SEVA Training Series: Sports Reporting

SECC intern and Mira Loma High School student Edward Jung was on hand at the recent SEVA Training Event. Read on for his roundup of the evening’s events.

“Hold yourself in high esteem – as a journalist, you’re out there, and you’re learning.” – Brian May, ABC 10

On December 8th, students, parents, and teachers from the greater Sacramento region attended the SEVA training event on sports reporting and running a school video production program, hosted at Inderkum High School.

Sports reporter Brian May from ABC 10 gave a presentation about the merits of sports reporting, and how it has qualities that set it apart from other styles of reporting. Starting from descriptions of the experiences that he had been through in his sports career – ranging from interviewing professional football athletes in their locker rooms to feature stories about talented individuals in the area – Mr. May then transitioned to addressing the overall change of news and media. He highlighted how modern media has changed sports reporting from short highlights and overall coverage to focus on more sensationalist stories.

“You’re not there as a fan, you’re out there as a journalist,” Mr. May stated, highlighting the importance of news reporting in a way that puts the information first.

Additionally, Inderkum media teacher Melissa May gave a unique look into how a video production/media class can be run in a high school environment. Attendees learned how Google Drive, teleprompter software, and class-wide script editing systems are all used in unison to incorporate student-led intuition and ingenuity in a finished news product that students from Inderkum High School can view at any time.

One of her students, Ivory, was able to give a more personal view into how working with student production has been of benefit to her.

“For one of our productions about veterans, my dad, who was part of the Navy, came to school for school Q&A sessions,” smiled Ivory. “I didn’t want him to embarrass me, but in the end I think we talked about the event and became a lot closer as father and daughter!”