Students provide local service, get well-rounded experience

James McNab is not a swim teacher, but the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication assistant teaching professor admits the initial broadcast project for the new sports media and communication major is like throwing students into the deep end.

"Prep Sports Central" is an area prep sports highlight and recap show produced entirely by students and aired Mondays on the school's YouTube channel. It gives students in sports broadcast production experience in every aspect of a live show in front of and behind the camera. It also gives local and surrounding community members -- including faculty and staff at Iowa State -- another option for prep sports coverage that impacts them.

"We wanted to combine all of the aspects that you would see in a traditional sports broadcast," McNab said. "Not only do the students go to games to capture highlights, edit them, write scripts and be in front of the camera, but we have story meetings every week where they have to pitch their ideas."

The 14 students can cover any prep sport sanctioned in the state -- which includes speech, debate and more -- with the 15-minute show broken into three segments:

• Highlights
• Feature story
• Look ahead to next show (six shows this fall)

"Every student has two responsibilities for every show -- a field and studio responsibility," McNab said. "Shows are not live, but they are treated that way with producers, directors, camera operators, audio directors, technical directors and more. The shows are recorded Monday morning and then aired later that day."

Each episode -- the third aired Oct. 20 -- lives on the school's YouTube page and can be watched at the viewer's convenience. 

As media shifts, finding coverage of prep sports -- especially in areas farther from the Des Moines metro -- is more difficult, McNab said. That is the void students are trying to fill. McNab said students have traveled around Ames and to smaller communities for highlights and stories and frequently go out of the metro to places like Storm Lake and Woodbine.

Renovations at Greenlee have the class using the digital media studio makerspace in the Student Innovation Center to record the show. The partnership requires students build sets each time and work efficiently with others scheduled to use the space after them. McNab credits the students for building the show from scratch -- including naming it -- which sets the standard for future classes to build on.

Digital storytelling

Prep Sports Central is an example of the experience students can gain handling every part of a project. The same idea is behind the digital storytelling major and minor Greenlee will launch next fall. Both the journalism and music and theatre programs viewed the Degrees of the Future initiative as the impetus to inject more digital content into their curriculum.

"When we first started talking, it was melding two very different approaches into a single degree," said Sherry Berghefer, Greenlee teaching professor. "With what [the journalism program] has been teaching, we are very heavy into branding and social media and getting your voice out there. Theatre expressed an interest in its students really being able to promote themselves."

Theatre students can learn more technical aspects of media and how to tell their stories to a broad audience that will attract attention over a variety of platforms.

With many students spending time in front of a camera making social media or long- and short-form videos, drawing from the music and theatre department to enhance stage presence, directing and voice acting brings benefits, Berghefer said.  The course content is designed to be beneficial in nearly any field. 

"Everyone has a story to tell," Berghefer said. "This is how information is shared now, so if you are working for a business you may be asked to put together a social media post. This will give them those skills."

With the speed that digital media changes and adapts, the biggest asset of the new degree may be its adaptability. Core content includes media literacy, storytelling and branding which will mix with advances in technology to come. Students can propose courses or internships to fulfil requirements if approved after review.

"The biggest idea with digital storytelling is that it's going to be very hands-on," Berghefer said. "Our students will be writing scripts, filming, directing, all with the idea that they are building portfolio pieces for when they graduate."