Nate Hite serves as our audio mixer during the studio tapings.
As I wrap another episode of WVU News in the books, I want to reflect on my time out in the field with my fellow reporters. If you know me at all, you know that this will be my 3rd time working with WVU News, and my 5th time working with the WVU College of Creative Arts and Media’s student-produced newscast shows. So I think it is safe to say that at least I am a veteran of this program and the work associated with this newscast since 2023.
During my time working with more than a dozen student reporters, I feel like I have learned some lessons that can help my classmates, and this show that was being open and confident.
Being open and confident is a very important skill for a journalist, whether you work in broadcasting/television, radio, or print journalism. What it means to me is that, as a reporter, you need to have the ability to go up to people who are out in the field, on the sidewalk, surrounding the stage, walking down from the podium, etc., and ask them the most burning question, whether they want to hear it in that moment or not. You have to be the one who asks them, then listens to what they have to say, while being as open-minded as possible.
I saw this in real time this past week as I traveled out in the field with my fellow reporters, Lakyn Campbell, Regan Duceman and Jerenie Sands. They are all capable reporters with some news-gathering experience under their belts, but, like a lot of people who are in the field, they still experience some form of nervousness and anxiety while reporting – and it’s mostly due to their still limited experience working as student journalists.
Nate helps his classmates shoot in the field as a videographer.
Lakyn was reporting about the technical schools in West Virginia, particularly Monongalia County Technical Education Center, which is where I graduated from the Automotive Tech program in 2020. That fact, I believe, did alleviate some of her initial hesitancy. But I still saw the nervousness manifest itself in a few ways, like asking for specific shots. And I will say, even as some of her shots weren’t used, they looked like some of the best I had seen, and her story looked great.
Next, I helped Regan in Percival Hall, filming the Percival Pickers group that gathers in the lobby and plays Appalachian folk/bluegrass music. She was initially nervous because this was a last-minute story in an unusual setting (the lobby of Percival Hall is full of taxidermied animals and fossils) a late Tuesday night. But one thing I tried to do was encourage her to ask part of the group if she could do some interactions within the band’s circle. She did do some, but I wish she had felt the confidence to ask for and do more.
Jerenie Sands didn’t really have this problem, but I think the fact that this story was based around children that she had full permission to take video of made it easier. Initially, she was hesitant, but I encouraged her to speak with the parents, who were mostly happy to help, and she felt a lot better about the story.
My main point here is that as a videographer, I know part of my job is not just to shoot video, record audio, and make things look good, but also to encourage and help out the reporter if they are struggling with the story and making it look interesting. Sometimes, they just need that little push to do something like ask that question or tell them to do something specific. Because that little push may be the difference between getting cut from the print or show, and being on the front cover or the first story in the show.