Behind the scenes of charger news channel

By Eleanor Gil Feb. 14, 2024

Dylan Go Photo

Every Monday, students wait excitedly as their teacher turns on the latest episode of the Charger News Channel (CNC). With its bright, colorful graphics and edits, upbeat music and humorous lines, the club creates videos that inform and engage students across the campus.

Dedicated to keeping the student body up to date, CNC broadcasts school news every Monday, says advisor Alison Rutsch, Visual Performing Arts Department. The club meets every Tuesday to discuss the script, then films during tutorial on Thursdays. Since its inception, CNC has worked in tandem with the Associated Student Body (ASB), who helps determine the content to be broadcasted, such as advertisements for school events. CNC members also draw inspiration from social media, compare their news with professional outlets and communicate with various parent groups to decide on content. Although most of the information comes from ASB or staff, anyone in the club can pitch ideas.

“My goals are to help the members run the club independently and support them so that they cultivate their skills in various aspects of creating the news such as art, logo designs, aesthetics and creative ideas for segments. For instance, it is wonderful to notice that different editors express their individual styles with the episodes they are in charge of. I can actually distinguish which editor created which video because they each have such unique pacing and visual and musical choices. Ultimately, I hope that through CNC, students get to pursue heightened opportunities,” Rutsch said.

Besides sharing information, the club also allows students to collaborate with one another and learn leadership skills. Rutsch is incredibly proud to see how much each of her students has grown and improved throughout the years she has guided the club. Every year, as leadership positions are passed down from one student to the next, a new batch of students gets the opportunity to learn, organize and connect with each other. Additionally, they gain various skills, such as video editing, graphic design, broadcasting and crafting backgrounds, depending on the role they assume. For instance, Senior Owen Puryear, vice president of the club, holds various responsibilities, including determining what segments go on the news, overseeing onset work and camerawork, scriptwriting, prop handling and managing schedules.

“I joined as a sophomore with hardly any knowledge in the field, but now that I am in my third and final year with the CNC, I have learned so much, from how to anchor to communicating more effectively with my peers. In retrospect, all the skills I have gathered are paying off,” Puryear said.

Kayla Choi Art

Puryear was interested in filming and took Multimedia as a sophomore, so joining CNC was the perfect opportunity to dive deeper into his interests. Puryear is now applying to college as a film production major; he is certain that his experience in CNC helped guide him toward this decision. He believes one of the most valuable aspects of the club is that it allows students to flesh out their creativity without overburdening them and he hopes that after he graduates, the rest of the team can continue to come together, dedicating their hard work and unique styles to crafting each episode.

CNC members are immersed in a learning environment that combines the intellectually stimulating atmosphere of a tight-knit classroom with the fast-paced, collaborative workplace of a news broadcast production. In this way, students with various roles can have fun together while serving the school community.

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About the Contributors

Eleanor Gil

staff writer

Eleanor Gil is currently a sophomore at Leland High and an enthusiastic writer for The Charger Account. She spends her free time cultivating her deep passions for environmental sustainability and renewable energy, neuroscience and psychology, the law, tennis, and viola.

Kayla Choi

artist

Kayla Choi is a senior at Leland high school and an artist for Leland journalism. She likes listening to Gidle, Wave to earth and DPR ian.

Dylan Go

photographer

Dylan Go is a freshman at Leland High School and is a member of the photo media team for the Charger Account. During his free time he enjoys boxing, gaming, spreading misinformation, and doing stupid things with his friends.