As of last week, I have officially made it through the most important class of my undergrad, Advanced Video Reporting and Producing, better known as WVU News. WVU News is an Emmy Award winning newscast that is produced by journalism students at the university. This class always felt so far away until last spring when I officially registered for the fall. I was excited but mostly nervous, however one thing remained true, I wanted to grow. I couldn't wait to grow as a journalist and really learn what it meant to be a reporter. That is exactly what this 16 week journey did for me. This experience would not have been as amazing if it wasn't for the people. I had the opportunity to work under the incredible Gina Dahlia. I
cannot thank her enough for helping me learn the ropes of becoming a reporter, pushing me to reach my full potential and being a great mentor. My TAs and GA were some of my best friends in the class and were always, always, always there when I needed them. And lastly
my class! Each and every student who was taking the class with me made it fun. We grew to be like a little student news fam who bonded over the stresses and excitements that came with each week! I knew this class would impact me, but I did not expect it to impact me as positively as it did. If you're interested in my complete story of WVU news, you can find a break down of each show below!
The beginning:
The first 3 weeks of classes were strictly "Bootcamps" where we would learn more about what was expected of us in different categories. The subjects ranged from Beat Reporting, Producing and even how to successfully go Facebook live. We also received our equipment, was given opportunities to learn how to use the cameras and overall just prepare us young and naïve student journalist before we were sent into the field. I really took these first 3 weeks for granted. While I was excited to learn I was more excited to get hands on.
Within these first 3 weeks was anchor auditions. We were given scripts to memorize and prepare as if we were anchoring the news. My roommates got very tired of hearing "I'm Gillian Brooks, and I'm Gillian Brooks and you're watching WVU News" everyday, multiple times a day to get ready for the auditions. I didn't feel very confident going into my audition. But afterwards I felt really good with how I did and was excited to find out where I'd be placed in 2 weeks.
To finish off our 3 weeks of bootcamps, our class met at the Waterfront Studio, where we
would end up filming each episode, for anchor and beat announcements as well as group photos and head shots. We were all given pamphlets to open together with the announcement of each beat (the area you would be reporting on) and positions. I was extremely excited to see that I was named one of the Main Anchors, an opportunity that I am so very thankful for. I was given the Health and Medical beat, which at first I wasn't very excited about but I would later learn that this was the best possible area for me as it would push me so far out of my comfort zone and show me that, that is what being a reporter is all about. While I received so many congratulations for the road ahead of me I was full of nerves but ready to get out into the field.
We ran on a bi-weekly schedule. One week we were out in the field putting together stories and then the next we taped our shows at the studio. But no one could prepare me for show one, I mean no one. We've talked about how I held myself to really high standards this semester and this is when I believe that really peaked. I covered an event on the importance of the HPV Vaccine and how it can prevent Cervical Cancer. I met a really great survivor and cervical cancer and was given so much information for a story. So, easy, right? Oh no, when I tell you I over thought everything, I over thought EVERYTHING. I didn't leave the edit lab Wednesday night until 2am, all over some small details I could probably do now in an hour. But don't worry I was
not there alone, there was a good handful of us freaking out into the late hours of the night. I kept hearing people say the first package is the worst because you don't know what to expect, and that couldn't be more true. I sit back and chuckle now at myself over the unnecessary stress I put myself through.
The next week we filmed our first show. Nothing could describe it better to me than fun, and that truly how the whole semester felt during taping days. Seeing the show come out and all of our hard work paying off was really worth it.
My story for show 2 was about the Perdue Pharma lawsuits. At the time I did not know what I was getting myself into. It was hard to find interviews as the subject was a little touchy with the opioid crisis. I also had trouble understanding what the lawsuits were about since I didn't understand basic law lingo. It was after driving 45 minutes for an interview that ended up being unusable and B-roll with no sound at all that I realized my entire story fell apart at 11pm Tuesday night. I was
an anxious mess thinking that I failed. When I woke up the next day a complete mess full of worry, I realized I didn't have time to pity myself over what happened but to problem solve and figure out what I needed to do to recover the story. And I did just that. I was so proud of myself for reporting on a national story, something that 2 days earlier I didn't even understand. When it came to anchoring I saw a world of difference in myself from week 1 to week 2. I felt more relaxed and better understood what taping was like.
Did you get your flu shot this year? Because I did. That was my next story, the flu. This years flu season is predicted to be worse than last years and WVU was hosting free Flu Shot clinics so it was the recipe for the perfect news story. One thing that my professor always wanted to see from us was creative standups so during our news meeting she told me to get my flu shot while I was filming my standup. I looked at her blankly and I
said "You want me to do what now?" When it came to shooting my standups, it often took my 5 to 6 takes. Well, I only had one this time. I walked around my apartment just saying my standup over and over and the next day we got the shot in one take!
This story reminded me of why I want to be a journalist. Ms. Joyce is a local women who is a 2 time breast cancer survivor. She was one the sweetest, down to earth people that I have ever met
with such an incredible story. This lady practically beat cancer due to her positive attitude. I was so excited to share her story. However my package really lacked visuals and after my conference I knew I had to make this story fantastic. Not only because my grade depended on it, but because Ms. Joyce deserved it. I completely re-shot it and turned the package around. While I didn't make show that week it was a huge
learning curve for me and I am really thankful for that. Hearing my professor say she was proud of me for turning it around was an indescribable feeling and knowing that I got to tell Ms. Joyce's story was an honor. When anchoring this show I woke up with a surprise sore throat, good thing I got my flu shot!
Go see your dentist kids, your health depends on it. I struggled trying to find a story for this show but after seeing that the dental clinic was offering free exams for veterans. Ms. Sunshine was the most incredible PR rep I had encountered through my semester as a medical reporter. She helped me find interviews, set me up for shooting b-roll and even opened up a separate clinic for me to shoot my SOTz in. But with thanksgiving break looming, I was loosing my motivation fast. I had the WORST writers block trying to crank out this story. However once it passed this story ended up being one of the easiest ones for me to put together.
Our last show was our special edition show and our topic was Mental Health. This is such an
important topic and I am still so happy that this is what we chose to talk about. My story specifically was about how social media effects our mental health. Surprise! Its actually pretty bad for us, but I found out that theres still ways we can stay connected and keep our mental health in check. I filmed both my interviews, all of my b-roll, my standup and SOTz in one day. Granted, this is what happens when in the real world but I was
impressed with how quickly I was able to put everything together. Filming this last show was very bitter sweet. I was excited to be done with the class but really enjoyed the people I was surrounded with and really loved the work I was doing. We had a lot of fun our last day on set with a lot of dancing, throwing and catching the woah and overall just a lot of laughs. I really did have the best group to go through this journey with.
All in all, with each week and each story I grew as a journalist, a worked and a person. This class pushed me to my limits and I am so thankful that it did. After every show I continued to tell myself that I cannot wait to do this every day. This class helped shaped my future and gave me a better perspective on what it means to be a journalist.
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