On the air with the Pirates News Network

Mike Cast, Leader staff writer

In the hallways of Polson Middle School, young reporters chase down leads and then go on-camera to give their fellow students the scoop. The Pirates News Network (PNN), is an elective class that offers students a glimpse into news reporting and broadcast production and gives them a chance to cover important topics through their own eyes.

The students do everything from the writing to the filming and editing, covering important social and cultural topics and events that take place in the community. The class was first offered in 2006 and has been growing ever since.

The network began as a vision. Polson Middle School math teacher Clay Herring was the founder of the program - which began small, with very limited equipment, and was kept alive by students who volunteer their free time both during and after school.

Generous grants and the cooperation of several organizations have enabled the program to develop into a full-fledged network and class, with the necessary equipment to make professional video newcasts for students, faculty and members of the community to enjoy.

A $10,000 grant from the Charlotte Martin Foundation, a Tomberg Family Philanthropies grant, a grant from the Southern Poverty Law Center, and a Ben and Jerry's Foundation grant have all helped pave the way for the equipment to run a small makeshift recording studio in the back corner of a classroom and a small editing room as well. Now the programs are broadcast on KSKC-TV.

Students have three portable cameras to shoot in the field and two for in-studio work. They have a chroma key device to set backgrounds to blue and green screens, lights, monitors, microphones and a teleprompter. PNN uses a modulator donated by Bresnan Communications to broadcast its episodes throughout the school system. The technology is largely managed by Larry Kjorvestad, the middle school's tech support specialist.

Of course, none if it would have been possible without Herring's dedication and the enthusiastic participation and creativity of the kids.

During District No. 23 Superintendent Sue McCormick's monthly meeting with the community, Herring presented this year's first finished program with his student producer, seventh-grader Sheridan Russell, and seventh-grade reporter Emmy Driscoll.

As Herring brought up the newscast on a projection screen, community members were already impressed.

"Sheridan, does Katie Couric know you're after her job?" Polson Police Chief Doug Chase asked.

The newscast began with a rocking beat which faded out as the camera focused in on the lead anchors, Dallas Burris and Anna DiGiallonardo.

"Hey Polson Middle School, welcome to the first PNN program of the year. And we're happy to announce that Anna and I are finally eighth-graders," Burris said.

"Whew!" both anchors yelled in glee.

They began by jumping to their Native American segment.

It was a feature on Miss Pete, a teacher at Polson Middle School who is an Eastern Shoshoni Native and has been making authentic Shoshoni dresses for thirty years. The camera zoomed in fluidly on the colorful garments as Driscoll stood by with questions.

Back in the newsroom, the anchors transitioned into the next segment.

"In case you haven't noticed, Polson Middle School got a climbing wall over the summer. Let's go to Breanna with the scoop," DiGiallonardo said.

Seventh-grade reporter Breanna Harrison began with a great lead-in on the scene at the climbing wall.

"Ever wonder how you can lose weight and build muscle?" she asked her audience.

She grilled authority from around the school including president of the Parent Advisory Committee Nancy Hemphill and eighth-grade physical education teacher Dennis Johnson.

When asked if the climbing wall would be made available to the Polson community, Johnson said it probably would be. This is an example of how PNN broadcast's are directed toward the community outside the school's walls as well as the students.

It was time to wrap it up and move on to more news.

"Well, I know I'm excited about our new climbing wall, I hope all of Polson Middle School will be too. Just remember, have fun and be safe," Andrews said while dangling in a harness from the climbing wall.

At the beginning of the broadcast, the news team teased audiences by briefly mentioning the school's Mix-it-up Dayck to later - a timeless broadcast tactic.

Another segment was a special on a recreational activty known by middle schoolers as "playing with airsoft guns."

Seventh-grade reporter Brennan Andrews was on the scene interviewing fellow student Aaron Rasmussen.

Rasmussen said shooting each other with plastic pellet guns is a cheap alternative to paint ball.

"Aaron, does it hurt when you get hit?" Andrews asked.

"What, you want to find out?" Rasmussen asked, to the laughter of the community members watching the program.

Rasmussen pulled the trigger.

"Oh. I guess it doesn't hurt that bad," Andrews whined.

An impressive story was a special on "cliques" at school. PNN returned to Mix-it-up Day at school where faculty asked students to have lunch with different students they didn't know to tackle the presence of "clique" mentality. Sixth-grade reporter Mykah Kittson interviewed anonymous students in a darkened room about how clicks have affected them - a type of in-depth social reporting rarely seen today.

Much of the camera work was done by eighth-grader Jonel Kallowat, also a sports reporter and the program's only three-year participant.

By the end of the broadcast, community members were asking what it would take to build a real studio for the program - something Herring said would allow PNN to broadcast live across the school for morning announcements. Herring said the program gave the students a chance to prepare for the challenges of the real world in a way they could enjoy. He also said Russell was a big part of the process.

"That's what PNN really teaches these kids. They have to plan, they have to work, they have to program and when something comes up they have to improvise right on the spot. And you have to think, and Sheridan has been a fine example of that," Herring said.

After putting in her time as a reporter in sixth grade, Russell has become the show's producer in her second year.

"She was the one who could do her own stories, edit and produce everything on her own so she was the ideal choice for producer," Herring said in an interview with the Lake County Leader.

It's a lot of work but that's not the only reason Russell does it.

"I have a lot of fun with everyone else. We get along well and laugh at each other," she said in an interview with the Leader.

If the humorous content of this school year's first newscast speaks for PNN, it looks like everyone involved is having a pretty good time.

The academic basis for the program is that students learn better communication and media literacy skills through the experience. Students learn the basic standards of literacy in an interactive setting. They learn the importance of accurate information, citing sources of information, seeking that information out, evaluating it for its accuracy and finally organizing that information into a practical application and adding it to their own body of knowledge, according to Herring's class curriculum.

"This class really really gives them those skills to do these things," Herring said.

Students also learn where media messages come from and how to interpret the media messages that influence them outside of school — the radio, television, video, newspapers and of course, advertising.

Ultimately all of these mediums can be judged more objectively after the class, better preparing the reporters of the PNN for the professional world and their private lives.

The next PNN broadcast will air at 6 p.m. on Nov. 18 on KSKC-TV. It will also air on Nov. 19 and Nov. 21.

Stories will include cyber bullying, a triathalon, a book review, a special on veterans, driver's education, skiing, and skits about respect.

For more information and to view past programs, visit http://www.polson.k12.mt.us/PMS/PMS_Webpage/herringweb/Web/index.html

The website can also be easily accessed from a link on the Polson Middle School homepage.