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Westside journalism program offers students tools to tell stories

In the Classroom
Posted at 3:40 PM, May 02, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-06 14:41:26-04

Students who work on Westside High School's Warrior Television get hands-on journalism experience using state-of-the-art equipment. 

Mtichell Francis is a senior, he says it has taught him to talk with people about difficult, yet important topics. "Things that are tough to talk about but you have to learn how to ask those questions because those are the stories that people really care about." 

Not only do they use cameras and editing software to put together video stories together, but they also do podcasts, post videos online and look at social media analytics. 

Jarred Zegelis is a journalism advisor. He says Warrior TV offers hands-on learning. "I'm mostly an equipment manager," he says the students are often their own best critics so it helps to stand back and watch them learn, "We try to do some feedback here and there, but for the most part, I try to let the students run the program."

Francis will be going to school for filmmaking. He says the skills taught in journalism class directly translate into what he hopes to do. 

"They're always pushing me to be a better, not just storyteller and journalist, but a better person. As far as the filmmaking goes, they allow us to experiment and get creative and do different things."

Francis is a finalist for the national Courageous Persuaders Video Contest. He created an ad showing the dangers of drinking and driving. 

You can watch the ad here

Zegelis is modest talking about his impact on students, but he says, watching them succeed is fulfilling, "it's really cool to be able to say, I was a little tiny piece of that, a small piece, but that's a lot of fun, it makes it all rewarding."