Falcon and SHSTV to merge into collaborative staff

Next year, SHSTV and the Falcon will combine in third period, creating a class where journalists can participate in both broadcast and print journalism.

The staff will consist of approximately 50 students; however, the students will be split between SHSTV and the Falcon. First-year Falcon staffers will rotate every six weeks and work in broadcast, meaning they will spend one-third of the year reporting for SHSTV.

SHSTV adviser Tony Palma and Falcon adviser Mike Tyler proposed the idea in order to save the SHSTV program, which will be losing almost all of its core members after graduation this year. Both felt that the talent from incoming and returning Falcon students would greatly benefit SHSTV.

Since the birth of SHSTV in 2009, its staff has boasted between 20 to 30 students. This year, because the elective was offered only during seventh period, the staff had just 13 students. Twelve of these 13 staff members are seniors, leaving only sophomore William Chen to carry on the broadcast.

“I feel that the merge will bring new material every Friday and ultimately might be better because of the partnership between Mr. Palma and Mr. Tyler,” Chen said. “I will be be part of next year's staff, [and] I hope I can also contribute to the Falcon in print as well as through media.”

Tyler also believes that the merged programs will make better use of the technology and equipment both programs have.

 “It’d be a shame to see that program go away, especially with the brand new facilities that they have,” Tyler said.

In addition, by working together, the two groups would be able to jointly produce stories to the school. For instance, print stories on topics such as major sports victories or student profiles could be further enhanced and broadened with the help of video clips and visuals.

“SHSTV [is] on either weekly deadlines and bi-weekly deadlines, so we will be able to share event-related stories that can easily be converted from written stories to broadcast reports,” Tyler said.

Palma also believes that due to the increasingly popular use of multimedia to cover news, events and editorials, combining these two publications at SHS would be more beneficial than rebuilding the SHSTV program.

In order to accommodate the numerous students, the class will use computers from both rooms 303 and 301. This change will allow for increased efficiency because a greater number of computers and laptops will be at the staff’s disposal.  

Palma said that the large number of staff may lead to variable production quality, but feels problem can be eliminated  over time. He believes the potential and talent from all of the Falcon and SHSTV staff members will bring the content to “a different level.”

“Because I don’t have a lot of experience in the journalism field, I’m looking forward to gaining exposure to a different form of journalism in broadcast,” said freshman Kyle Wang, who will join the third-period staff next year. “I hope I learn a lot and enjoy the ride.”