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COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Every morning, bright and early, a group of Cheyenne Mountain High School students write, edit, produce and shoot their own television news broadcast.
Live to tape with a deadline, it is as real-world as you can get.
"I make sure that everything has a time and place to go on, and that the school is getting all the packages that they want, and making sure everything is in the script and ready to go," executive producer Kristi Small said.
Small is a senior at Cheyenne Mountain. She said the class is split into three groups that rotate every two weeks.
"So you have two weeks in studio and then you have four weeks of downtime, and during the downtime that is when they make packages and everything," Small said.
Small said the stories that fill their newscasts vary from day to day, and added students are encouraged to be both informative and creative.
She said it is fun to be a leader in the classroom.
"I like being the head producer and getting to basically run the show and decide what goes on and what does not," Small said.
Others in the class said the show provides a creative outlet for them, giving them a chance to practice their writing, shooting and editing skills. They said they take pride in their work.
"I really like to see my packages on the announcements to say 'I did that.' It is just really a cool feeling to know you took a lot of time and then see it show and shine to the school," director Michael Forrest said.
"I like the whole pressure of running the show, and getting one whole show done in the same amount of time every day, under deadlines," Director Dillon Novak said.
