By: Jamie Harvey, Reporter
PAPILLION, Neb- On a crisp October evening at Foundation Feild, students from the PLV Media Academy prepared to live stream the Papillion La Vista South Titans varsity football game against the Bellevue West Thunderbirds. The operation had four cameras, live student commentators, and a control room staffed by a switcher, a video board producer, a CG operator, a technical director, and a producer. It was a professional setup, run almost entirely by high schoolers.
According to the Center for Scholastic Journalism at Kent State University, 29% of high schools have a video journalism program. Students in these programs learn important writing, production and critical thinking skills.
Academy directory Becky Hoch said that she had not seen any programs that replicate the depth and scope of PLV Media. Students in the academy live stream sporting events, call games, shoot and edit news packages, design graphics, and produce countless videos for both the district and outside clients. Students in the PLV Media academy learn multimedia skills–like how to compose video, record high-quality audio, create graphics, and edit videos and photos–along with professional soft skills–like how to work with a team, write an email, manage time, and hold oneself accountable.
The program started as the Monarch Broadcasting Club at Papillion LaVista High School with cameras that recorded on mini DV cassettes. Hoch, then the club’s sponsor, grew the program and got an endorsement in Journalism to turn the club into a class. From there, the program evolved into a four-year academic academy that serves students from both Papillion LaVista district high schools. Hoch said that everything the program does today came from the initiative of past and present students to do it. “I view it as my job to find a way to say yes,” Hoch said.
But although Hoch asserts she “just drives the bus,” her students say otherwise. “She’ll go with you along the way and aid you with it and show you how to improve,” said PLV Media Senior Producer Leah Hunter. “If she doesn’t know how to do it, she’ll still try to figure it out for you.”
You can find PLV Media’s live streams and other content on their website at plv.media and on their YouTube channel.
