capture meaningful moments on camera.
Broadcasts
Broadcasting took a while for me to get used to since I went into it with a writing background. Along the way I learned how to work complex equipment, get clear interviews and tell stories visually through a variety of angles. Although I was very unsure of how I would tackle visual and auditory stories at first, it is an area that I am now very confident in. Below are a few of the broadcasts I have produced throughout the year. With each one I learned a new aspect of broadcasting and improved.
Amplifying inclusion
This was a story that required several hours of work outside of school. My partner, Morgan, and I spent an entire day at the Miss Amazing Amplify Event filming and interviewing. One major challenge that we had was the noisy environment. It made interviewing difficult because the speakers from the auditorium and the voices of the participants could be heard in the background. We interviewed 11 different people and then were able to select the clips that had a combination of the most telling responses and usable audio. Another struggle we had with this broadcast was the lighting around the stage. After much trial and error, we ended up switching lenses to one with higher aperture in order to film the performances. This story required a lot of work in order to get it to where it is, but it was worth it because the final product is one of the stories that I am the most proud of.
* 2022 Superior Broadcast News
story in the JEA Winter Contest
* Published on best of SNO
tying generations together
As a member of senior class board I made tie blankets and through this experience I learned that a fellow board member was heavily involved with Project Linus, the organization that we donated the blankets to. To cover this story I had to coordinate both with the student and her Aunt, who she makes blankets with, in order to interview them at the students house. A major issue that I ran into when filming was faulty lapel microphones. In order to still cover the story I problem solved and recorded the audio using my phone which I later synced up to the video clips. This story has a lot of strengths such as strong voice overs that tie the clips together, a variety of b-roll and insightful interviews.
* Published on Best of SNO
An ensemble for the ensemble
This story was one that I was not expecting to cover. I was at school for a senior class board event and saw students coming in the front doors with elaborate costumes. After asking a few students why they were dressed up I realized that there was a story in the room next door that I couldn't pass up. Although I missed the first part of the orchestra concert while running to the journalism room to grab equipment, I still managed to capture the story. This broadcast was one of the first ones I did and I will admit that there are some weaknesses, like it not including any natural audio, however it taught me an important lesson about always being prepared to cover a story.
* Published on Best of SNO
Coding for kids
When covering a group of students who were sharing their knowledge of computer science with the younger generation I ran into many problems. It required my partner, Samantha, and I to reinterview a few different times because of poor audio quality. This was especially difficult with the interview of the middle school student because we had to go to the middle school during the day to do it. Additionally, we didn't get enough tight shots when filming, but I was able to add in a few more by cropping some of the footage. This story started off a little rocky but after multiple changes it turned out to be very engaging.
* Published on Best of SNO
Calling his future
An alumni of Millard West journalism, who is a senior at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, fulfilled his college career goal of commentating a Nebraska Cornhusker's football game. To cover this story I traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska to interview him. I had to do significant amounts of coordinating with him beforehand in order to line up all four of the interviews. This story lacked video b-roll, but I worked around that by using photos, strong interviews and telling voice overs. The b-roll that was included I gathered by searching through his social media, pulling videos from his time at Millard West and communicating with him.
* Published on Best of SNO
Anchoring
Being an anchor is a new role that I took on this year. I had no experience being in front of the camera prior to this and it is an area where I have grown immensely. When I first started I had trouble speaking slowly and moving my hands naturally while talking. It also would take me several takes in order to recite off of the teleprompter correctly. Now, I am able to film anchoring much faster and have improved on my pace and gestures, but it is an area that I continue working on. Click the image below to watch the latest show that I anchored.
Photo courtesy of Brenna Batchelder
Radio PSA
Over the summer of 2021 I worked with the Nebraska Broadcasters Association (NBA) and Project Extra Mile to create a radio public service announcement to warn against selling alcohol to minors. This was something that I had to really step out of my comfort zone with because I had never done any type of voice acting prior. I was able to learn from the professional journalists that also worked on it and the final product is airing from July 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023 on various stations throughout Nebraska. Click below to listen to the PSA.
Live Stream
Through our STRIV program I frequently live stream home sporting events. This has become especially important for my school within the last few years because of COVID-19 restrictions limiting our spectators. Even though we are allowing full capacity now, our live stream is still heavily trafficked.
Producing
When I produce I have to pay close attention to the game in order to add points to the virtual scoreboard and start/stop the clock. I also am in charge of switching between the cameras to give the viewers different angles of the game. This role has required me to learn a lot about different sports because I have to update the screen quickly after a play is made.
Camera
I have run both the close up camera and the whole gym camera several times. When I run the close up camera I look for high action parts of the court, and when I run the whole court camera I scan back and forward across the gym as the game moves.
