1/18-1/21 WACS influence on me

WACS News has become a big part of my high school career. As a senior, I put a lot of time and energy into WACS. Signing up for Media Production, I wasn’t fully aware of what I was in for, but I don’t regret it at all. It looked like a class that would interest me, and that’s exactly what it is. I have learned a lot from being in WACS News and have gotten a lot out of it so far. Each week is pretty much the same routine. Monday, I pick my stories, plan, and think of ideas for them. Tuesday, I usually film and import what I caught on camera. On Wednesday, I start editing my story and write some of my script. Thursday is the big day. On Thursdays, we film the newscast that will air on television the next day. I have to look nice and come early in order to read over my lines. Cameron and I put on our microphones and earpieces and get ready to go. We have a teleprompter in front of us, feeding us lines, but it is still difficult to not make any mistakes. After a few bloopers and issues with cameras or teleprompters, the filming usually gets done in a good amount of time. On Friday, I finish my story and export it to a computer where it will be edited into the newscast. As you can see, a week with WACS is no “blow-off” class. I spend a lot of time outside of class on WACS as well. A lot of times, I film stories or events that happen outside of school or school events that take place at different times. Also, in order to get my work done, I sometimes have to use my study hall, advisement, or lunch time. I’m always thinking of ways to make events that I attend into stories that would fit into the news. Media Production has brought to my attention my interest in Communications. I would love to have a career in Communications doing something similar to what I do on WACS News. Although it’s a lot of work, it is also a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.

1/18-1/21 Why I chose WACS for my final

I chose to do my final project on WACS News because I think it is a really interesting topic. My main goal is to publicize it but at the same time I want to give people a little taste of what goes into making the newscasts. I think we have something really great going on at our school and more and more people are becoming aware of it each day. WACS is trying to get more people involved and cover as many stories as we can. We want to provide stories that people want to watch and are interested in. The Wiki that I am creating will act as a go-to place for people to find almost anything they want to know about WACS News. I also chose this topic because I thought it would be fun and come easy to me. I’m very informed on the basic information of WACS News and all the little details. I figured there would be a lot of information to give and that I would be success in delivering it. Two of my three classes right now are Media Production and Online Publishing, so why not tie the two together? Earlier in the year, I filmed a story on our newspaper, “The Bulldog” for WACS News. Now it’s time to switch roles and bring WACS News to The Bulldog and Online Publishing. I’d like to think that I am a key contributor in each of those classes so I like to find the best stories or topics possible. There is a lot to cover when discussing WACS News. It’s more than the newscasts people see every week. As of now, there is no place where WACS can bring all our information and material together. By creating a wiki, my goal is to bring it all together. WACS News is the official news station of Alden High School and has become a bigger deal this year than it has in the past. I knew this topic wouldn’t be very difficult for me and that I had a lot to share. I think it will fulfill all the parts of my final project and that the project on WACS will be a success.

1/18-1/21 WACS Crew

Even though it’s only forty minutes a day, our WACS crew seems to spend a lot of time together. We have become very close since the beginning of the year and I enjoy the relationships that I’ve created because of it. I have gotten to know Matt Masci really well. The amount of work he puts into WACS News is truly amazing. Without him, there would be no Alden news station. We consider him our teacher because he is always instructing and answering our questions. Cameron Gordon is my co-anchor and we always have so much fun on camera together. Cam is our class clown and is always making people smile. Leeann Dorminy, our weathergirl, has become a big part of WACS. She’s always in the studio with Matt and I sometimes go to her with questions. Kelsey Osucha is a reporter that is always happy. Her personality shines through in her Wild Question of the Week stories and it’s always fun to watch. Amanda Munn is another lead reporter who has really gotten the hang of creating stories. Amanda, Kelsey, and I always help each other film or do voiceovers together. Jason Pomana has really amazing stories. I love watching the final product of his work because I never know how he does it. They are all unique in their own way. Luke Krawyzak, our sports guy, is a fun person. He is controls one of the cameras on filming day and constantly makes us anchors laugh and smile. Rylie Walters, Kaysie Winiecki, and Zach Lucas are reporters in our crew and usually stay pretty quiet but do still get involved and do their work. Jake Woj runs the telemprompters on film day and we count on him to be able to read our script. Matt DeRosa and Mrs. Bosse are always in class too, getting involved and keeping us entertained. Josh Weisbeck has also been our T.A. for the first semester and helps out a lot in the control room or finishing up incomplete stories. Luke Wieand will be our T.A. next half of the year and I’m looking forward to it. He already is part of our WACS family and helps Matt out a lot with the producing of WACS News. Of course, there is Ms. Weisbeck who we all love. She keeps us in line and makes sure we know what we are doing every day. The WACS crew is a unique bunch and definitely a lot of fun.

1/10-1/14 Channel 4!

