Just For TV Teachers

Seems like it was just yesterday I was wishing the class of 2008 a happy life, and sending them on their way. Now the ‘09 gang leaves, and soon it will be “hello” to the 21st staff of “HTV Magazine.”

Perspective is often best achieved from a distance. I don’t know how to evaluate the class of ‘09 just yet. Some things are certain. They were smart. All eight of my HTV seniors are “A” students, full of potential. They were creative, and when they had to, they could find and gather stories fast. They proved that on our spring break bus tour, when they often had two hours to shoot, and then had to have the edited piece done by noon the next day, no matter how much site-seeing they planned to do.

They were not the most competitive group I’ve had. They were proud of winning our show’s unprecedented tenth broadcast Pacemaker in November, despite little fanfare from our local media. They were also happy to earn our fifth STN Excellence Award in March. But individual awards were just not a priority. We chose to sit out a number of contests because of timing, or expense, or lack of interest. That’s how I handle it. If the kids don’t seem to care about a contest, we pass. Each year is different, and each staff is different. This group seemed to be fine with just doing their stories and doing their part to maintain the tradition of HTV.

I had excellent leadership on the staff. Mehleena, you did great as News Director. Alex, ditto as Line Producer. Sarah, you left a tough act to follow as Chief Photog. Thanks to Fran, Rob, Curtis, Lauren, and Chase as well. I think your willingness to go the extra mile on many of your stories spoke volumes for those who will follow you.

Now I welcome 14 seniors to our staff next year, and only four juniors. We’ll see if it’s a rebuilding year, or a re-loading year. Either way, my job won’t be boring, I’m sure.

To those who drop by to read this blog now and then, have a great summer. I’ll be back a bloggin’ in September.

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About three months ago I heard murmurs about our district, in an effort to cut costs, was seriously considering giving up its cable access channel. We have shown “HTV Magazine” on that channel since October of 1989, so this rumor definitely got my attention. Our entire show is structured to appeal to a citywide audience because we’ve always aired on a channel that’s available citywide.

Then about a month ago I received the official word that our access channel was going away for good. It happened quietly on April 30 at 5 p.m. The plug was pulled. No more citywide exposure for HTV or any other school broadcast in our district. But read on. This is definitely one of those “one door closes, another one opens” scenarios.

I have been in pretty steady contact with our local NBC affiliate, which also owns the local CW channel. We have been discussing a new home for “HTV Magazine,” produced by my kids at Hillcrest, and “Central Intelligence,” produced by students at Central High School, which is about five miles from HHS. Those are the only student-produced shows in our district. The general manager at the NBC affiliate has been supportive all along. He has a half hour on Saturday afternoons he can devote to our shows. So beginning May 16, “CI” and “HTV” willl alternate weekend airings.

This is why the CW is such a great deal for both shows. Previously, on local cable, our programs were going out to maybe 50,000 homes. We were recently moved to a higher cable channel, going from 25 to 81. About half of that 50,000 can even access channel 81. Add to that the fact that a cable access channel, at least around here, does not draw a lot of viewers. That’s because there is nothing but a bulletin board on screen most of the time.

So we lose repeated broadcasts on cable, where our show would play eight times a weekend. That’s gone. BUT we gain exposure to the entire southwest Missouri viewing area for the first time. That’s cable, satellite, and over-the-air viewers who will now all have access to HTV and CI. We will be seen outside the city limits for the first time ever. That is great for us, because all along our guiding mission has been to do stories “by teens, for teens,” and not “by teens at Hillcrest, for teens at Hillcrest.” Our reach has always been broad. We will have to change nothing about our approach.

Sometimes, that dark cloud does have a silver lining. Now we’ll see what the feedback is as our potential viewership goes up by a few hundred thousand in the months ahead. When we were on cable access the last 20 years, there was always this feeling underneath the surface that “hardly anyone watches the show anyway.” Sure, we were proven wrong now and then thanks to e-mail or phone calls about stories we produced. What we wonder now is, just what will teens in schools and towns 75 or 80 miles away think about the show. It should be fun to find out.

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