New videos help define what makes a strong website, broadcast

What are judges looking for when they critique student media? What makes a great student news site or broadcast, anyway?

A new series of videos produced by JEA helps answer those questions and more.

“Excellence in 21st Century Student Media” includes four clips to identify key components specific to broadcast video, web, yearbook and newspaper/newsmagazine. Presented by veteran advisers, the videos provide an overview of what separates the good from the great and outline aspects of content and coverage, presentation, engagement, leadership and more.

The web video from Kelly Glasscock, CJE, for example, addresses how delivery of content is as important as the content itself. The broadcast video segment from Adam Dawkins, CJE, provides suggestions for script writing from beginning to middle to end and discusses best practices in lighting and background.

Each video in the online training provides media-specific guidelines for contemporary student media.

The chapter is designed as part of JEA’s national critique training, a free online course designed to prepare advisers to critique or evaluate scholastic publications. Completing the one-to-two hour course prepares a journalism teacher for the experience of judging for state, regional or national organizations — but watching the videos in this final chapter of the learning module will benefit any scholastic media adviser.

Whether teachers are curious about judges’ considerations or eager to identify areas of focus for their own teaching and advising moving forward, they should consider carving out a little time to explore the new resource.

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