On Wednesday, January 12th, I traveled out to the Channel 4 News Station in downtown Buffalo. I went with 7 of my classmates from WACS News in order to see how the news was really run. We left school around 2:30 and planned on staying long enough to sit in on the 5 o’clock news. The weather was pretty bad, I didn’t feel good, and we got rear ended on the way there. I was beginning to think that this little trip might not be such a good idea. When we got to Channel 4, our guide, Mr. Schrodt, met us at the door. He took us on a tour and it wasn’t long before I was really interested. Everything was SO cool. We got to see the rooms where they edit and all the employees hard at work getting ready for the 5 o’clock news. Everyone there was extremely friendly and willing to show us what they were doing. We met the producers, directors, and a lot of other people behind the scenes. My favorite part was definitely the studio. The studio was smaller than I expected but it amazed me. I’m the anchor for WACS News so it was really neat to sit in the real anchor’s chairs and get the full experience. We took many pictures and as it got closer to five, Don Paul, Jacquie Walker, and Don Postles came out and took their places. I got to sit in the studio and watch as the 5 o’clock news was happening live. It really was so intriguing to watch them. It seemed to come so natural to them and they were so good at delivering the news. About halfway through, I went to the control room to see how things were run in there. It was extremely hectic because they were in charge of making things run smoothly. Communications is a field that I’m interested in so it was a great opportunity. While there though, a lot of people said that it was a really tough area to find work in and that it didn’t make much money. All in all, the trip to Channel 4 was a wonderful experience.

1/10-1/14 Superbowl Sunday

Every year, Superbowl Sunday is different for me. Usually, my family gets together with all the other families that we tailgate with for Bills games on Sundays. These are the typical football families that all have a great time together and enjoy football. We all gather at one person’s house and get ready for the game. Each family brings some kind of stack or hour de vours. Sometimes, we even do a meal at half time. In the past, we’ve ordered pizza and wings to save the hassle of cooking a meal. People arrive early before the game and claim their spot for the day. Everyone eats, drinks, and has a good time. Snacks that are a MUST are chips and dip, chicken wing dip, cheese and crackers, and more. All throughout the game, bets are usually made as well. The guys all then proceed to cheer and root for their favorite team or the one that they placed the bet on in hopes of winning the money. Although I love watching the game, one of my favorite parts about the Superbowl is the commercials! The Superbowl is known for having the best and funniest commercials. Normally people talk and take a break during commercials, but not on this day! Everyone watches, laughs, and talks about their favorite one. As for the football game, the men never fail to yell at the television when a play that they are unhappy with occurs. I’ve have never seen the good, old Bills in a Superbowl game so therefor I can’t say I’m a true fan to any of the teams I’ve watched. I usually favor one team though and cheer for them throughout the game. Even after the game is over, all of the families hang out for a while longer, socializing and talking about the game. Superbowl Sunday is always fun and an event that I look forward to!

1/10-1/14 Social Networking

Social networking has become a big part of my life. There are so many social network sites out there but the one that I use the most is Facebook. I used MySpace back in middle school but Facebook seemed to be the most popular among my friends and peers at the high school level. It has had a big impact on my life even though I may not notice it. Facebook makes it much easier to communicate. Whether it’s with my friends or people I haven’t seen in years, I can contact them with a touch of a button. It’s really convenient to find old friends and stay in touch or even meet new people. Facebook also allows you to update pictures. I love that part of it because instead of having my pictures organized in a photo album, I just upload them on Facebook. It’s like I have my own photo gallery. I also like looking at other people’s pictures to see how they’ve changed or even just look at activities that I missed out on. Status updates are another big thing on Facebook. With status updates, I am constantly in the loop and can know what is going on just like that. On the downside, Facebook is a big time distraction. When I have to write an essay or do something school related, my fingers always manage to find their way to Facebook. I think it’s a major time waster too. I find myself on Facebook just looking around when I am bored. I could be doing other, productive things instead of letting myself sit on Facebook for that long. Social networking is a really cool advancement in technology and can be a lot of fun if it’s used appropriately. There are probably many other sites out there that I am unaware of. I don’t think I’ve been polluted by social networking sites. In fact, I think it has enhanced our lives.

1/3-1/7 First 5 Days of the New Year

The first five days of the New Year were fun but somewhat uneventful. It started off pretty crazy though. When the New Year officially hit, there were about 40 people at my house to celebrate. I was with my family and some of my closest friends, so it was a great time. The next morning, everybody who attended our New Year’s Party was obligated to go to the Town Park to play a friendly game of softball. This is third year that we played on New Year’s Day and we kept up the tradition. It was raining and extremely muddy but we had a blast. After the softball game, we came home, snuggled up with blankets, and slept, rested and ate all day with our friends who were visiting from Canada. Later that night, I went to my friend, Kelsey Osucha’s house, to hang out with my besties! We played the new Wii game, Just Dance, for a good two hours. I went back to my house to get some sleep before an early basketball practice with Coach Delzer! After basketball, I came home to clean up and rest before soccer practice. I was not feeling good at all on Sunday and dreading going back to school on Monday. Monday morning arrived and I woke up feeling terrible. I went back to sleep for a bit and got woken up to go to the doctor. I really wanted to play in my basketball game that night so I made sure to come to school for the required amount of time. That night, we suffered a tough loss to leading team, Holland, by a score of 57-50. Tuesday, not feeling any better, I slept in again and came to school late. I went to basketball practice and called it a night pretty early. Finally, Wednesday morning, I went back to the doctor and came in to school again! Hopefully I can shake this sickness and get a better start to the New Year.