Speaking for Broadcast, a new half-year class taught by Mr. Dubin, has been a complete success. The class has exposed students to the world of television journalism.
The first quarter was geared towards public speaking, a class that has been taught by Mr. Dubin in the past.
“The course was traditionally designed to provide students with the poise and preparation they needed to make credible speeches,” said Dubin.
The assignments were an introduction for another member of the class, a how-to speech, and a news/reporter presentation. Several of the students have serious drama careers, so they had no problem being the center of attention. And the others became more comfortable speaking in front of an audience as the weeks went on. It helped students become comfortable in front of people.
Erin Colton, former Public Speaking student of Mr. Dubin (W.H.S. Class of 2000), Warrior Editor in Chief, and Emmy-winning News 12 Reporter, came to speak to the class about the steps she took in the field of broadcast journalism. The students casually interacted with Colton on a few occasions. She explained how her job calls for early mornings, last-minute location changes, and improvising.
“When I took Mr. Dubin’s public speaking class years ago, it was more geared towards talking to groups or classes,” said Colton. “This time around you get the full experience of broadcasting on television. From the cameras, to the anchor desk, to the lighting, the new Speaking for Broadcast class sets the stage of a real television studio. No student taking this class will wonder, ‘What’s it like to do that?’”
“Mr. Dubin is the absolute best choice to teach this class because he knows about speaking to large group,” said Colton. “And even though TV broadcasting is different, in a sense of you’re not really giving a speech, there are many similarities. Television broadcasters have to act and speak as if they are talking to a large group of people, even though sometimes, it’s just to the camera. The transition of classes is an interesting, informative way to give students a real experience of TV broadcasting.”
In the second half of the course, the students put together two newscasts to be broadcast in the main lobby. The class came up with current and interesting stories to report and interviewed a few special people, Colton among them.
“Now we’ve brought the course into the 21st century by giving students practical experience in delivering news reports in front of the camera in broadcasts that are viewed around the school,“ raved Dubin.
The class journeyed to News 12 for a full tour of the facility, February 6. The broadcast and Audio Visual Club students were shown the ins and outs of the newsrooms, the production and the graphics center. The aspiring Coltons got insight on just how cutthroat yet rewarding the industry is.
“Speaking for Broadcast was an absolutely fantastic course,” said senior Brendan Serrano. “I wasn’t nervous in front of people to begin with but I learned more professional methods of public speaking.”
Next year the class will be offered in two sections- the first will mimic this year’s syllabus and the second (only offered to seniors) will focus just on covering stories that will be shown on MSG Varisty TV.